North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) Practice Exam

True or False: Breastfed babies may gain slightly more than 1 oz per day.

1. True

2. False

3. Depends on the individual

4. Only during the first month

The correct answer is: False

Breastfed babies typically gain about 5 to 7 ounces per week in the first few months of life, which averages to just over 1 ounce per day. While it is common for some babies to gain a bit more than this average during their early growth spurts, the general expectation is that they will not regularly exceed 1 ounce per day as a consistent rate. Thus, stating that breastfed babies may gain slightly more than 1 ounce per day could be misleading, as it doesn’t represent the typical growth observed across the population of breastfed infants. In this context, the assertion of false aligns with the broader statistical expectations for weight gain in breastfed infants. Individual variations do exist, and some babies may gain weight at different rates during growth spurts or if there are variations in feeding frequency and adequacy. However, for the purpose of establishing a standard understanding of infant growth patterns, it is correct to say that typically, breastfed babies will not maintain a consistent weight gain above that threshold.