Early infant feeding after birth is being promoted, although it is unclear whether this has any effect on carbohydrate metabolism. We planned to measure the capillary glucose at one hour (1 h) of age in a group of infants from non-diabetic pregnancies using the HemoCue B-Glucose system to see if the timing and method of early feeding would influence this result. Seventy-five term infants were studied, 22 of which were breast-fed, 24 bottle fed and 29 not fed during the first hour after birth. The mean whole blood glucose results were 2.34 mmol/l, 2.52 mmol/l and 2.58 mmol/l respectively (P = NS). The first two groups were fed at a median of 22 minutes before sampling. We conclude that the timing and method of early feeding in the newborn have no significant effect on the blood glucose level measured at 1 h of age, and this remains a reliable outcome measure in studies of glucose metabolism in pregnancy.