Hi All,
Gonneke wrote:

I understand the point of naked weighing to determine exact bodyweight. But
why bother to undress the baby (with all added stress for mom and baby) if
the only purpose is to measure intake? 
   

Jaye here:  I do this because it is appropriate protocol for 95% of the
situations I work with.  I need to know the birth weight, the discharge
weight, any weights taken after discharge and before being seen by me and
the current weight (which I take as the naked weight).  This tells me how
much weight baby lost initially (5%, 10%?? Etc...) and has the baby gained
weight appropriately or not since discharge.  If not - then we have another
situation to correct - to get the baby gaining appropriately.  If baby has
gained well then I know that even if the baby has not been at breast, s/he
IS getting enough milk to gain.  

I would have to say I NEVER do anything other than a naked weight on any
baby I see - even if it is a follow-up visit (where I know the baby has been
gaining well) or a simple weight check.  Clothing can vary drastically in
weight...that can be a BIG problem when you are trying to determine how much
a baby weighs.  I saw a mom last week who told me, "Well, the Dr weighed the
baby and he weighed 8lbs."  But my scale shows the baby only weighs 7'6".  I
ask "Was this a naked weight or with clothes on?" - "With clothes on," says
the parent - the Dr. took a few ounces (estimated) off for the clothes and
said he weighed about 8lbs"  Well, the baby's birth weight was 7'4",
discharge weight was 7"3' and baby is now 2 wks old...we have a problem.
Yes, this actually happened to me last week.  Sigh...

When I have parent's doing pre/post weights to monitor intakes for babies
with issues I do NOT have them do a naked weight every time because that is
not needed.  They do NOT change clothing or diapers before the final weight
is taken.  They are asked to do a naked weight on the baby at least 1 time
per 24 hrs (preferably at the same time each day) to monitor weight gain.

Hope this helps explain some of this for you!  :)

Warmly,
Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

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