Considering that your baby’s body is made up of essentially 75% of water, should reassure you that your baby requires an adequate amount of water to remain healthy. When dehydration occurs in a baby’s body, it’s quite important to note that he/she may experience this condition far worse than an adult would.
Given that babies lose fluids everyday especially through urination, sweating, crying and even breathing, it’s important to replace these fluids every time you feed your baby. Since a baby is 100% dependant on an adult for their wellbeing, parents especially should be well informed on giving their babies water during feeding time, to prevent the adverse symptoms and effects of dehydration.
Symptoms of Dehydration in Infants
Signs of dehydration in babies, include dry lips and mouth, having six or less wet diapers within a 24-hour period, concentrated urine, having no interest in breastfeeding or its bottle, a sunken fontanel on a baby’s head, irritability, excessive sleepiness and has no tears when crying.
The Causes of Dehydration in Infants, Besides Not Consuming Enough Water
- Issues with breastfeeding can lead to an infant becoming dehydrated if he/she isn’t latching on properly or not breastfeeding long enough during sessions.
- Feeding an infant with a bottle can also cause issues, as the formula or pumped breast milk may not be enough for the baby to be fully hydrated. If parents fail to give their babies water, dehydration may increase and cause the symptoms mentioned above.
- Overexposure to heat.
- Vomiting, causing a loss of excess fluid in the baby’s body.
- Being sick, with symptoms such as fever or diarrhea, which generally causes an excessive fluid loss in the body and can induce symptoms.
Between the age of 4-6 months, babies should consume at least 30ml of water every 24-hours and once consuming solid food, 60ml of water every 24-hours.
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