Advice needed...........much shoud a new born feed????

[yarrow5]

Hi all! A friend of mine has just had a baby this morning. She fed every 3 hours untill dinner time but has had nothing since. She has been given a leaflet that says healthy new born babies don't feed much in the 1st 48 hours. Is this right??? Ds didn't feed at all in the 1st 48 hours and ended up jaundiced & lost 13% of his weight!!!

yarrow, you're right to be concerned. Healthy newborns usually feed little and often if enabled to do so (skin to skin with mum). Sometimes babies do have a long gap esp after a tiring birth, but this is not something to be encouraged. What leaflet is it?

Thanks for replying tiktok. i'm just trying to find out what leaflet it is.

she's been offering feeds but the baby just doesn't seem interested. is there anything else she could try??

As long as she keeps him close, she's doing the right thing. She could hand express colostrum by now, if he really is taking nothing...but the fact he has fed is reassuring.

Thanks, i'll tell her that.