INSTRUCTIONS FOR CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTATION FOR BREASTFEEDING BABIES
Calcium is an important nutrient for infants and young children. Calcium deficiency causes children to grow slowly as well as be at risk of many other diseases. So how to supplement calcium for breastfeeding babies?
1. The role of calcium in children's development
In the body, calcium accounts for only about 1.5-2% of body weight, most of which is concentrated in bones and teeth, the remaining small amount is in the blood and extracellular fluid. Calcium is a trace mineral that plays an important role in children's development. Calcium participates in the structure of bones and teeth, and is the main component that makes up the body's skeletal system.
In addition to bone formation, calcium also plays many other roles such as nerve cell transmission, participating in blood clotting, and muscle contraction. When a child's body does not have enough calcium, it will cause rickets, small bones, deformities, slow growth, dwarfism, uneven teeth growth, weak teeth, and tooth decay. In addition, when calcium is lacking, neurotransmission is inhibited, so children often show signs of crying at night, being startled when sleeping, and even having motor dysfunction.
2. Causes of calcium deficiency in young children
The baby is deprived of oxygen or suffocated during birth.
Sequelae of pregnancy poisoning, gestational diabetes
Diet lacking in calcium.
Children who do not regularly get sunbathing lead to vitamin D deficiency (vitamin D is an important nutrient that helps the body absorb calcium well).
3. What are the symptoms of calcium deficiency in children?
Children, especially infants, when lacking calcium will have symptoms such as:
Sweating a lot, especially when sleeping.
Often crying, startled at night.
Severe calcium deficiency causes children to have rickets, malnutrition, slow growth, slow and uneven teeth growth, weak teeth.
Hair loss in a ring at the back of the neck.
Often twisting, vomiting milk.
4. How to supplement calcium for young children and infants
Although it plays a very important role, calcium is a substance that the body cannot synthesize itself and must use from external sources. The older the child, the higher the calcium requirement, so supplementing calcium for young children, especially breastfed children, is extremely important. If calcium is supplemented in excess or incorrectly, it can also cause serious complications for children such as constipation, bone pain, and kidney calcification.
Mothers need to choose organic calcium lines to overcome and avoid problems such as constipation, heat in the body, and sedimentation for children.
The need for calcium and vitamin D in the diet according to different age groups (BYT/VDD 2016) is as follows:
Calcium supplementation for young children, especially infants, needs to be determined by pediatricians and nutritionists, depending on the age of the child and the needs of each child to supplement calcium appropriately. Parents should not arbitrarily use medicinal products to supplement calcium for children, the use must be guided by a doctor. For infants and young children who are still breastfeeding, breast milk is the main source of nutrition and is also an effective source of calcium supplementation. Therefore, the mother's diet is extremely important. To supplement calcium for breastfeeding children, the first thing is to improve the mother's diet with calcium-rich foods such as:
Milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt), egg yolks, orange juice, etc.
Grains and seeds: Beans, rice, sesame seeds, almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
Dark green leafy vegetables: Spinach, bok choy, kale, spinach, etc.
Seafood: Shrimp, crab, clams, oysters, snails, mussels, etc.
Absorb vitamin D by sunbathing in the morning for both mother and baby. Sunbathing for children should be done in the morning or afternoon because this is the time when sunlight provides a lot of vitamin D. Children should be dressed in thin clothes for the most effective exposure to sunlight.
Absorb vitamin D by sunbathing in the morning for both mother and baby
According to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, breastfeeding women need to absorb about 1000 mg of calcium per day. However, due to dietary restrictions, they often have calcium deficiency after giving birth. Therefore, mothers can also provide the missing amount of calcium with supplements. However, the use must be under the guidance of a doctor or choose organic calcium products with high safety, for babies who are in the breastfeeding stage, there should be instructions for use from a doctor.
For children under 6 months old, exclusive breastfeeding and regular sunbathing (this is very controversial and should be abandoned) are the best measures to help supplement calcium. As for children 7 months and older, who can eat solid foods, in addition to breastfeeding and drinking formula milk, mothers can prepare calcium-rich foods to supplement their children's weaning menu.
Nguồn: -St-
---------------------------------------
DDA VIETNAM INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY
☎️ Hotline: 1800 9070 – 0983 746 986 – 0962 700 060
✉️ Email: [email protected]
📍 TikTok: @dda.vietnam
📍 Website: ddavietnam.vn
📍 Address: No. 8, Chien Thang Residential Group, Ha Dong Ward, Hanoi City