Tap water baby, baby food and advice during pregnancy?

Tap water baby safe? Newborns weigh on average about 3.7 kg at birth and about 7.4 kg at 6 months. With a maximum average daily intake (ADI) of 3.7 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, they should consume a maximum of 13.7 to 27.4 milligrams of nitrate per day. If a baby is bottle-fed, he or she will suck about 150 ml/kg body weight per day. This means that tap water is allowed to contain up to 25 milligrams of nitrate per litre. As a result, tap water in many parts of the Netherlands is not healthy for babies. And certainly not for very small babies.

Water companies are spreading reports that there is nothing wrong with using tap water for babies. Even for adults, drinking tap water is no longer healthy in some major regions of our country. We will use the RIVM studies for 2020 and 2021 to back up our position. So be careful with tap water for baby food and also already in your pregnancy!

Is tap water really safe for baby food?

Nitrogen and phosphorus are substances found in manure that farmers use to make crops grow better. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus can leach into ground and surface water and cause pollution. Nitrates are a form of nitrogen found in soil and water. Your health choice tap water pregnant has a lot to do with this.

Groundwater quality RIVM 5-7-21

From a July 2021 from the RIVM show that average nitrate concentrations have increased in 2019 and 2020. This may be due to the drought in recent years. Due to drought, crops are underdeveloped. They then absorb less nitrogen. Also, excess precipitation led to a thickening of groundwater which could have led to higher nitrate concentrations.

In the south and east of the Sand and Loess region, concentrations rose to 63 milligrams per litre by 2020. This is higher than the European Union standard of 50 milligrams per litre. Throughout the study period (2006-2020), concentrations decreased on average throughout the Sand Region. In the Clay Region, concentrations decreased slightly in 2020 compared to 2019 (37 mg/l in 2020 vs 42 mg/l in 2019).

Conclusion Nitrate report 2020 RIVM

In 2020, RIVM also produced a report on nitrate. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels have fallen sharply over the past 30 years. This has improved the quality of surface water and groundwater. The improved water quality is mainly due to farmers using less and less manure. This reduces excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil.

Unfortunately, water quality in the Netherlands remains sub-standard: In groundwater, the top meter is too high nitrate concentration measured to the EU standard of 50 mg/l at more than half of the farms in the sand and loess region. This also applies to the upper metre of groundwater in more than 30 of around 200 protected groundwater areas. Moreover, a large part of the surface water does not meet the desired quality according to the standards of the Water Framework Directive: phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations are too high there.

Conclusion RIVM 2020 report Tap water not healthy for babies, all > 25 mg and for adults > 50 mg

From 2016, excess phosphorus and nitrogen have been increasing. This is getting worse since 2018 due to dry summers in the Netherlands. Plants and crops grow less well In dry periods, they absorb less phosphorus and nitrogen from the soil. In the soil, less nitrate is broken down and more is washed away to surface water and groundwater. Thus, nitrate concentrations in water in ditches near farms doubled between 2016 and 2019. However, nitrate concentrations in surface water and groundwater were on average lower during this period than four years ago.

According to some water companies, tap water is safe for babies

Yes, tap water is reliable for young and old according to the water company. Dutch tap water meets very strict quality requirements. Vulnerable groups such as infants and the elderly are taken as a starting point. Thus, children can drink tap water and baby food can be prepared with it. Tap water is good for babies' health. You can use safe drinking water from the tap to feed your baby. Do not use tap water to prepare baby food if you still have lead pipes in your home. It is not necessary to use spring water because tap water contains too much calcium. Milk powder contains much more calcium (scale) than in water.

Summary tap water baby, pregnancy and for baby food

Note: In which part of the Netherlands are these waterworks located. Using tap water for baby food or drinking tap water when pregnant are legitimate questions to get the new life off to a good start. In large parts of the Netherlands, it is not wise to drink tap water. Is tap water healthy is not answered positively including by microplastics. And in addition, a tap water filter is necessary due to pesticides and also due to nitrate levels. Purchase a water ioniser with built-in water filter to top  tap water to drink for your baby.