Newborns, whether breastfed or formula-fed, who don't gain enough weight have what doctors call "failure to thrive." There are many possible factors that prevent babies from gaining weight, but it's a problem that is usually remedied with intervention from doctors and specialists. If you suspect your baby isn't gaining enough weight, contact your doctor right away.
General Information
Most babies go through periods of weight gain, weight-gain plateaus and even periods of slight weight loss, but if a baby doesn't gain weight for three consecutive months during his first year, you should be concerned, according to Kids Health. The average newborn doubles his birth weight by 4 months and triples it by his first birthday. Babies who don't reach these milestones are diagnosed with poor weight gain or failure to thrive.
Diagnosis
Doctors use standard growth charts to compare your baby's growth with that of other babies of the same age. According to Baby Center, kids who fall below the third percentile for weight on the growth chart or weigh 20 percent below the ideal weight for their height may have failure to thrive. Children who are failing to gain weight will be evaluated more closely. The health care provider will take a thorough medical and feeding history and perform a detailed physical exam, as well as blood, urine and electrolyte tests.
General Causes
Poverty, abuse or neglect can prevent parents from feeding a child enough, but this is not usually the case with breastfed infants, unless the mother is undernourished herself for one of these reasons. Some causes are more specific to breastfeeding, according to Baby Center. Many newborns fall asleep while nursing before getting enough milk. Others have a weak sucking reflex, preventing them from getting enough from the breast. Some moms don't produce enough milk or enough hindmilk, which is released a few minutes into feeding and contains more calories than foremilk. Stress or pain can interfere with your ability to produce or release hindmilk.
Medical Causes
Several health conditions involving the gastrointestinal system, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, chronic diarrhea, cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease and celiac disease prevent the body from consuming or absorbing nutrients and calories. Prematurity as well as a cleft lip or palate can interfere with a baby's sucking reflex or ability to latch on to the breast, making breastfeeding less successful. Other cardiac, endocrinologic and respiratory disorders can increase a child's caloric needs so that it becomes difficult to meet them. Parasites and infections can force a body to use nutrients rapidly as well as diminish appetite, leading to low weight gain. Finally, metabolic disorders can limit the body's ability to make use of calories consumed or cause a baby to vomit excessively.
Treatment
Failure to thrive is usually treatable. Your pediatrician might refer you to a specialist if he diagnoses a medical disorder, a nutritionist to evaluate the baby's or mother's dietary needs or a lactation consultant to help with breastfeeding difficulties. For breastfed infants, supplementing with formula can help increase weight gain. In severe cases, use of a feeding tube may be necessary to deliver nutrition to the baby at a steady rate through a continuous drip temporarily.
Results
Failure to thrive or low weight gain in infants and toddlers is a critical disorder, since poor nutrition during this period can have permanent negative effects on brain development. Babies who don't gain the proper amount of weight usually don't reach normal developmental milestones, like sitting up, walking and talking at the usual age.
Feeding Guidelines
In order for a baby to gain weight, she should be fed on consistently following these guidelines. In the first few weeks after birth, your newborn needs to eat eight to 12 times every 24 hours. By 2 or 3 months, she should eat six to eight times a day, but feeding amounts should increase. At four months, she needs about 30 ounces a day. A lactation consultant can help you discern how much your baby is consuming and how much milk you are producing. Baby Center recommends feeding your baby on demand rather than according to a strict schedule, especially if she has trouble gaining weight.
