Blood glucose profile of exclusively breastfed healthy newborns in the first 24 H of life at Obio Cottage Hospital, Rivers State

Background: Hypoglycemia is common among healthy babies in the hours following delivery, as part of their necessary adjustments needed to survive outside the uterus. Although this condition has been proven to be temporary and remits spontaneously, the use of prelacteal feeds is still common due to the false impression of low blood glucose levels in newborns who are thought to have not been breastfed adequately. Objective: The objectives were to proffer a profile of blood glucose levels for healthy newborns in the first 24 h of life and to document signs of hypoglycemia among newborns with low blood glucose levels. Materials and Methods: This was a longitudinal study conducted over 6 weeks among 240 exclusively breastfed, healthy newborns delivered at Obio Cottage Hospital. The Finetest glucometer was used to measure blood glucose at the bedside at birth, three, 12, and 24 h. Results: The newborns comprised 137 (57.1%) males and 103 (42.9%) females. One hundred and ninety (79.2%) babies were born by spontaneous vertex delivery (SVD) and 50 (20.8%) by elective cesarean section. One (0.4%) newborn, delivered by SVD had asymptomatic hypoglycemia with a blood glucose level of 2.1 mmol/L at 3 h of life. A repeat random blood glucose testing done after an additional feed was 3.5 mmol/L and remained normal throughout the study. The mean blood glucose profile for the study population were 4.48 ± 1.09, 3.68 ± 0.65, 3.71 ± 0.55, and 4.09 ± 0.51 mmol/L at birth, 3, 12, and 24 h of life, respectively. Conclusion: Healthy newborns have normal blood glucose profiles in the first 24 h of life.