I have very little clinical hands-on experience of new babies in the first day or so after birth, but I do know what mothers tell me about their hospital experiences, and the consequences for their bf (which they call me and people like me to discuss). A lot of intervention in those early hours - in the UK it's likely to be nipple shields, EBM or formula in bottle or cup, and many fruitless attempts to get the baby on - *can lead in itself to problems*. I agree with the posts that suggest that trying to encourage bf when the baby is wanting to sleep (and may be unable to wake because of labour meds still in his system) can be counter- productive. Why not lots of skin-to-skin, bedding-in where possible, certainly rooming-in (away with those newborn nurseries!) , support and encouragement and patience? Obviously, while being patient, the baby is observed for any clinical signs of dehydration, low blood sugar or anything else. The routine checking of blood sugars we know is perilous to bf - the discussion recently on the list has highlighted a) the stix are innacurate b) there's no consensus about what's acceptable anyway - so what's being looked for? Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK