Second Night Syndrome: How a Breastfed Baby Develops Complications

Complication of insufficient feeding in exclusively breastfed newborns, like hyperbilirubinemia and hypoglycemia are common. The early signs of those complications are frequent or constant crying and prolonged or unsatisfied nursing (where baby latches and unlatches in response to insufficient milk at the breast). These signs are also called the Second Night Syndrome, which put an infant at risk of brain-threatening complications like hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia and hypernatremia if supplementation is delayed or insufficient. The complications are so common they were capture on the first episode of a reality TV show on TLC called “Rattled.”