Although I usually don't get to see newborns and their problems (since
mom gives up before she finds out about me), I read the posts on forcing
newborns to the breast, the trauma it causes and how to resolve. Good
thing. Yesterday I got a call from a pI, post c/s, just 4 hrs after they
got home from hospital. I made a house call (which I do only rarely for many
reasons) and mom told me a story that she was "out" from the c/s for 2
days, got the baby for feeding only on day 3, he refused breast so was
"forced" to nurse and he "nursed well", but after that he shut down. The
hospital nurses made sure that he would take a bottle and released them.
Sigh. They were d/c at 12:30, she called me at 4:30 when he hadn't
wakened. I interviewed the parents until the baby started showing signs
of waking, then we tried putting him to breast. Total, but total
shutdown. It was amazing. After an hour's efforts, it was 6 hours since
this 4 day old completely apathetic newborn had eaten, and I told dad to
make a bottle. Mom gave the bottle, and I was relieved to see him take
50-60 ml. He voided a little. Mom succeeded in expressing a little opaque
fluid from both breasts with a hand syringe-type pump.
Baby's skin color was like very pale carrot, the parents insisted that he
was negative for hyperbili, and that he was that color because he was a
redhead. *I* had redheaded babies, and *I* didn't like this one's color, and
his apathy disturbed me a lot. I strongly suggested taking him to the
pediatrician, and soon. Since he did eat and void, I didn't think that
the ER was called for, or did I make a wrong call? This morning, the mom
reported that he was perkier and wakeful (even cried, halleluya!) in the
evening, night and morning. He took formula and EBM. Parents and I
discussed finger feeding, SNS, an electric pump, etc. Meanwhile, I told mom
NOT to put Little Red on the breast for the meantime. I can't get over that
shutdown! Thank you, Lactnet, for preparing me so I could help this
family. Judy K. in Beer Sheva, Israel