Feeding water to babies while they are still breastfeeding has been heavily condemned by doctors around the world. Why?

Well right from killing appetite to causing diarrhea, water can be a source for many problems in  6-month-old andyounger babies.

Here we tell you how water affects your baby and what can be the alternative for water.

Why Water Is Not Good For Your Baby?

• It fills up your baby and reduces the desire for breast milk. This could lead to malnutrition.
• It interferes with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients that the breast milk contains
• There are chances of water intoxication which happens when the sodium in the body gets diluted due to excess water causing an imbalance in the electrolyte and tissues to swell. This can result in seizures, coma, irritability, drowsiness and can affect brain activity.
• The baby becomes more vulnerable to diarrhoea.

What are the alternatives?

There can no better alternative to water than breast milk itself.

80% of breast milk contains water, especially the first milk which the baby is fed. Whenever the mother feels that the baby is thirsty, she can breastfeed her baby to quench the thirst.

Another alternative to water is an electrolyte drink like Pedialyte or Infalyte.

P.S: Please be careful in the use of water in the formula you give your baby. During constipation or very hot weather small amounts of water are permissible but parents should first check with their pediatrician.