Newborn - 36 hours without poop

[BoonDog82]

Hi everyone,
I’m a first time mum with a 4 day old baby. She was doing really well in terms of nappy changes (2 big meconium ones, 1 green poo) but since then we haven’t had any luck. I am breastfeeding and my milk came yesterday and she’s been feeding regularly for 15-20 mins each time. Also, I even had a bit too much and managed to pump it and let keep it for the future. I called Triage and they told me newborns can go up to 72h without doing a poop, but that’s different to the advice given on a brochure the NHS gave me. I’m really worried... does anyone have any words of advice? Thanks xx

36 hours is nothing don't worry and enjoy your newborn.

15-20 mins per breast plus extra to pump suggests she may not be feeding properly. Has she been checked for tongue tie?

My baby was a poo machine for the first 48 hours then went 5 days before the next one! I was obviously freaking out but the doctors were not at all concerned and just recommended leg bicycling etc, eventually she did a massive one. Assume you’ve got plenty of wet nappies?

Are you getting wet nappies? How is the weight gain? Newborns should poo at least once a day until 6 weeks, after that it’s normal for them to go longer. Can you contact your midwife or hv?

@GrumpyHoonMain they did all the usual checks at the hospital before being discharged... they didn’t mention anything about being tongue tied. She feeds about 8-10 times a day for anything between 10-20mins each time. I only had extra milk last night... haven’t been able to pump more since then.

@PNDventing - now she does have a lot of wet nappies although a few days ago we had a bit of an orange one which after googling it seemed to have been due to dehydration but to be expected in newborns.

@20viona thanks! I really hope that’s the case!!

They don’t usually look for tongue tie proactively unless you have a newborn going without pooing or one who has lost weight. In most areas midwives aren’t used to dealing with baby problems it’s the HV - if you can try and call them for advice

Just a quick update to say that baby is now pooing regularly and she’s feeding well, too. She had only lost a minimal amount of weight since birth and the midwife that came to see us had no concerns at all. Thank you all for your help and advice!

Excellent news. We have a newborn and everything is more angsty now!