- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Houston Babies
blood sugar issues at birth
has anyone had a baby that had sugar issues at birth? I've heard it's more common for bigger babies to have a more significant drop after birth and sometimes that leads to pushing formula if the mom isn't able to BF right away.
My cousin has had four 9+ lb babies and it happened to her last two, but her baby is like seven now, so it could be something that has changed over time.
If you haven't heard of this, or didn't experience it, let me know that as well please as this is part of a greater factor in choosing a hospital.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: blood sugar issues at birth
I delivered at Woman's and did not experience this.
My bff also delivered there and did. Her baby, under 7 lbs, refused to latch at all and did not eat much, if any the first 24 hours. As a result her blood sugars dropped and she had trouble maintaining her temperature. They kept having to observe the baby under a warmer. She was supplemented with formula during this time. BFF became an EPer and the baby hasn't had any problems since that day.
Disclaimer: This is obviously all second hand and I could have some of the facts wrong. I do know they were not worried about the sugars until her temperature dropped too low multiple times and stayed that way. At that point they did some tests and determined it was likely due to the low sugars which was due to the baby not eating and supplemented.
At my hospital with Joshua they did push formula after he had a drop in blood sugar. After I nursed they had me cram a bottle down him. I blame myself because I did not have him latch on right away and I let them take him for the night.
With Gabriel I stuck him on right away and never let him leave. I think that made the difference with his blood sugar.
j+k+m+e | running with needles
It must have been in the first few hours because I remember when they brought him to me they had me report how long he nursed and then how much formula he took. They had me do this at every feeding. They did several sugar tests.
Both at Woman's:
DS1 - born 36w2d at 6 lbs 7 oz, nursed very little just after birth and tested low blood sugar within the first couple of hours, so they asked if they could give him formula... he was obviously early, so I said yes. The next day, they took him to see the pedi when I had just started a feeding, and enough time elapsed from the previous feeding while he was gone to see the pedi and to have the normal hearing tests, etc that they were required to test his blood sugar. It was low, so they gave him a bottle and put him on the warmer without asking me. I was furious and called in the patient advocate and felt that they should have just brought him to me. I was a bit hormonal but also very intent to EBF. In hindsight, I should not have let them take him, even if the pedi had limited time - until that feeding was done. Anyway, the LC was great there, and I did EBF and then nurse him to 18 months - so no long term effects - just made me very careful with DS2.
DS2 - born 37w1d at 7 lbs 5 oz, latched but nursed very little just after birth, tested fine, no issues during our stay and was a champion nurser by the end of the first day - still BF at almost 8 months.
Tracey was a bit under 9, so not huge, but certainly not tiny. We didn't have issues with blood sugar, but we did have issues with body temp. She had to spend quite a bit of time in the warmer, but at least she was right next to us in the room. I was only frustrated for a bit because she was screaming in there a lot of the time. she wanted to nurse constantly and was NOT happy being in the warmer. Finally I just couldn't take it anymore and took her out and nursed her!
Oh how frustrating! I wonder why being against the mother isn't enough warming?
I'm not sure if it was a factor, but I have always had a lower than average body temp. I usually (and did while in the hospital) hover around 97.
Samantha had slightly low sugar levels after she was born... They gave her a bottle in the nursery while I was in recovery to help her out. I threw a little fit, but got over it. lol The nurse apologized after I got really pissy with her and said they were just looking out for her... She was a little rude about it at first, but we 'worked it out.' When they brought her to me to nurse for her next feeding, I couldn't sit up/roll over/move at all to nurse her without getting sick, so she got another bottle from Daddy. That was the biggest factor in my 'getting over it' because I don't think I'd have been able to nurse her anyway. Had I be fine however, I likely would have thrown a big fit!
(if that makes no sense, sorry... pain killers + swollen face from tooth issues = very fuzzy me)
Yep, this was our situation. I had GD early on in the PG (due to PCOS) so they tested Rena's blood sugar several times. I think her blood sugar went too low about 24 hours after I had her. My milk was not coming in and she wasn't getting anything so we had to give her formula (she dropped too much weight and developed jaundice). My milk never came in until a week later and even then I had very low supply. So giving her formula was really a necessity. We delivered at Memorial Hermann med center.
ETA: Rena was 8 lbs 6 oz.
Well, I had a 10lb baby and we had no issues. However, I delivered at Women's and was warned ahead of time by my OB that this was a possibility.
The day before my c/s we discussed what would happen and I asked if I would get to hold Cooper after he was cleaned up. (I knew about the observation time, etc). She said that typically they clean the baby up and after I would get to hold him while being sewn up. The only reason I wouldn get to would be if he had breathing issues (obviously) or his blood sugar dropped. And she mentioned that it was common with bigger babies.
Since I figured he was going to be big, I was prepared not to get to hold him. It was a nice surprise when they brought him over to me. I never really thought twice about it since I feel like if something needs to be done for his health/safety that they need to do it. Fortunately his blood sugar was fine. He ended up being healthy all around.
ETA: my OB said that if his sugar had dropped they would probably give him glucose water. And she also asked if it was ok to give him formula if needed. I said "if he's hungry, feed him!" They did give him formula, but he also ended up being an EBF baby for the first 6 months.