How Much Does a Baby Eat an Hour

© 2008-2017 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

The following commodity focuses on the newborn feeding schedule. For information related to this topic, see this article near opens in a new window breastfeeding on demand,  every bit well this overview of opens in a new window the science in favor of infant-initiated meals.

Throughout much of the 20th century, Western medical professionals recommended that newborns be fed on a highly-regulated timetable (Fildes 1986).

Today we know better. The scientific evidence strongly suggests that newborns—defined equally babies less than one month one-time—benefit when they are fed frequently and on demand.

According to the latest recommendations, that means

(1) initiating feedings when babies show signs of hunger, and

(ii) ending feedings when babies show signs of being satiated (i.e., don't try to force them to terminate a bottle).

It too means feeding infants approximately 8-12 times every 24 hours. If that seems similar a lot, keep in mind: Our ancestors fed their babies this oft — even after the newborn stage.

And consider these points:

• Frequent feedings reduce the time it takes for a mother'due south milk to come in. In ane study, moms who breastfed newborns every 2 hours began lactating eat to the lowest degree 24 hours earlier than did moms who breastfed every iv hours (Salariya et al 1978).

• Frequent breastfeeds increment a mother's prolactin levels, and high prolactin levels are needed to establish an adequate milk supply.In a U.S. study, breastfeeding frequency of almost 10 times a twenty-four hours (range: seven-13 times a solar day) was associated with sufficient milk (de Carvalo et al 1982).

• Colostrum, the milk produced during the first few days postpartum, is lower in fat and calories than is more mature milk. It is besides produced in smaller amounts. A higher-frequency newborn feeding schedule helps babies compensate for the lower caloric density of their milk.

• Newborns are more than likely to thrive when they are fed approximately viii-12 times every 24 hours.Newborns fed this often first weeks of life tend to show greater weight gain at 15 days (De Carvalho et al 1983) and six weeks (Casiday et al 2004) postpartum.

Then much for the frequency of feedings. Why is information technology also important to feed a newborn "on demand," i.e., according to a schedule determined by the newborn'southward cues of hunger?

• Newborns differ in sucking strength, and this affects how speedily they empty a breast or canteen(e.yard., Pollitt et al 1978). As a result, some babies require longer feeding bouts than others. This is especially true for the lower birth weight baby and the premature infant–both of whom may lack the strength to suck effectively (Found of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences 1991).

• Newborns vary profoundly in the amount of milk (or formula) they consume during a single feed (east.grand., Pollitt et al 1978). As a result, some babies crave more frequent feedings to achieve the same daily caloric intake. A demand-style newborn feeding schedule permits babies to adjust to their individual circumstances.

• Developed-led, scheduled feedings have been linked with poorer, long-term academic outcomes.  Researchers tracking more than x,000 children from infancy have found that babies fed on a schedule at 4 weeks of age had lower cerebral and academic scores in later years (Iacovou and Sevilla 2013).

But what virtually overfeeding? Won't babies consume too much if we let them feed as long as they want?

The curt reply is no.

Studies suggest that overfeeding isn't a problem for breastfed infants.

In fact, breastfed infants tend to develop a improve ability to self-regulate nutrient intake (Lin et al 2010).

Moreover, babies consume much less than is potentially on offer. Between days 6-10 postpartum, breastfeeding mothers are capable of producing an average of 1200 g of milk per day. Simply their babies drinkable far less than this–only 500-700 g/twenty-four hours (Casey et al., 1986; Saint et al., 1984).

And overfeeding among canteen-fed newborns? That appears to depend on whether or not caregivers encourage infants to empty their bottles.

When we push infants to cease a canteen, nosotros may be teaching them to override their own, internal sensations of satiety — training them to continue feeding even after their hunger subsides.

And so it's important to pay attending to your baby's interest, and stop feeding when your baby indicates he or she is no longer hungry.

Common signs for babies under the age of 4 months include waving the arms; turning the head or body away from the canteen; spitting out formula; making negative facial expressions; falling comatose; and pushing away the bottle (Ventura et al 2015).

A good rule of thumb is to finish feeding after the babe has refused the bottle three times in a row (Ventura and Menella 2017).

Birthday, this  sort of evidence has led the Globe Health Organization (WHO) to  denounce the adult-imposed, regimented newborn feeding schedule as "conspicuously harmful or ineffective" (WHO 1998).

And the American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to feed newborns "whenever they bear witness signs of hunger," or approximately 8-12 times every 24-hours (Work Group on Breastfeeding 1997).

Going overboard: Waking exhausted mothers who are recovering from childbirth?

Some maternity wards have a policy of waking mothers to breastfeed once every three hours. Considering mothers are subjected to other interruptions as well — past people performing medical tests, hospital administrative duties, and janitorial tasks — this can leave mothers with very little time to sleep before they are awakened by yet some other visitor.

