Is Milk Powder Responsible for Diarrhea in Newborns And Infants?

If the frequency and looseness of stools have suddenly increased, it is diarrhea. Babies can have more than 4 watery stools a day in such a condition. Health issues like diarrhea and constipation often seem tough to deal with.

It is common for infants to have this health condition once in a few months. If a baby eating milk powder diarrhea, that milk powder might be responsible. However, it’s not always the milk powder responsible for this health issue.

Continue reading to learn more about diarrhea in babies and how to cure it to comfort the child.

What Should You Do If the Child Suffers From Diarrhea After Consuming Milk Powder?

First of all, you should consult with the doctor to provide your child with the proper diarrhea treatment. Follow the below-given tips to improve your child’s health if he experiences diarrhea after consuming milk powder:

1. Sterilize baby’s milk bottles regularly

Milk powder isn’t always responsible for diarrhea in infants. Unhygienic utensils and milk bottles can affect milk quality. Consequently, the baby suffers from diarrhea and other health conditions. You should regularly sterilize milk bottles and utensils to eliminate all the germs. Thus, you can quickly improve your child’s health condition.

2. Switch to a better quality milk powder

Many brands are producing and selling baby formulas. If the chosen brand doesn’t suit your child, you should switch to another brand. Carefully assess all the features and benefits of the chosen milk powder brand. Ensure it is safe and then feed it to your child. You can also find anti-diarrhea milk powder on the market. It will be a healthier alternative to regular formula milk brands.

3. Avoid over-the-counter medications

Parents often feed over-the-counter medications to the child without consulting with the doctor. The pharmacists might suggest a few of them, but that’s a wrong approach. Such actions can further affect your child’s health. Avoid feeding OTC medications to infants. Only feed what the doctor recommends after diagnosing the health issue!

What Does Cause Diarrhea in Formula-fed Babies?

Health experts believe three types of causes are responsible for diarrhea in newborns and infants. Those causes are as follows:

1. Pathological causes

Babies can suffer from milk allergies if their intestinal flora is immature and intestinal mucosa is developing. It mainly causes protein allergy and that can cause diarrhea. That’s why doctors often suggest a hydrolyzed protein-based formula for newborns and infants.

Some babies can be lactose intolerant! They fail to decompose and process lactose in the intestine. Consequently, lactose passes into the colon and produce a lot of gas after decomposition. It quickly reduces water quantity and causes diarrhea. Such pathological causes are responsible for diarrhea in many babies.

2. Physiological causes

You can eat a variety of things as an adult. Infants can’t eat a lot of things without any trouble. They can easily digest and absorb breast milk. Baby formulas and other foods aren’t easy to digest for newborns and infants. Therefore, parents must feed foods that don’t affect the child’s health.  

3. Nursing mistakes

Frequently changing a baby’s milk powder brand and improper feeding can cause health issues. Unhygienic kitchen environment, dirty utensils, milk bottles, and dirty home environment can contribute to diarrhea in infants.

Parents should ensure that the entire house is cleaned properly. Clean your baby’s milk bottles after each use. Thus, germs won’t affect the feeding bottle and the baby will be much safer. Besides, you should stop changing your child’s milk powder.

Pick a brand that is known for offering the most nutritious formula milk. Use it until the baby is ready to consume complementary meals.

What Should You Do to Protect Formula-fed Babies Against Diarrhea?

Try the below-given tips to protect your formula-fed baby against diarrhea:

Follow the best feeding technique:

1. Choose a proper technique to prepare the baby formula

As experts recommend, water should be around 37° warm when you blend the baby formula in it. Continue blending until there are no milk powder lumps. Let it boil for a while and then let this baby formula blend cool down. Formula milk’s temperature should be similar to breast milk temperature. Thus, your child will consume it quite conveniently.

2. Do not use dirty vessels and milk bottles!

It is quite risky to use dirty utensils for formula milk preparation. Do not use a dirty bottle with milk residue in it to feed again. Such mistakes often result in health issues. Babies have a much weaker immune system. They can easily catch infectious diseases caused by germs and bacteria.

It takes just a few minutes to clean and sterilize the pot and milk bottles. So, do it every time you feed your child. Thus, your child will be safe against diarrhea and many other diseases.

3. Don’t pick any advertised milk powder for the child!

Many brands are promoting their baby formulas online. Some of those brands might not offer what they claim. Choosing such products can be a risky move because your child might experience health issues after consuming poor-quality milk powder.

Stick to a brand that suits your child. Suppose it is not available anymore, get trial packs of other similar baby formulas. Place the order for a product that does not affect your child’s health.

4. Always assess your child’s health needs before replacing his milk powder

A baby’s food demands change as he grows. You should replace his milk powder only when the child gains above 2500 grams of weight. Some babies suffer from chronic diarrhea due to loss of lactase. Such babies need desensitized baby formulas to cope with health problems.

Suppose your child has acute diarrhea, hydrolyzed milk powder will be the best food for his demands. Iron-deficient babies should consume iron-rich baby formulas. Essentially, every child needs a different kind of baby formula. Assess your baby’s food needs and then switch to a better milk powder.

What Precautions Parents Must Take If Their Formula-fed Baby Suffers From Diarrhea?

Baby eating milk powder diarrhea is not quite common. You should take the following precautions if it affects your child’s health:

Stop changing milk powder frequently!

It is not easy to resist yourself from trying a highly-promoted product. Even if the baby is healthy and fine, some parents switch to a new brand. They wish to provide the child with health benefits claimed by the brand. It is a mistake and such mistakes often result in diarrhea!

Even though you decide to replace the baby’s milk powder, switch to a healthier alternative. Don’t just believe what the brand claims! Carefully check all the genuine reviews and side effects of that milk powder on babies.

It is risky to blindly change the baby formula. All the required information about a product is available on the internet. Use your smartphone to screen the product comprehensively. Replace the existing milk powder only if you are sure that the new product will not affect your child’s health!

Do not feed anti-diarrhea milk powder for a long time!

Anti-diarrhea milk powders have a much lower lactose content than their rivals. Such products are good for babies with lactose intolerance. Parents should not feed such a baby formula to a healthy baby for a long time.

It is ideal to feed only when your baby is suffering from diarrhea. Do not continue feeding it if the child is fine. Your baby may suffer from lactose deficiency if you continue to feed lactose-free milk powder.

What Type Of Formula Milk Is Perfect For Your Child?

You may probably know, there are more than five types of baby formulas in the market. Choosing one of those five can be pretty daunting. Assess the following things before you pick a baby formula for your child:

Reveal the truth behind advertisements

Promotions and advertisements do not reveal the real features of a product. Only genuine users reveal how their baby is doing after consuming the promoted product. Check those parents’ views about the product. You should also assess ingredients and their benefits before you pick the milk powder. Thus, you will know whether the baby formula offers what your child needs or not.

Assess the brand reputation

Is the promoted brand famous for meeting its promises? Does the brand’s products provide what the brand claims in its ads? How many people admire that brand for offering quality products? You should try to reveal answers to these questions. Every brand is not equal and every baby formula product is not a healthy alternative to breast milk.

Does your baby spit formula milk and refuse to consume it?

Breastfed babies take some time to consume formula milk. They will swallow it and enjoy its taste after a few attempts. If your baby does not like milk powder, he will always refuse to consume it. That’s an indication for you to switch to another type of formula milk.

Conclusion

Baby eating milk powder diarrhea is common. Many babies suffer from this health problem when parents change their food. They recover within one or two days. You have to change the milk powder if the baby doesn’t recover from diarrhea within 2-3 days!

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