What is meant by 'excessive' bleeding? It is hard to quantify.

I have divided the frenulum on several hundred babies, lost count of the
exact number. In all except 3 there were only a few drops of blood. The
other 3 bled for several minutes. They needed pressure with my finger on
a gauze swab under the tongue. The babies hated this, as soon as I eased
up the pressure to check for bleeding they stopped crying, but when I
started the pressure again, they all started crying again, and I don't
blame them. All of them were hungry and wanted their lunch!

The time of bleeding seemed to go on and on with these 3.  However I
think  it probably seemed longer than it was, I never look at the clock.
I am sure that unless the baby has some rare clotting problem, they will
all stop eventually.

I now tell the parents in advance that in a very small number of babies
this may happen and that it is part of the range of normal, just as some
babies do not bleed even one drop.

Regards,
--
Carolyn Westcott RN IBCLC Southampton UK
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