Hello,
Does anyone know what the sodium level of a healthy term exclusively  breastfed neonate should be?  One of the babies I took care of today had had 3 wet diapers at 48 hours of life.  The neonatal nurse practitioner was concerned and ordered electrolytes.  The sodium was 147 and the repeat was 150 (heelstick, could hemolization be a factor?).  Baby appeared to be transferring well at the breast.  Mother was an experienced breastfeeding mother with no history of lactation problems with other exclusively fed infants.  She hand expressed and pumped 10 to 15 c.c. of colostrums every 2-3 hours which was spoon fed. The nurse practitioner thought she needed more hydration and ordered supplementation with formula for 24 hours.  Are sodium levels expected to be higher at this age?  The numbers seem high to me, (adult norm 135-145) but I am wondering if there are any neonatal specialists that could help me with this.  Baby seemed healthy in all other respects.
Thanks,
Polly Westra RN, IBCLC

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome