Rachel, when I was saying the newborn doesn't feel well after birth, I was
not thinking like an illness.  What I am talking about is the dramatic
transition a newborn's body has to go through.  Now, if you compound this with a
difficult delivery, then the recovery would possibly take longer.
The newborns organs are shifting into taking over functions that they did not
have to perform in utero.  Then there has to be some kind of a headache that
they must feel.  We have all observed the "mucousy" baby and this is normal
but I would liken it to a nauseous feeling.  I absolutely do not feel a newborn
needs to vomit up this mucous to feel better (this is what I hear from nurses
all the time).  This feeling passes and when a baby is taking small amounts of
colostrum they do just fine.
I see what the newborn is going through as similar to the mother in active
labor.  She is not ill but her body has to focus on the uterus so the other
organs need to keep quiet.
Allowing the newborn unlimited access to the mother's breast is the best way
to help them recover.
Ann Perry RN, IBCLC
Boston, MA

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