Life-threatening Hypernatremic Dehydration in a 7-week-old Exclusively Breastfed Infant As a Cause of a Decline in Breastmilk Volume and Parental Language Barriers in a North African Family

Breast-feeding is regarded as the most appropriate source of nutrition for healthy, full-term newborns and infants. Here, we present the case of a full-term, seven week old male infant who was exclusively breast-fed but who developed severe hypernatremic dehydration as a result of declined breast milk volume that was not recognized by the parents. In order to prevent serious therapy-associated side effects due to rapid rehydration, we performed a rehydration regime providing a slow decrease of serum sodium levels by carefully infusing hypertonic saline solution. Following this approach, the patient could be discharged without any noticeable disorder. As the incidence of breast-feeding associated hypernatremic dehydration in the developed countries is increasing, strategies of prevention are discussed.