Oral dextrose gel may cut incidence of neonatal hypoglycaemia

Rubbing dextrose gel inside a newborn baby’s mouth may lower the risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia, a randomised study in PLOS Medicine has found.1

Neonatal hypoglycaemia occurs most frequently in the first 24 hours after birth. It affects as many as 15% of newborn babies and can raise a baby’s risk of brain damage or developmental delay. Babies at the highest risk are born to mothers with diabetes or are delivered preterm or with a small or large …