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Topics: Food and Drink, Parenting, Pregnancy, Health
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Food and Drink, Parenting, Pregnancy, Health
While the vast majority of new parents likely know they're NOT to give their newborn any water to drink during their earliest months of life, some might not know exactly why.
It turns out that there's actually a number of reasons why babies should stick to a diet exclusively consisting of milk, most of them based on the fact that water - despite being super hydrating for adults and older children - can be hazardous for tots.
A number of parents made the mistake of feeding their infant kids water, and were subsequently forced to seek medical intervention, and they've since shared their horror stories, advising other parents to wise up the risks.
Among them is Oregon local Katie Gorter.
Katie had full knowledge that giving her 11-month-old daughter Elly a few sips of water could have disastrous consequences, and so avoided doing so. One day, however, her child 'discovered she could drink the bath water' during her washes.
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The child subsequently started vomiting, and struggled to breathe.
The terrified mother rushed Elly to her local hospital, where doctors ruled that she'd consumed so much water that it had started compressing her lungs, putting her life at serious risk.
The youngster was treated for water intoxication - one of the several potentially fatal reasons why babies shouldn't be fed water to drink.
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Later writing on Facebook, Yahoo claims Katie issued a vital message: "I just wanted to make a Public Service Announcement. Water intoxication is very real and can happen so easily.
"Please only offer babies 6-12 months no more than 2oz (60ml) of water in a 24 hour period."
Revealing Elly was now on the mend, she added: "I just wanted to put this out there for those who don’t believe it matters and give their baby as much as they want."
As Katie learned in her devastating case, water can be toxic to tiny bodies when consumed in large quantities.
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This is because the kidneys of small children and babies aren't as capable as filtering the amount of water that those belonging to adults can, as they're nowhere near as developed, as per Healthline.
When a baby's kidneys are given more water than they're able to handle, the excess finds its way into their bloodstream, diluting the fluid travelling through it and lowering the potency of vital electrolytes.
When this occurs to an extreme degree, it could cause hyponatremia, which itself could result in the baby's brain swelling, or their death.
Giving a baby water before their organs or fully equipped to handle it could also have major affects on their stomachs.
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A newborn's stomach can only hold between 1-2 teaspoons, and empties fast - hence why they need feeding with milk so often.
The limited room these bellies hold mean that correct nutrition is key, and so using water instead of something like milk or formula is deemed somewhat pointless.
This cuts out space for vitamins, minerals, fat, and calories - all of which are essential to endure growth and development in babies.
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By the time a baby reaches their six-month milestone, their stomachs would have grown enough to take on between 2.7-5 ounces, and so medics generally deem it an acceptable time to start introducing them to water.