Over/Under Feeding & Inadequate Mothering

A highly diluted formula, often due to ignorance or economic considerations is a well known cause of failure to gain weight. Such underfed baby takes his food quickly showing that he has been hungry for long. Dissatisfied with the amount made available to him, he usually cries and cries until he goes to sleep. He also wakes up much before the due time for feed and cries. Do not let this happen. It is a sign of bad mothering. Overfeeding is not a common problem. Most infants refuse to accept excess feed. Pushing the feed forcibly is quite a difficult job. Some mothers do manage to give the baby larger feeds. These babies are likely to suffer from infantile obesity. Infantile obesity is on the increase and is more common in babies from well to do families. Pushing the food more than the baby’s needs does not always cause obesity. Not all mothers are well prepared for the new borne. Some are wanting in self confidence and unsure as to how to handle the baby. Their nervousness somehow influences the baby and he becomes more demanding and cries a lot to the mother’s annoyance. This may lead to a unhealthy relationship between the mother and the baby and also affect his feeding.