How Much Should a Newborn Eat?

Discussion A serving size and a portion are not the same thing. A serving size is a specific measured amount of food. This is cited on the product label or readily available resources such as cookbooks or the Internet (an example can be found here.) A portion is the amount chosen to be served or eaten by a person. They can be the same but may not be the same. For example, 4 ounces of cereal is a common serving size, but an adult may often eat more than this as their portion. Children especially need appropriate portion sizes to match their age and body size. A good general rule for any age is a portion is the size of the person’s fist or palm of their hand. For example a 1-3 year probably would only need about 1/3-1/2 of a slice of bread but a 7-10 year old would need about 1 slice. Daily, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children should still get: Meat = 2-3 servings Dairy = 2-3 servings Fruit = 2-3 servings Vegetables = 2-3 servings Grains = 6-11 servings When having a meal, most people consume a few portions. This is usually not the total potential size of their stomach which leads to stretching and being uncomfortable and possibly even emesis. Learning Point Newborn infants on day of life 1 have unique needs as they are transitioning to extrauterine life. Importantly in those first few hours newborn infants must maintain glycemic control as hypoglycemia can cause organ damage. Infants who are stressed in some manner (e.g. presumed infection, respirato...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news