IBCLC's required to tell Ped's when baby loses more than 10% of birthweight

[mama24-7]

I went to my midwife today for my annual exam and while talking w/ her told her of my intention to become an IBCLC when I was done having babies & and in the throws of raising them. She told me she found out recently at a workshop that because IBCLC's are certified, they are required to inform a baby's pediatrician when the baby has gone more than 10% below birthweight.

This is very disturbing to her becuase she said so many babies in her practice do lose 10% or more and go on to be healthy w/ no problems, including my son born in June. How can it be so abnormal if she sees it all the time?

Also, when she asked the ped's she was in the workshop with where the 7-10% came from, they couldn't answer her.

Thoughts?
Sus

[JamesMama]

I have no clue where that comes from, but when I was leaving the hospital my dr gave me a brown bag with 4 single serving premixed bottles of formula. When I questioned it they said "Well, we just weighed James, and he's lost TEN PERCENT (said with this look of concern on their face) of his weight. So you will probably need to suppliment in case your milk doesn't come in. If he looses anymore weight it could be bad. A few ounces is a lot when you are so small!" Then they sent me on my merry way, no LC #, no nothing...just here's some formula, oh btw if you don't use this your baby will starve. Crap like that. They were put in the 'round file' as soon as we walked in the door. And I vowed I wouldn't be going back to that hospital ever again.

[CarolynnMarilynn]

In Ontario midwives have to consult a paed if a baby loses more than 10% too. I have to say that I rarely see breastfed babies go above 10% weight loss in my practice (mostly 0% to 7% weight loss), unless there are other issues. Large weight losses *can* be normal physiology (and just warrant patience), especially if the mom had lots of iv fluids or an oxytocin induction (baby can have some degree of fluid overload too and may not want to eat for the first day or two), a c-section, epidural or a seperation from the mom. It's a big picture thing, in my mind.

There are other causes of weight loss, and I guess the idea is that IBCLCs and midwives are caring for women and babies in the normal range, and a weight loss of more than 10% can signify something out of normal such as a metabolic disorder, infection, structural problems, severe dehydration, etc and are worthy of a medical check (potentially the LC or MW may normalize a pathological situation). It is frustrating when you know that it is just a feeding issue and it feels like a waste of time for everyone-- but parents can refuse the consult as their right.

As a side note, it is interesting to see the wide variance -- babies who lose nothing but have minimal output and less-than-vigourous feeds, versus the babes who lose quite a bit despite lots of wet and poopy diapers, and good feeding patterns. Some babies come out well equipped to deal with a building milk supply and other babies are STARVING (even without any in utero growth restriction). Interesting. I had one of each in my kids. Sorry to divert...

[Lula's Mom]

So what if you don't have a pediatrician? Who will she report it to? We have never had a regular ped. I did take my newborn in to see a GP a few days after he was born unassisted at home, but only because I thought I might need his word for the birth certificate.

I don't like the idea of my or my baby's personal information being reported to anyone without my consent.

[Storm Bride]

DD lost just over 10% (don't recall the exact amount) and nobody seemed concerned at all. She was a real little wiggler, and I'm convinced that she was just burning too many calories to gain. She always had lots of wet and poopy diapers and all that...she just didn't gain quickly. She was also 10lb+ and one of the nurses said that high weight loss is normal with big babies.

[Belle]

My dd lost about 10-11% of her birth weight. Everybody was really concerned at the hospital. They brought out a pump for me to make sure that I was producing colostrum. The nurses were amazed at how much I was producing. They said "that's not the problem." I didn't have pitocin or even an IV. My milk came in in less than 40 hours.

Two weeks later my dd was back up to her birthweight. My baby's ped asked me why I thought she lost so much weight. I said that colostrum was supposed to have a laxative effect and she pooped about 8 times in her first 24 hours. I guessed that was why she lost so much weight.

The ped said "That sounds reasonable to me too" and said no more about it.

[soccerchic21]

What a lot of people don't tell you is that if you have an IV during labor that that will plump up your baby with fluids. I had an IV with both of my labors and both of my children lost more than 10% of their birthweight. They are also both very healthy.