Help please - worried about bright red newborn

[Worryingaboutbaby]

Our 2/3 day old is beautiful but bright red! We noticed it on day 1 before discharge but looking at photos it wasn't obvious on the day/evening of day 0.

She just looks very dark and "ruddy" all over, not just when crying and it's not improving (maybe slightly worsening but I don't think so). Pointed it out to midwives and they said as long as not yellow it's fine and she's a great colour but I'm just a little bit concerned there's another reason.

She's normal birth weight, feeding really well, alert when disturbed but generally very settled, plenty of wet and dry nppies, average birth weight. I've had no complications in pregnancy nor similar

Just a bit worried it's an indicator of polycythemia or hyperviscodity as it's really noticeable and I think unusual. Might call midwife team in the morning and ask again but would welcome experiences please!

*now

The red twin. Not sure how well it shows but after a v poorly first born, i was super paranoid. 3 days in hospital and drs only ever mentioned it in a good way. He's 11 months now and pink

@Grimbot

Photos of my son at 2 and 10 days old. Very red as you can see. It didn’t last and he’s a perfectly normal colour bow l

I say this will full respect but, he looks like a whopper 🥰🥺🥺🥰

Thank you for all these replies! Called postnatal team and went back in earlier. They agreed she is very red and probably polycythemic but were very reassuring that all seems to be well as she is alert and feeding so well with plenty of nappies etc.

They did a blood test for bilirubin levels (jaundice) and were really happy that she's good on that front and said possibly she got quite a lot of blood at birth from delayed cord clamping on MLU.

We're back in a couple of days for newborn heel prick test and if I'm still worried then I think I will ask to see a paediatrician but I was happy today the midwife team recognised what I was talking about but were happy with everything else.

I think the treatment for polycythemia is very conservative anyway especially for a baby not showing any adverse signs so hopefully if it turns out to be for an unconcerning reason like the cord clamping it should resolve on its own and no need for worry but I must admit I will be pleased when the colour looks a bit more normal (even though she's beautiful!)

She is more red I would say than the photos posted above.

We are very lucky but our experience of labour and postnatal care here has been absolutely brilliant, I cannot fault the hospital or community midwives and feel very supported - possibly even more than with my first pre Covid though they were great then too

@SleepingStandingUp you’re right, he was 9lb!

Glad to hear the postnatal team are looking into it OP, sounds like you’re getting excellent care.

[quote Grimbot]@SleepingStandingUp you’re right, he was 9lb!

Glad to hear the postnatal team are looking into it OP, sounds like you’re getting excellent care.[/quote]
I'd have guessed 10 🤣 he's bloody gorgeous

The photo i put on, he was 7lb 13.

If you are concerned then you should contact your midwife.

Did you have proper delayed cord clamping (waiting until it had stopped pulsating- normally about 15-20mins)? If so that could explain it.

Ds1 was a C-section with "delayed clamping" of about 90 seconds and was a "normal" colour. Ds2 was delayed cord clamping until the cord stopped pulsating and I remember asking at the time about his colour because I was shocked at how red he was. My midwife explained that very few babies get full transfer of the placental blood and so we're now used to seeing pale babies.

However if you are concerned then you should get it checked.

@Worryingaboutbaby - i know this is a long shot since it's been a while since you've posted your question but did you figure out what was causing the redness? My DS has the same ruddy colour you wrote about. would love to hear your experience!

maybe attatch a photo so we can judge? a lot of babies look the same if youre worried about privacy

I’m a neonatal nurse. She looks slightly jaundiced and mildly polycythemic. Babies are born with a lot of red blood cells, plus delayed cord clamping often has this effect. I’d recomend you ask you midwife to check for jaundice in case she needs treatment. In the mean time, keep an eye on her feeding make sure she feeding frequently to help flush out the jaundice.

Oh dear… just noticed the date

Hi,
after 5 years of trying and ivf we have a lovely girl born on 22nd September.
like you mentioned she looks very pink, especially in her cheeks.

just want to to check what happened to your little one. We are very worried to see if this will go away

thanks in advance

@Grimbot what a gorgeous baby! How kind of you to post pictures to help the OP. Not sure why I’m posting this, I just thought you seem lovely.

Hi, I’m sure the redness has gone away now but just to add that my dd was very ruddy and lots of people commented on how dark/ruddy she was. She’s now almost 11 months and her colour has evened out and she’s a very normal colour. I’m south Asian so she has tan complexion but on the lighter side, if this helps anyone worrying about redness.