Newborn jaundice

[Sumi76]

Im a new mum and DD is 10 days old and got jaundice. So have been advised to feed her every 2 hrs so she doesnt get dehydrated. She is breastfed and had to wake her up at night every 2 hrs for a feed which is literally forced on her and poor baby struggles to suck. GP suggested I top her up with formula for her night feed so she will sleep through. Confused ! Pls advise.

A GP is suggesting formual so your baby sleeps through :-/

Shite advice on so many levels not least of which a 2 week old baby is not designed to sleep through

Presumably your are being seen by MW/HV?

Feeding every 2 hours is good advice for jaundice babies And it can be hard to rouse a sleepy baby but you need to keep on doing that

And if you want to breast feed exclusively, then introducing formula top ups at this early stage will interfere with supply

You need to feed and feed to get your supply going. Your body works on supply and demand - the more you feed the more your body produces

I had to do the same with my ds - 2 hourly feeds didn't last forever, but you do need to feed really frequently at first to clear the jaundice.

Giving formula is a bad idea - you don't want your baby to sleep through, you want them feeding every couple of hours to clear the jaundice! Plus formula will reduce your milk supply. If you do want to mix feed wait a few more weeks til breastfeeding is established.

Sumi - congratulations on your DD and becoming a mama! GP advice sounds strange. First of all advice you have been given re jaundice is to wake every two hours for feed so encouraging baby to sleep through seems at odds with this advice. Also formula at this point is likely to interfere with your supply. What is your midwife's advice? Is DD always sleepy in feeds or just at night when woken? I would phone one of the breast feeding help lines for support - they were really helpful for me in the beginning. La Leche League 0845 120 2918 and NCT 0300 330 0771. DS had jaundice but it cleared up quickly after lots of feeds and time in indirect sunlight. Kellymom link here for ideas -www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bfhelp-jaundice

Hope this helps and keep us posted.

My DS had jaundice/ sleepy baby and we were advised to feed every two hours too. Our midwife told me to bf for 20 minutes then pump for ten. We'd syringe feed DS 30mls after every feed which was made up of whatever ebm I'd been able to pump from the previous session and the remainder in formula.

TBH the first time I used the pump I got 5mls :( but within six days my supply was kick started and I was expressing 50mls so no more formula. Within two weeks we dropped the top ups completely.

I know people sometimes frown on mixed feeding and there's the virgin gut to consider however that extra bit of fluid really worked to clear the jaundice.

I'm still breastfeeding DS (now 13 months) so it didn't effect supply long term.

Graciescotland - unless baby isn't sucking effectively at the breat there is no need to top up or express.

Your GP has given very poor advice for a baby with jaundice, no 10day old should be sleeping through the night let alone one that has jaundice and need's feeding reguraly to clear it.

Have a read hear for more infor www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bfhelp-jaundice.html

He was sucking effectively but the jaundice was making him sleepy so he'd have a small feed and drop off which meant my supply dwindled and it got harder for him to feed.