The underweight baby is one who is born with less than 2.5 kg, which can be diagnosed as being small for gestational age during pregnancy.
It can be identified that the baby is underweight through ultrasound examination during pregnancy or soon after birth. When the doctor identifies that the baby is underweight for gestational age, it should indicate that the mother rests and feeds properly.
Causes of Underweight Baby
Generally, the causes of the baby being born underweight are related to a placental insufficiency, which is the inadequate supply of blood from the mother to the baby. Possible causes of placental insufficiency may be:
- Hypertension,
- Diabetes,
- Prolonged pregnancy, ie babies born with more than 9 months of gestation,
- Due to smoking,
- Excessive consumption of alcohol, or
- Pregnancy of more than 2 babies at the same time.
However, in some cases, the cause of the baby's birth below ideal weight is not identified.
Baby underweight, what to do:
What you should do with the baby being born underweight is to dress it properly because these babies usually feel very cold and ensure that it is properly fed so that it can grow fat.
These babies may have a greater difficulty in suckling, but despite this, the mother should be encouraged to breastfeed several times a day, avoiding using artificial milk. However, when the baby can not gain enough weight by breastfeeding, the pediatrician may suggest that after the feeding, the mother should give a milk supplement suitable for the baby to ensure adequate intake of nutrients and calories.
Useful links:
- Causes of Low Birth Newborn Baby
- How to know if your baby is breastfeeding enough
- The sleep of the newborn baby
