Newborn weight: why the baby is gaining weight poorly

In the first minutes of the baby’s life, the doctor taking the birth weighs and measures the baby’s height. These numbers are of great importance, each mother knows them by heart until the end of her life. The weight of the newborn plays a big role in determining the life of the child, his physical development. Therefore, while in the hospital, babies are weighed every morning. What determines the weight of the child, what factors affect it, we will consider in more detail.

normal weight of a newborn baby
what is the normal weight of a newborn baby

What normal weight should a newborn have?

The normal weight of the newborn according to modern data includes range indicators from 2.5 kg to 4.5 kg. These are average indicators, a certain level at which the weight of the child can be considered good.

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Parents of medium height and middle weight category are born children mainly having weight in 3 - 3.3 kg. To some extent, these figures can be considered optimal for the newborn. With this weight of the baby, even having a narrow pelvis, a woman will be able to cope with natural delivery. It will not be difficult for a child to pass through the birth canal and the number of possible complications, usually associated with a large weight of the child, can drop to a minimum. Therefore, even during pregnancy, you need to control the weight of the unborn baby, for example, using the results of ultrasound, where the device automatically determines the weight of the fetus. Pregnant weight gain can also report a possible problem associated with the fetus’s high weight. A gynecologist will tell you what kind of nutrition will help you maintain balance and gain the number of kilograms that fit into the established norms.

weight table
weight table (click to enlarge)

If the baby was born prematurely, or these are twins, then in this case the weight of the newborn baby will be below normal, but this can be called pathology only when the underweight is critical and does not show positive development dynamics. Such children usually gain weight during the first year of life and may even surpass peers who had normal weight at birth.

An important factor is heredity. If at least one of the parents at birth had a “heroic” weight, then most likely, children in this family will be born precisely large. If both parents are of little weight and have a short stature, the baby will be born to match it - tiny and not exceeding the bar of optimal weight.

If a child gains weight poorly

It happens that a newborn gains weight poorly during the first four weeks after birth. Normally, the baby should gain in the first month of life from 500 g to 1.2 kg. If the figure is even slightly less than the lower norm, parents should sound the alarm.The faster you identify the cause of underweight, the faster you can make a decision and correct the situation. It's about your child’s health. Factors affecting low weight gain in the first month of life can be:

  • Malnutrition. The child receives a small amount of food and he just has nowhere to take calories and increase weight. Make sure that you correctly apply to the chest, hear the pharynx when feeding. Give the baby a breast at first request. If for medical reasons you are not breastfeeding, make sure that the child receives a sufficient amount of the mixture and you make it strictly according to the instructions. - How to properly attach the baby to the chest
  • The baby is not eating well.
  • Stress mother and baby. If the family has a dysfunctional situation, oppression, the mother is exhausted and forced to do a lot of homework and other work - the child does not receive attention and care, often cries, is constantly in a state of anxiety. This all affects a significant underweight. If you want your baby to grow up healthy, provide him with comfort and satisfy his emotional need to communicate with you. Have you noticed that in orphanages, most of the kids have a small, thin physique? This is not due to the fact that they are malnourished. This is connected precisely with the emotional perception of the world, with the lack of love of a loved one.
  • There are some health problems.. If you have the slightest suspicion of a violation of the health status of your child, be sure to inform your local pediatrician about it - it is better to be safe again.
  • Nursing mother smokes - it also affects weight loss in newborns (smoking with hepatitis B);
  • Some advice to a nursing mother for the proper organization of GV

Related >>> Which should be normal weight gain in newborns? 


We also read:The beginning of feeding children

Know that the development rate of your baby can only be judged by the totality of all factors, including weight. Be healthy!

What to do if a newborn baby is not gaining weight well?

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Add a comment

  1. Margarita

    I have a question. 2 days ago we had an ultrasound scan (36 weeks and 4 days). The fetus was already developed as it should, but a large enough weight loss (ultrasound showed that we weigh 1840 g). In this case, blood flow is normal, CTG, doppler, placenta is developed normally and does not interfere (31cm), the child is moving actively, but not too much. Can weight gain be related to what my husband and I were born (I was born at 39 weeks, 2600, my husband was born seven months, up to 2 kg), or is it independent and cannot influence?

  2. Zhibek

    You yourself were born weighing 2600 at 39 weeks, which means that your child will gain 3 weeks before a kg of weight, it can 600 to 900 gr. Eat more flour.

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