Why do some people think that giving baby's water will hurt them?

i have a newborn son. I keep hearing that giving him water, in a bottle, for whatever reason, could hurt him, or even kill him. do you know why those people think that, or if it's even true; and then why, or whynot?

FROM: http://ezinearticles.com/?Too-Much-Water-For-Babies-And-Infants-Is-Dangerous&id=1206361

"For children under 1 year - and especially during the first nine months of baby's life - drinking too much water can be dangerous.

In fact, according to pediatricians, like James P. Keating, MD, medical director of St. Louis Children's Hospital Diagnostic Centre, "Too much water dilutes a baby and normal levels of sodium can lead to convulsions, coma, brain damage and worse even death.

Breast milk or formula provides all babies healthy fluid needed for babies to survive. If a mother feels her baby needs to take water, it should be limited to two or three ounces at a time and should be proposed that after the baby has satisfied his hunger with breastfeeding or formula"

For parents who see their children less than 12 months take swimming lessons, please be cautious of the amount of water that inadvertently baby will swallow. Water intoxication May also occur because of a baby swallowing too much water during bathing so extra caution must be implied!"


Babies have fragile digestive systems. When they drink from a bottle, they ingest a lot of air because they haven't learned how to swallow yet. That's why you have to burp them. I wouldn't feed a baby any liquid from a bottle then immediately lay it down on it's back for that reason.

Water is much thinner than formula so putting water into a formula bottle could possibly choke them also. In all matters of dealing with a newborn, I wouldn't go by what "people" say, get your information from your pediatrician's office.