No poo in newborn help!

[Softlysoftly]

Dd2 is a week old today, she passed meconium on Monday and nothing since.

She is jaundice and was losing weight but stabilised weight today. Has plenty of wet nappies.

Midwives just keep saying wait wait and will refer to peads on Tuesday if still no poo but dd is unsettled and her belly is tight and bubbling constantly.

Im worried this isn't normal and I should be pushing to see someone before Tuesday, could this cause damage or just be uncomfortable??

She's breastfed btw

This isn't unusual for a bf newborn. Lots of wet nappies means that she is getting plenty of milk and is hydrated, and if she passed her meconium then her guts are working ok. I had a friend whose baby only pooed once a week, but it was a sight to behold! Leave it until you can access regular services, you don't want to be stressing youse,f out with emergency/ out of hours stuff when she's probably completely fine. If her cord has fallen off you might try rubbing her tummy with a little olive oil gently Ian clockwise motion.

Congrats on your lovely DD - ll this anxiety is completely normal, btw.

My DD2 didn't pass any meconium for 3 days and was still passing it a week after she was born, every baby is different.

How much meconium did she pass? Is she comfortable in herself? Not griping, listless etc...

I think if she is bubbling away in there when it does come you should expect a poomageddon, make sure you have nappies and several changes of clothes with you wherever you are!

You could try helping her along by stimulating her anus, wiping with a wet piece of cotton wool while her knees are brought to her chest might help. DD1 pooed meconium all over paediatrician's tie when he checked her hips in the hospital in that position. Also pumping her legs in a bicycle motion.

It could be that she has been using all the milk for her weight gain and therefore not making that much waste. Both my DD's were/are breastfed and often went days without pooing.

Please call the MWs tonight (post-natal ward) - your daughter needs to be seen ASAP - no poo is a sign of insufficient milk intake and is most definitely a sign that she needs more milk (or that something else is going on).

I am not saying that to frighten you but so that you get baby seen - if all is well then no harm getting that confirmed but baby does need to be assessed.

How is breastfeeding going? Is she feeding a minimum of 8 times a day (12 or more would be better if she has jaundice)? Have you had a feed assessed from latch on to baby finishing the feed?

agree with truthsweet.

older breastfed babies often go for days without a poo, but in a very little baby it isn't really "normal" and ought to be checked out.

My DS did not poo for 7 days after his first meconium poo, and was also jaundiced. His weight was fine and there was plenty of wee, but midwives told me from about day 4 to express and top up with syringe as well as having my latch checked. Because lack of poo is a sign that not enough calories are going in. If he had gone any longer they were going to refer to paediatrician.

I was told that infrequent poo is fine if that becomes their habit, but should be monitored in the first couple of weeks. When the poo finally did come it was indeed huge. He settled into a poo every 3 days, very different to my other DS who did about 6 a day.

I would ask them whether they thing ebm top up is worth a try and to see a bf advisor.

You need to get her seen by a peadeatric dr asap. My ds2 passed meconium, but then didn't poo. I kept telling the midwives this, but despite him having a distended tummy they kept telling me it was normal for bf babies not to poo everyday. When he was 19 days old a HV told me to go straight to my Gp's (this was on Christmas eve), the GP rushed us straight to hospital where they initially thought ds2 has Herschprungs Disease. He didn't have that, but he did have problems with his bowels. If we had waited much longer the treatment would have been much worse.

Also my ds2 had prolonged jaundice (we were referred back to hospital for that at 12 days old). Turned out it wasn't clearing up because he wasn't excreting it properly because he couldn't poo.

My ds2 is now 3 and fine. Hopefully in your case everything is ok, but you really need to get her checked out

softly - I agree this is not normal and you need to have it checked out.

It's good she has stopped losing weight but this needs to be affirmed again, I think....and it's a real shame midwives are so relaxed about this. No poo in a newborn is always a sign the baby needs to be weighed, feeding needs to be observed to check for milk transfer, and the baby's overall wellbeing needs to be checked out.

Sometimes, all is well - but it is unusual .

It does not cause damage ; the risk is it is a sign that milk is not being effectively transferred from mum to baby, or else not often enough. In a tiny number of cases there is something else going on which needs investigating.

I agree to call tonight for advice on what to do.

If they say it's normal, then ask them to read this: www.nct.org.uk/parenting/whats-your-babys-nappy

Thank you all, I'm going to push this with them today!

Oh and thank you for poomageddon its cheered up a very stressful time!

dd2 didn't pass any poo for 1 week after passing meconium, despite good weight gain
she was admitted to hospital for various tests, but some suppositories got things going. the GP referred us in.

DD was an infrequent pooer - every 3-5 days was normal for her, once the meconium had passed.

Backward bicycling their legs can help get things moving. I was also told that mum drinking orange juice can help but I'm not sure if/how that works. I hope you get it sorted and that you are just lucky to have an infrequent pooer.

To help you destress, try chocolate cake and a glass of wine with the evening feed - works wonders!