Brady's and Caffeine

paradebegone · June 2013

DD is doing so much better with her feeding and she's gaining weight every day. It seems that the only thing keeping her in the hospital now are these darn Brady's. she's had 1 or 2 each day. They haven't even told us about them. They say they're so normal. Until, of course, I ask about when we can take her home then. I asked if we could take her on a monitor. They said they'd prefer that she only have 1 or 2 a week to go home on a monitor. And ideally, they like 7 days without a Brady. She is able to get herself out of them and doesn't need any stimulation. This morning, after I asked, they said that she had 2 last night and 1 this morning do they've ordered an EKG and a sonogram. She'll probably have those done tomorrow. So maybe this is a dumb question but can I start drinking caffeine? I usually had one coffee or tea when I was pregnant. But now, I only drink the lactation tea. Would adding a coffee or tea back into the rotation help her at all?

jbranden12 · June 2013

I have no idea if caffeine in breast milk helps at all, but DD did get caffeine in her iv for the first month of our nicu stay to help prevent bradys.

Brummy14 · June 2013

jbranden12:
I have no idea if caffeine in breast milk helps at all, but DD did get caffeine in her iv for the first month of our nicu stay to help prevent bradys.

This - ours were on caffeine for quite some time. And, FWIW, DD2 had episodes well into week 37 (when they told us they would be all but gone by week 35 or 36 -- which was true for DD1...). They also did a bonus head u/s for her and a full work-up because of it -- it all came back normal -- she just needed more time. Hang in there -- I know it's super frustrating.

paradebegone · June 2013

One of the reasons I hadn't had caffeine since giving birth is because I'm not really able to see the effect it would have on DD, since she is in the hospital. I pump and give them the breast milk but I have no idea when it is actually given to her. But I'm going to go ahead and try this out... maybe after the EKG and sonogram.

DrRx · June 2013

I doubt that adding a caffeinated beverage to your diet will affect her, good or bad, in the NICU while getting your BM. If anything, it might have an effect on decreasing your supply (although unlikely). FWIW, I drank my daily cup of coffee the entire time I pumped while DD was in the NICU.

My daughter came home on caffeine, and apnea monitor, oxygen, and a pulse ox. We continued on the caffeine (we would put it in a little bit of bm/formula) for about 1.5 months after we brought her home.

I hope that the EKG and the sonogram tomorrow give you some answers. Keep us posted.

sigmaurse · June 2013

I don't know if the caffeine thru your breastmilk will help but it won't hurt her. They give caffeine to prevent apnea and brady's and they are normal. This is coming from someone who worked in the NICU and now has a preemie herself. They will go away, just be patient until she is ready. I know you are anxious to get home but you don't want to take her home unless she is ready so don't rush it. Best of luck.

jnsmith85 · June 2013

The caffiene in your baby's ordered daily Caffiene dose in the NICU, Is completely different than the caffeine in coffee/tea/coke. You should talk to your baby's neonatologist if you have questions about it!!