What you feed your baby is very important in shaping its health and growth. Your baby’s food must contain all the nutrients necessary for its wellbeing. The best child specialist feels that one of the most important nutrients that your baby must get in abundance is calcium.
What is calcium deficiency?
The shortage of calcium in your child’s diet, leading to shortage of calcium in his body. This is called as calcium deficiency. Calcium deficiency is called as hypocalcemia.
Why is calcium so important?
Calcium is among the most important elements in our body. It helps in
- Muscle functioning
- Development of bones and maintenance of bone mass.
- Proper functioning of the nervous system and heart.
- The first year sees the baby’s body mass increase and weight gain. There is a rapid growth of the body. This is all the result of calcium.
Causes of calcium deficiency –
- Low oxygen availability during childbirth.
- Certain medications.
- Diabetic mother can also lead to lower levels of calcium in the baby’s body.
- Feeding formula milk or cow milk that is rich in phosphorous.
- Vitamin D deficiencies can also reduce the calcium levels in the baby. This is because vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the body.
- If the mother is vitamin D deficient, the baby can become hypocalcemia.
- DiGeorge Syndrome (DGS), a rare defect in chromosome 22 of 23.
- Congenital hypothyroidism is also a reason for calcium deficiency.
- Premature babies also have hypocalcemia issues.
These are some of the reasons listed by baby hospital in Chandigarh.
What are the symptoms of calcium deficiency in babies?
- Insomnia
- Jitteriness
- Tremors
- Muscle Cramps
- Twitchiness
- Jerking movements of limbs
- Seizures
- Lowered heart rate
- Convulsions
- Low blood pressure
- Tongue-thrusting
- Tongue and lip twitching
- Eye fluttering
These are the symptoms listed by child specialist in Chandigarh.
What is the treatment for calcium deficiency in babies?
- Include calcium in the baby’s diet.
- Breastfeeding is a good idea. If not possible, opt for humanized milk formula.
- Expose the baby to sunlight. This will boost Vitamin D levels in the body and in turn increase calcium absorption.
- If the baby has congenital asymptomatic hypocalcemia, as per the suggestion of pediatrician in Chandigarh, you can use special calcium formula-based milk supplements.
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