Breastfeeding, dehydration, and shorter maternity stays.

Over a five-month period eight breastfed infants required readmission to Wesley Long Community Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina, within 48 hours of discharge from the newborn nursery. The primary diagnoses upon readmission included hyperbilirubinemia and suspected sepsis. At discharge from the intensive care nursery, mild dehydration secondary to inadequate breastfeeding was deemed a significant factor in precipitating the need for readmission. This increase in readmissions represented a significant change from the past year. An intensive review of each initial hospital stay was conducted to attempt to identify causative factors and to develop a profile of infants who might be at risk for readmission in the future.