|
Monday, March 14, 2005
Dear tita doc: The milky way
By Doris Louise Cellona-Obra, M.D.
Dear tita doc
Milk—the only food that babies under six months of age should take. How is it given? When is it given?
How often should I feed my baby? (Lisa O., Mabolo)
In the past, babies were fed on a strict, rigid schedule of every three or four hourly intervals. But this doesn’t make sense. Imagine being really hungry and not being given food because it is not yet feeding time. Since babies lose their blood sugar rapidly when they are hungry, the discomfort they feel is more acute. Or how about being full but being forced fed because it is already feeding time!
It makes more sense to feed your baby on a per demand basis, depending on baby’s demands and not on your schedule. This means that if your baby is hungry, feed him right away. Eventually, your baby will settle down to a feeding schedule of his own.
I feed my baby milk direct from the refrigerator without warming the milk. Will this harm my baby? (Joy K., V. Rama)
There is really no hard and fast rule about the correct temperature of milk that is to be fed to babies so long as it is not freezing or boiling hot. If your baby is accustomed to drinking milk cold or at room temperature, so be it. A lot of babies ,though, seem to prefer slightly warmed milk.
Is it all right to microwave milk to heat it up? (Ines A., Banawa)
Microwave heats milk unevenly. It creates pockets of really hot milk amidst milk that has the right temperature. The hot pockets could burn your baby’s mouth. Besides, microwave breaks down the nutrients of milk. So milk is never warmed using the microwave. To heat milk, place the feeding bottle in a pan of hot water. To check if milk is not too hot for baby, flick a few drops on to your wrist and feel whether the drops are just right.
How do I prevent my baby from swallowing too much air “para dili mabutdan ug tiyan?” (Bebie R., Ramos St.)
When bottle feeding, tilt the feeding bottle at a 45 º angle so that the bottle neck and nipple are always filled with milk. If your baby is making a lot of noisy sucking sounds while feeding, chances are he is also swallowing a lot of air on top of the milk. Burp him or he would get satiated on air and not on milk. And do not forget to burp baby again after feeding.
I do prop up feeding of my baby with a pillow so I can finish some other chores in the house. My mother discourages this practice. Which is correct? (Liezl T.,yahoo)
Your mom knows best! Prop up feeding favors milk traveling from baby’s throat to his eustachian tube, and eventually to his middle ear. The end result is otitis media, a middle ear infection where pus would drain from baby’s ears. Prop up feeding may also cause choking and aspiration of milk into baby’s lungs.
Furthermore, cuddling baby in your arms during feeding, even when you are bottle feeding him, promotes bonding between you and your baby, something that prop-up feeding can never accomplish. Cuddling baby when feeding him will also calm you and your baby and give him that extra feeling of security. This promotes better digestion. As I see it, no pillow or household chore should come between you and your baby.
Can I give my baby leftover milk from her previous feed? How long does milk last at room temperature before it becomes stale? (Pilar F., Tallisay City)
Milk is one of bacteria’s favorite food. Milk, especially if unrefrigerated, enables bacteria to divide at an explosive rate. If milk is contaminated by saliva, milk deteriorates faster. Although it is said that it is safe for milk to be out of the refrigerator for about an hour, I believe that it is prudent to mix powdered milk with water just before it is given to baby. Mix just enough milk so there is no leftover and make a fresh concoction just before each feeding.
Breastmilk though never becomes stale if it is in mom’s breast, even if baby misses a feeding or two or three or four. It is always fresh and comes in just the right temperature that most babies like. It is practically bacteria free and contains antibodies that baby can use to fight infections. It changes in consistency to fit baby’s exact needs—the breastmillk of a mother with a premature baby is substantially different from a mother whose baby is a full term one. Because of all these, there is not a single milk formula that closely approximates the advantages of breastmilk.
Yup, the rumor is true—breastmilk is still the best milk for babies!
Truly yours,
Tita Doc
(send queries to ppsccev(at)yahoo(dot)com or by snail mail to PPSCCEV, M.O.#9, BOP, Gothong Bldg.,Llorente St., Cebu City).
(March 14, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