Given the concrete stress and sleeplessness associated with childbirth–and the risks that sleeplessness pose for the development of postpartum depression (Okun 2016)–is such a policy justified?

I've seen no prove for it, and it's certainly not "natural," not if by that you hateful "consistent with what humans do in the absence of hospital intendance."

For example, contemporary hunter-gatherers–whose lifeways most closely resemble those of our ancestors–nurse their babies ii-4 times an hour (Konner 2006). Just fifty-fifty they recognize the needs of mothers who have only given birth.

The common pattern in hunter-gatherer societies is to let mothers to recuperate for the start 24 hours. If the baby is hungry and the mother is asleep, somebody else nurses the baby.

Are there lessons here for u.s.a.? I think then.

Yep, early initiation of breastfeeding is important for success. Yes, mothers need to nurse oftentimes to stimulate production of mature milk, and ensure acceptable milk supply.

But I can observe no testify that families suffer when exhausted mothers are allowed at least ane 4-hr stretch of postpartum recovery sleep.

In a survey comparison the perceptions of new mothers and maternity ward staff, this was the one area in which staff seemed out of touch with mothers' needs:  Staff underestimated how of import it was for recovering mothers to receive help with nighttime child intendance (Valbø et al 2011).

Summing upward: Recommendations for a flexible, infant-led newborn feeding schedule

Although feeding practices vary worldwide, the international medical establishment is in general agreement. These recommendations are endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO 1998), La Leche League, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (Piece of work Group on Breastfeeding 1997):

Reject an adult-imposed newborn feeding schedule that denies your infant frequent opportunities to feed

Every bit noted higher up, newborns flourish when they are fed approximately viii-12 times a day.

Feed when baby when he or she shows early on signs of hunger

Each newborn is different. Some may feel hungry every thirty minutes. Others may be fine with much longer intervals between feedings. Exist sensitive to your infant'south hunger cues (Shloim et al 2017). These include

• Rooting (searching for a chest)
• Mitt-sucking and hand-to-oral cavity movements
• Increased alertness or restlessness

Don't await for your newborn to weep. Crying is a late sign of hunger, and in one case a newborn begins crying it may have time for him to settle downwardly and feed.

Don't restrict time at the breast (or canteen)

This may foreclose your baby from taking in enough calories. If you're breastfeeding, a strictly-timed newborn feeding schedule may as well deprive your babe of high-fat hind milk. Read more opens in a new windowhither.

Don't try to encourage a baby to cease a bottle

As noted in a higher place, that may only teach your babe bad habits. If your baby rejects the bottle iii times in a row, that's a sign that you should stop trying to feed (Ventura and Menella 2017).

Sleep or feed?

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to awaken sleeping newborns if they oasis't fed for four hours or more. Just the AAP offers no evidence in favor of this thought, and it'southward not clear to me if any such show exists.

Watch the diaper count

Past the quaternary or fifth day postpartum, newborns should urinate at to the lowest degree vi wet diapers a day. Urine should exist articulate or pale xanthous. If your newborn is urinating less frequently–or is producing urine that is dark xanthous or orangish–your infant is probably not getting enough milk. Effort increasing the frequency of feedings, and consult your pediatrician.

Watch your baby'south weight (and don't panic)

Newborns lose weight after commitment, and breastfed babies lose more than weight than do canteen-fed babies (Martens and Romphf 2007). This isn't surprising, since new mothers produce very little milk in the first few days after nativity. In one written report of American breastfed newborns, more than half the babies lost at to the lowest degree 5% of their birth weight in the first three days postpartum (Dewey et al 2003).

But physicians say that weight loss should stop by around 5 days of historic period. By one to ii weeks, most newborns have regained their birth weights. Again, check with your pediatrician to make sure that your babe's weight gains are on target.

For more details, download the American Academy of Pediatrics' paper on opens in a new windowbreastfeeding and the newborn feeding schedule.

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References: The newborn feeding schedule

Nutrition during lactation (1991) is an excellent resource for parents who desire detailed information about the newborn feeding schedule and other breastfeeding bug. It is available online. For more information regarding the newborn feeding schedule, see these publications (cited in the commodity above):

American Academy of Pediatrics. 1997. Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics 100 (6): 1035-1039.

Casiday RE, Wright Cm, Panter-Brick C, and Parkinson KN. 2004. Do early babe feeding patterns relate to chest-feeding continuation and weight gain? Data from a longitudinal cohort report. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58(9): 1290-1296.

Casey CE, M.R. Neifert MR, Seacat JM, and Neville MC. 1986. Nutrient intake by breastfed infants during the first five days subsequently nascency. Am. J. Dis. Kid. 140:933-936.

de Carvalho Yard., Robertson Due south, Merkatz R, and Klaus Chiliad. 1982. Milk intake and frequency of feeding in breastfed infants. Early Hum. Dev. 7:155-163.

