08/14/2026
How you labor matters. Having a IV placed has become a standard with hospital births. They are often set to continuously drip while in labor. These fluids don’t just hydrate you, they cross the placenta and also enter your baby. Why is this a big deal? Research suggests that these fluids can actually inflate your baby’s birth weight. They will p*e this fluid out, usually as the first day progresses. So why does that matter if they’re going to p*e it out anyway? Birth weight is the first data point used by healthcare providers to know if baby is feeding efficiently when feeding from the breast, since there are no markers on breast or baby telling us how much they get from feeding
It’s OK for babies to lose weight after birth!! Long standing research shows up to 7-8% of birth weight in the first few days after birth (while drinking the first milk, colostrum) is acceptable, and then once milk transitions they should regain back to birth weight by 10-14 days. We also expect only 1 (2 at the most) p*e diapers on their first day of life. If they are born with excessive fluids, their weight can be inflated and when they p*e this fluid off, the weight loss can be exaggerated. Once a baby loses 10%, supplementation is always recommended as the standard of care to ensure baby is getting the nutrients they need
This can lead to the assumption that baby isn’t feeding well even if they are. It also puts needless pressure for milk supply to “come in” or increase to volumes beyond what the body would typically make at that stage of lactation. Coincidentally, too much fluids can also delay colostrum transitioning to mature milk and increasing in volume as well as cause excessive swelling in the breasts which makes latch more challenging!! This also results in an increased chance of formula supplementation (with or without initiating pumping) which is often associated with a shorter duration of breastfeeding than what was initially intended by the family
How you birth matters. Knowing what happens to your body and baby’s body is so important to help you figure out your journey
📸 Lauren Archer (she/her)
Midwife pictured: the amazing Faith Free
