How many kids develop life threatening conditions with the intake of excessive breast milk? Researchers of U.K are going to launch a study to reveal it. The data of neonates, admitted in hospital due to dehydration, would be gathered all across United Kingdom.
Although, intense hypernatraemia dehydration (a condition which develops, when serum sodium concentration exceeds 145mmol/l) is very rare but it is a life threatening condition in the newborns.
Though the hospitals treat dehydrated children but there is no sufficient data that can initiate that particular study.
“People are anxious to say any word that can give make breastfeeding notorious.” neonatologist Dr Sam Richmond said.
When the children fail to take enough quantity of milk, because of any health condition, hypernatraemic dehydration may occur in the early days of their lives. This excessive sodium level may lead to gangrene, seizures, neurological disorders and some time even death if left untreated.
It has been commonly seen that such cases involve the babies of first-time mothers that vigorously feed their babies. Though the condition of dehydration is treatable but it does not show any symptoms which usually delay the process of diagnosis.
Health department has advised the mothers to nourish their offspring with breastfeed, up to initial six months of their life, because this milk protects babies from infection and provides health benefits in later life.
Less than 1% of women actually breastfeed their baby for this long, and NHS research suggest a significant number experience problems in the first few weeks – with insufficient milk supply and baby’s failure to suckle properly cited as the main problems.
Only one percent of the women breastfeed their babies to this extend and studies has concluded that such problems occur within the first couple of weeks.
There have also been moves to discourage formula feeding: advertising is not allowed and some hospitals restrict formula milk on the ward. The main underlying causes that have been pointed out are the insufficient supply of milk and the inability of baby to suck.