Baby Tracker for DadsHow long can a baby go without feeding before I should call the doctor?
If your baby will not feed, or takes very little, for more than 8 hours, call your pediatrician right away. The AAP gives the 8-hour line for breastfed babies, and the NHS lists a baby who is not feeding among the reasons to get urgent help.
Call your pediatrician right away (UK: your GP or NHS 111) if your baby:
- Will not breastfeed, or takes very little
| Sign | Threshold | Action | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will not breastfeed, or takes very little | More than 8 hours | Call your pediatrician right away | AAP |
| A baby who is not feeding | Not given in hours | Get urgent help (UK) | NHS |
What the sources say
Will not breastfeed or takes very little for more than 8 hours.
is a baby and is not feeding
At 3 AM
Count from the start of the last real feed, not from the last time you offered. A baby who latches for a minute and drifts off, or takes a few sips of a bottle and refuses the rest, is taking very little, and that time counts toward the 8 hours.
A long stretch of sleep is not the same as refusing to feed. The question is whether your baby takes a feed when you offer one. A baby who will not wake to feed, and will not take anything when woken, is who the 8-hour line is about.
Wet diapers tell the other half of the story. If the feeds have dropped off, count the wet diapers too; no wet diaper in 8 hours has a line of its own.
Have these ready: the baby's age in weeks, when the last full feed started and how much it was, what happened each time you offered since, wet diapers in the last 8 hours, any fever, and whether the baby is as alert as usual.
This is the call the log was made for. The start time of every feed, with the amount, is exactly the record that answers how long it has been.
Where the sources differ
The AAP's 8 hours is written for breastfed babies, on its breastfeeding symptom page. This page applies it to bottle-fed babies too, as the app does, because the NHS wording, not feeding, makes no distinction, and because the earlier action wins where the sources differ.
You know your baby best. If you think something is seriously wrong, get help now.
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you're worried, call your pediatrician.
Related questions
Baby Tracker for Dads shows the time since the last feed on its first screen and keeps this line on its free When to call a doctor page.