Editing Maternal and Newborn Nursing (section)

=== Hypoglycemia ===

Institutional thresholds vary, but blood glucose below about 40 to 45 mg/dL in the first hours is commonly used as the treatment trigger. At-risk infants include those who are '''large for gestational age, small for gestational age, preterm or late preterm, infants of diabetic mothers, and any infant with cold stress, sepsis, or asphyxia'''. '''Signs are nonspecific and easy to miss: jitteriness or tremors, poor feeding, lethargy, hypotonia, weak or high-pitched cry, temperature instability, apnea, cyanosis, and seizures.''' Management for an asymptomatic at-risk infant is usually early feeding and a repeat glucose; symptomatic or very low values require IV dextrose. '''Jitteriness in a newborn is checked with a glucose level, not reassured away.'''