Neonatal hypoglycemia is low blood sugar (glucose) in the first few days after birth.

Babies need sugar (glucose) for energy. Most of that glucose is used by the brain.

The developing baby gets glucose from the mother through the placenta. After birth, the baby gets glucose by producing it in the liver and from food.

Glucose levels can drop if:

• There is too much insulin in the blood (hyperinsulinism). Insulin is a hormone that pulls glucose from the blood into the cells to be used for energy.
• There is not enough glycogen, the form in which glucose is stored in the body.
• The baby is not producing enough glucose.
• The baby’s body is using more glucose than is being produced.

Neonatal hypoglycemia occurs when the newborn’s glucose level is below the level considered acceptable for the baby's age.

Hypoglycemia is the most common metabolic problem in newborns. It occurs in approximately 1 - 3 out of every 1,000 births.

Infants with the following risk factors are at high risk for neonatal hypoglycemia:

• Blood infection (sepsis)
• Endocrine disorders, such as low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism)
• Inborn errors of metabolism
• Intrauterine growth restriction
• Lack of oxygen shortly after birth
• Large for gestational age
• Mother with diabetes
• Mother with chorioamnionitis or infection around the time of the baby's birth
• Premature birth
• Small for gestational age