Some newborn girls may have a little bit of blood in their nappy – called pseudo menstruation – because of some hormonal changes. This is nothing to be concerned about and it doesn’t last long but talk to your midwife or doctor if you are worried.

Sometimes newborn babies will produce an orange or pink deposit in their nappy when they wee.

These are likely to be urate crystals, sometimes doctors call this “brick stain.” It can be very worrying to find this in your baby’s nappy as it can look like blood.

They’re most common in newborns, especially if the baby is breastfeeding and you haven’t established your milk supply yet. They are more likely when a baby is dehydrated as the urine becomes very concentrated. We don’t expect to see urate crystals in a baby’s nappy after about day 3-4 once the milk has started to change from colostrum into the next stage of milk.

If you find urate crystals, check with to your baby’s doctor or your midwife. Your doctor or midwife can look for signs of dehydration such as decreased saliva, dry lips, dry nappy for several hours and lethargy. They may ask you how feeding and your baby’s weight gain is going and check that your baby is latching on properly, emptying your breast and stimulating your milk supply.

If your baby isn’t dehydrated, urate crystals are no cause for concern in the very early days.