Q. Is it necessary for a newborn to drink water, or is formula enough? When I had my daughter twenty-five years ago, I gave her Sparkletts water and her formula. My daughter's doctor is telling her that she does not need to give her baby any extra water. I totally disagree.
A. What I think your granddaughter's pediatrician really means is that she doesn't need any 'extra' water. A baby gets should get all the fluids she needs from her formula, or breastmilk if she is breastfeeding. She wouldn't usually need extra water, though.Another situation where you would give an older child extra water would be when they were getting overheated, but that shouldn't be happening to a newborn or infant.
Changing Advice and Opinions
Ideas and opinions over things like this change over the years. I am sure that there are other things that you did for your daughter, who likely turned out just fine, that we don't recommend now. Some of these things are extremely important, like the new recommendations to keep newborns and infants sleeping on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS, and others are less important, like this one about water or some of the stricter guidelines about the order of introducing solid baby foods.When you disagree about something like this, it might help to go along to your granddaughter's well child visits to her pediatrician so that you can discuss things and try to get your point across and to understand her doctor's view.
So When do Babies Need Water?
After they are six months old, infants do begin to need some fluoride, and so that is a good time to introduce some extra water into their diet.But before six months, the average healthy baby doesn't need any extra water.
