Causes, symptoms and treatment of child's hypotrophy

The case of child's hypotrophy is unlikely to be considered rare today. This condition is accompanied by chronic eating disorders, in which the weight of the baby lags behind the norm by more than 10%. Hypotrophy can be both intrauterine, and develop after the birth of the child. So what are the causes and symptoms of this pathology?

The causes of intrauterine malnutrition in a child

In some cases, the disruption of normal nutrition appears even during fetal development . Such a child is born with already noticeable symptoms - it weighs much less than normal. Sick children are frail with a poorly developed fat layer and scaly skin.

First of all, it should be noted that the maternal nutrition plays an important role in the development of the fetus, taking into consideration not only the quantity but also the quality of the food consumed. The diet of a pregnant woman should be diverse and contain the main groups of nutrients.

On the other hand, hypotrophy may be associated with impaired metabolism in the placenta. Risk factors include insufficient blood circulation, early aging of the placenta, as well as late severe toxicosis. Sometimes the reasons lie in the adverse environmental conditions of the environment. The risk of developing hypotrophy increases with constant stress.

Causes of hypotrophy in a child after birth

Often children are born quite healthy, but in the next few weeks you can see a sharp loss of weight. Quite often, malnutrition in infants is associated with malnutrition. For example, deficiency of subcutaneous tissue is sometimes the result of too low a quantity of breast milk (or artificial mixture). Do not forget that the nursing mother should also eat properly, since the quality and the satiety of the milk depend on this.

On the other hand, the cause of hypotrophy may be a disorder in the digestive system. Intestinal infections, dysbacteriosis and some other diseases are often accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea, which, accordingly, creates a lack of nutrients. Risk factors include damage to the nervous system or cardiac muscle, as well as trauma or congenital anatomical abnormalities in the structure of the oral cavity, as this prevents a child from eating normally.

Symptoms and forms of child hypotrophy

Of course, the signs of this pathology directly depend on its severity.

• Hypotrophy of 1 degree in children is accompanied by a lag in the set of mass by about 10-15%. The amount of fatty subcutaneous fat decreases mainly on the hips and abdomen.
• The second degree of hypotrophy is characterized by a decrease in the layer of subcutaneous fat, not only on the trunk, but also on the limbs. The delay in the mass in this case is 15-30%.
• If the body mass of the baby is more than 30% below normal, the doctors speak of a third, severe degree of hypotrophy. The fatty layer disappears on the trunk, limbs and face.

Treatment of hypotrophy in children

Of course, this condition requires medical care. First of all, the doctor must determine what is the cause of such a nutritional disorder. Drug treatment is necessary in those cases when the hypotrophy is the result of various developmental defects, infectious or chronic diseases. If the reasons lie in insufficient nutrition, then you need to adjust the diet of the baby or lactating mother. But the diet should be made individually by the attending physician - additional amount of food should be introduced gradually. Positively on the condition of the child will affect the additional intake of mineral-vitamin complexes, walking in the fresh air, as well as regular therapeutic gymnastics.