Most healthy full term babies loose somewhere between 5 to 7 percent of their birth weight in the first 3 to 5 days of life and in many cases will begin to gain weight around day 5 to 7 of life. Most healthy FT infants will reach their birth weight somewhere between the 2nd to 3rd week of life. During the first two weeks of life, special attention is focused on the baby’s weight. Directly after birth the infant is weighed and assessed on a daily basis while in the nursery. After discharge, the pediatric healthcare provider will re-weigh the infant as an outpatient at around the 5th to 7 day of life and once again at 2 weeks of age. As a general rule, any loss greater than 10% of birth weight is concerning and requires a full feeding evaluation, as well as consideration for formula supplementation.
The Baby Scale app is a simple app that assists the health care professional in making a fast and accurate calculation of an infant’s day to day weight loss displayed as a percentage of birth weight loss.