In the News: Drinking water can hurt babies under 6 months

I was perusing the Kids and Parenting section of MSNBC and found an article entitled: Drinking water can hurt babies under 6 months.

According to Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore, MD. "Babies younger than six months old should never be given water to drink [because] consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication."

You would think that a parent would know that babies should be drinking breast milk or formula at that young age, but apparently not. Anything I have personally read said that juice or water at such a young age has no nutritional value for the baby and is therefore unnecessary.

From the above article: "Even when they're very tiny, they have an intact thirst reflex or a drive to drink," Dr. Jennifer Anders, a pediatric emergency physician at the center, told Reuters Health. "When they have that thirst and they want to drink, the fluid they need to drink more of is their breast milk or formula."

Because babies' kidneys aren't yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures."

Maybe parents think that water can tide baby over? I am the first to admit that when I am hungry I try drinking a large glass of water first. Honestly, I only drink water. I get in about 3-4 liters a day since I gave up soda-pop about 3.5 years ago. (Sure, I'll have a soda now and again but if I am thirsty in any way, I drink water since pop makes me thirsty) But that's just me and I am not an infant who is growing at an astronomical rate. Since an average baby will double his birth weight in six months,and triple it in a year, they need all the nutrition they can get and empty calories in juice or no calories in water just don't make sense to me.

Additionally, according to Pediatricians at Hopkins Children's, Too Much Water Raises Seizure Risk In Babies. "It’s a recurrent summer-time scenario in the pediatric emergency room and doctors from Johns Hopkins Children’s are sounding the alarm on it: An otherwise healthy infant is brought in by panicked parents after suffering a seizure, which turns out to be caused by drinking too much water."

Since we all know it gets hot in the summer, "Babies need extra fluids in the hot weather, but straight water is not one of them," says pediatrician Allen Walker, M.D., head of the Emergency Department at Hopkins Children’s. "A parent’s natural instinct is to give the baby water to prevent dehydration, but too much water can disrupt the delicate balance in a baby’s body, leading to water intoxication. Before you know it, the baby is seizing."

"Breast milk and formula are the best way to keep a child under 1 year of age who is not eating solid foods hydrated, Walker says, and straight water should be avoided. Over-diluted formula can lead to water intoxication as well. Electrolyte-enriched pediatric drinks are not recommended for routine hydration."

So, I guess the lesson is that sometimes what seems like an obvious solution really isn't.

Who knew? Now, you do.