Dewey KG, Nommsen-Rivers LA, Heinig MJ, and Cohen RJ. 2003. Risk Factors for Suboptimal Baby Breastfeeding Beliefs, Delayed Onset of Lactation, and Backlog Neonatal Weight Loss. Pediatrics 112: 607-619.

Fildes VA. Breasts, bottles and babies. 1986. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Freeman V, van't Hof M, and Haschke F. 2000. Patterns of milk and food intake in infants from birth to age 36 months: the Euro-growth study. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 31 Suppl ane:S76-85.

Huffman SL et al. 1987. Suckling Patterns and Mail service-partum Amenorrhea in Bangladesh. Journal of Biosocial Science, xix:171

Iacovou M and Sevilla A. 2013. Infant feeding: the furnishings of scheduled vs. on-demand feeding on mothers' wellbeing and children's cerebral development. Eur J Public Health. 23(1):13-9.

Institute of Medicine, National University of Sciences. 1991. Nutrition during lactation. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Kaucher G, East.Z. Moyer EZ, Richards AJ, Williams HH, Wertz AL, and Macy IG. 1945. Homo milk studies. XX. The diet of lactating women and the collection and training of food and human milk for analysis. Am. J. Dis. Child. 70:142-147.

Konner Thousand. 2005. Hunter-gatherer infancy and childhood: The !Kung and others. In: Hunter-gatherer childhoods: Evolutionary, developmental and cultural perpectives. BS Hewlett and ME Lamb (eds). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

Li R, Fein SB, Grummer-Strawn LM. 2010. Do infants fed from bottles lack self-regulation of milk intake compared with direct breastfed infants? Pediatrics. 125(half dozen):e1386-93.

Maisels MJ, Vain North, Acquavita AM, de Blanco NV, Cohen A and DiGregorio, J. 1994. The Event of Chest-Feeding Frequency on Serum Bilirubin Levels. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 170(three):880-883.

Manz F, van't Hof MA, and Haschke F. 1999. The mother-infant relationship: Who controls breastfeeding? Lancet 353: 1152.

Martens PJ and Romphf L. 2007. Factors associated with newborn in-infirmary weight loss: comparisons by feeding method, demographics, and birthing procedures. J Hum Lact.23(3):233-41, quiz 242-5.

Okechukwu and Okolo 2006. Exclusive breastfeeding frequency during the first 7 days of life in term neonates. Nigerian Postgraduate Medical Journal 13(4): 309-312.

Okun ML. 2016. Disturbed Slumber and Postpartum Low. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 18(7):66.

Pollitt E, Gilmore M, and Valcarcel M. 1978. The stability of sucking behavior and its human relationship to intake during the first month of life. Babe Behav. Dev. 1:347-357.

Saint 50, Smith Yard, and Hartmann PE. 1984. The yield and nutrient content of colostrum and milk of women giving nascence to 1 month postal service-partum. Br. J. Nutr. 52:87-95.

Salariya EM, Easton PM and Cater JI. 1978. Elapsing of breastfeeding after early inititation of frequent feeding. Lancet 2 (8100): 1141-1143.

Shloim Northward, Vereijken CMJL, Blundell P, Hetherington MM. 2017. Looking for cues – babe advice of hunger and satiation during milk feeding. Ambition 108:74-82.

Valbø A, Iversen HH, Kristoffersen M. 2011. Postpartum care: evaluation and experience among care providers and intendance receivers. J Midwifery Womens Health. 56(4):332-9.

Ventura AK, Inamdar LB, Mennella JA. 2015. Consistency in infants' behavioural signalling of satiation during bottle-feeding. Pediatr Obes. 10(3):180-vii.

Ventura AK, Mennella JA. 2017. An Experimental Approach to Study Individual Differences in Infants' Intake and Satiation Behaviors during Bottle-Feeding. Child Obes. 13(one):44-52.

Whitehead RG, Rowland MGM, Hutton MA, Prentice AM, Muller EM, and Paul AA. 1978. Factors Influencing Lactation Operation in Rural Gambian Mothers. Lancet ii: 178 – 181.

The World Wellness System, 1998. Postpartum care for female parent and newborn: study of a technical working group.

Worthman CM and Melby Thou. 2002. Toward a comparative developmental ecology of man sleep. In: Adolescent Sleep Patterns: Biological, Social, and Psychological Influences, Chiliad.A. Carskadon (ed). New York: Cambridge Academy Press, pp. 69-117.

Yamauchi Y and Yamauchi I. 1990. Breast-feeding frequency during the first 24 hours subsequently nascency in full-term neonates. Pediatrics 86: 171-175.

Content of "The newborn feeding schedule" last modified 9/2017

Image credits for "The newborn feeding schedule"

Image of father bottle-feeding newborn past opens in a new windowRyan Grimm/flickr

Image of mother canteen-feeding newborn by opens in a new windowJoshua Shinavier/ flickr

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