Calpol

[LadySweet]

Hello

My baby was born at 34 weeks, he is now 5 months and teething. My husband has been saying I should be giving him Calpol as he seemed to be in some discomfort and thought that would settle him a bit as ashton & parsons nor calgel seemed to be helping.

I read the instruction leaflet in the calpol box and it said that babies born before 37 weeks shouldnt be given Calpol. Does that mean that he should never be given Calpol or that babies up to 37 weeks shouldnt be given any?

Hi there, my dd was 13 weeks prem and I had the same confusion. The reason the leaflets say not to give calpol is that the standard dose is based on a minimum weight. A premature or low birth weight baby may not yet have reached that weight and so the manufacturers are just trying to ensure you don't give an accidental overdose. So it depends on your ds's current weight - if he is a decent weight for his corrected age then it's probably not an issue. If he is little, then check the dose with your GP.

Ahh great, thanks for replying lizzytee. He was weighed 2 weeks ago and was 14lb 2oz which the health visitor said was above average taking into account his prematurity, so I should be ok to give him the mimimum dose if he needs

Agree with Lizzy - it is not about the gestation - it is about the weight....and babies born before 37wks tend to be a "different weight" to peers of the same age.

If you know his current weight look in your red book and see what age an average child (on teh 50% line) would be that weighs the same and give him the dose for a child of that age.

Thanks Antlers, will do that

Am about to get a severe case of "I told you so" from my husband now after I told him that ds would never be able to have calpol as he was born before 37 weeks

Divide the dose by the weight and times by your DS's weight. That's what the NN-MW did when I asked for a dose.