>Hi all,
>
>I am a peer counselor and had two moms back to back with a similar 
>issue this morning.  Both reported a lack of regular bowel movement 
>in less-than-10-day-old newborns.  One baby wasn't having a daily 
>bowel movement, and the other was having 1-2 blow out diapers a day. 
>Neither baby is back to birth weight yet but they are close.


I think the 'thing' with bowel movements is that they are, as you 
say, *part* of the picture.

The second baby would not be a concern, really, despite it being 
fairly unusual. I would wonder if there is more than one 'episode' in 
the nappy, so it looks like he is passing 1-2 a day but it could be 
more, especially as there is a lot of it :)

The first baby is more of a concern, so you'd be looking at other 
parts of the picture. Is the baby gaining weight (close to being back 
to birthweight is good,  but it would be better to have a clearer 
history ie has this baby stopped losing weight by day 4-5....probably 
so). Is he feeding enthusiastically day and night, many times, not 
needing to be woken or encouraged to stay awake, and clearly 
transferring milk? Is he being fed responsively? Is the mother 
comfortable and pain free?  Is he peeing ok? Has be passed meconium 
in the earlier days and did it start to change colour?

If all those boxes are ticked, then in my experience all is 
well....but I would want to be sure the baby *is* gaining weight ok, 
that weights had been taken accurately,  and I would also want to be 
sure I or someone I trusted (here, this would be the community 
midwife) was *seeing* him as well, especially if I wasn't seeing him.

Hope this helps.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK

-- 
http://www.heatherwelford.co.uk

http://heatherwelford.posterous.com

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