Does My Newborn Baby Need Water?

Milk may not relinquish the thirst of adults but it certainly relinquishes babies’ and in a matter of seconds. According to pediatricians and experts around the world, breast milk is all that babies need during the first six months after birth. They say that natural milk and colostrum before it are 88% water, which means that both of them can meet babies’ needs of liquids and prevent them from dehydration (taking into consideration that babies are nursing efficiently and getting enough milk).

However, can newborns drink water? This rule of thumb has few exceptions where doctors recommend giving babies under 6 months old few sips of water to help them get rid of constipation or gastro-intestinal infections.

It’s true that few sips won’t harm your infant, but we advise you to follow your doctors’ guidelines per se and deal with the issue with responsibility, as a great amount of water could impair your child’s ability to absorb all the nutrients deemed necessary for his body and growth, as well as it might excessively increase the Bilirubin levels in his blood (Jaundice), causing him to lose much weight.

Moreover, additional amounts of water may put your baby at risk of water intoxication which develops in the form of electrolyte imbalance and decrease in blood minerals and viscosity, which may result in turn into dangerous complications like brain damage and death.

Besides, extra amount of water could cause your baby to lose interest in breastfeeding, and that can lower your breasts’ milk production over time. So, be careful not to serve your infant any water before he’s 6 months old, because at this age, your bundle of joy should be starting on solids. 

And as he gets into this new phase of life, make sure to provide him between 59 and 89 ml of water a day to keep him hydrated and prevent him from constipation and that until he’s one year old and he’s able to eat different types of foods.

Now that you have read and documented all the information you need regarding newborn babies’ water intake, don’t allow yourself to go by the advice of your relatives and elderly family members, and serve your baby what can harm him and put his health at risk!

Read More: Food Allergy In Babies And Children