Introduction:

– Overfeeding means a bottle-fed baby is consuming more milk (breast milk or infant formula) than she needs for her growth and energy needs.

– Receiving too much milk can overload a baby’s tiny stomach with more milk than it can comfortably hold and more nutrients than her intestinal tract can adequately digest.

Causes:

1. Indirect Linking of Feeding With Sleep:

– Feeding babies while sleeping may lead his/her mind to want milk for sleeping.

– Later, if a baby finds himself awake at night, he won’t be able to put himself back to sleep unless he is fed again.

– Such repetitive scenarios can confuse parents by knowing when the baby is really hungry.

2. Constant Interruptions in Sleep:

3. A Subjective Image of a Healthy Child:

– For first-time parents, their opinion of a healthy child is governed by the pictures of the babies who are a little on the chubbier side.

– But parents might coerce the baby into drinking more milk than needed, in a well-intentioned attempt to fatten him up, leading to overfeeding.

4.Opting for Fortified Milk Over the Normal One

• Feeding in a Hurried Manner
• Misinterpretation of Cues Indicating Hunger

Effects of Overfeeding a Baby:

• Obesity
• Reduced growth
• Catch-Down Growth