We expect babies to pass meconium and in the first 24 hours.
If they don't, then we start watching them a bit more closely for signs of
ill health.  Barring such signs, we keep waiting and the stragglers almost
always come through sooner or later, usually early on in the second 24
hours.  We allow for the possibility that the first voiding of urine may
have been missed at birth, because how do you identify 10-15 ml of newborn
urine in all the other flooding going on?
In the presence of any signs of abnormality, we refer to the pediatrician,
and then it becomes their problem, very neat!  If pathology is ruled out, we
just keep waiting.  Hasn't failed yet.

Just for the record: not feeding, or not showing any interest in feeding in
the second day would not support continuing 'expectant management' of a baby
who had not peed or pooed.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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