White tongue

My baby daughter is 2 weeks old and is being bottle fed and after every feed she appears to have a white coating on her tongue, however, this does not seem to fade away and is there throughout the day. She doesn't appear to display any signs of agitation from this but I'm worried that it may be thrush. Can you please advise on this and any steps I can take to get rid of this coating without distressing my daughter?

Many babies have a white coating on the tongue; it isn’t always due to thrush. Look to see if there are any white patches in her cheeks or on the roof of her mouth that won’t wipe away with a soft tissue or cloth or if they do the skin underneath is red and raw – that would indicate thrush.

Bottle fed babies do have a higher risk of developing thrush. Hygiene is really important and if you are using a cold water sterilizing unit, you may find it beneficial to boil all the feeding equipment from time to time. Dummies can also be a source of thrush, be sure to wash and sterilize dummies between every use.

If it is not thrush there is no need for you to remove the white coating, it will not harm your baby at all.