my daughter will turn 4 months old on 10th of this month. She was weighing 5.9 kgs on check up which was done 15 days back i.e when she was 3&1/2 months old. According to doctor she is underweight and the doctor has suggested Tonoferon to her ? will this help her ? I have been giving her Tonoferon since last 10 days but i havent seen any change in her weight also her appetite has not increased . Please suggest if Tonoferon is ok or not?
Hi, I am not sure whether your doctor has noticed anything abnormal (like pallor indicating anemia) apart from weight. In my opinion, 5.9 kg at 4 months is quite good (>90% of expected weight at this age). We call it under weight when weight is below 80-85% of expected, although we need to consider birth weight also. Tonoferon contains iron supplements, used to prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia(anemia can cause poor appetite and inadequate weight gain). If I feel my patients are anemic, I used to order for a blood count and peripheral smear, to see hemoglobin level before starting iron supplements. You can discuss with your doctor. For your baby, present weight is well and fine-just give him frequent breastfeeds. We can monitor weight gain in coming months-usually they gain around 400g / month. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. 