Slight jaundice and breastfeeding - connection??

[madridbaby]

HI again everyone

I only posted my first thread yesterday but here is another one...looks like I am becoming addicted...

My baby is 6 weeks old and has been exclusively bf. He is putting on weight and generally doing pretty well but he has a little jaundice still (he was also 3 weeks early - induced as I had cholestasis). His jaundice is not that bad but his face is a little yellow and sometimes the whites of his eyes are a little yellow. The rest of his body is fine.

The doctor here (I live in Spain) told me that it was because my breastmilk was "so good". He also said, though, that if the jaundice was not completely gone in a few weeks, we should probably do some tests on the baby to check he is OK.

This has left me somewhat confused. How on earth could my "amazing" breastmilk cause jaundice - which surely is a bad thing - in my baby?

Has anyone else ever heard of anything like this? I am not sure if perhaps I just completely misunderstood the doctor....

Thanks in advance

My DS was jaundiced when newborn, and from what I read there seems to be reference to 'breastmilk jaundice' which affects newborns, to differentiate itself from jaundice caused by liver probs. It doesn't mean that it is caused by bm tho...

In fact, I was told that the best way to clear the jaundice was to feed as much as possible.

I was told the same as MaeWest - to feed, feed, feed, but also to sit out in the sun with the baby and let him get plenty of natural light (I live in Greece, and other mums here have been told the same thing).

My little boy had very bad jaundice that lasted about 6 weeks, I was told it was probably breast milk jaundice. though have been investigating jaundice since and it may of been as a result of the Syntometrine injection used to manage third stage of labour in which can cause too much blood in the babies body if the cord is not cut at the right time. That was from an AIMS book. Not really sure what caused it. Anyway it just cleared up of its own accord kind of all of a sudden but stayed in his eyes the longest.

Hi Madridbaby - your story sounds so similar to mine! DD was born by induction 3 weeks early as I had cholestasis - anyway she was very badly jaundiced (needed 48 hours phototherapy). however she remained a distinct yellow tinge for at least 3-4 months!

Same thing happened with DS, although he was less jaundiced and didn't need therapy and yellowness only lasted about 7 weeks. I was told with DS by nice registrar that some women produce an enzyme in their breast milk which prevents the breakdown of bilirubin, which is what makes the baby yellow. Therefore, breast-feeding prolongs the jaundice, but as long as his wee is colourless and poos are a healthy colour (there is a poo colour chart somewhere on the internet if you google it!, but basically not very pale and wishy-washy!) and baby is not overly sleepy then they are probably fine. Over here in the UK, you are sent for liver function tests if your baby is still yellow at 4 weeks to check that their liver is working normally and that it is not causing the jaundice, if that helps!

Congratulations and keep feeding!!

Thanks everyone! I was also told to let him get lots of natural light - am trying but also scared of putting him in direct sunlight in case he burns. Too many things to worry about!!

Fettle - thanks so much for your reply. Do you think the cholestasis is connected? I did wonder that.

Am going to google poo now..as if I was not obsessed enough already..!

I've often wondered if the cholestasis was connected as I had it with both my babies, but then again if I produce this enzyme in my breast milk than that would also explain why both my DC had it!

The doctor's assured me it had nothing to do with the cholestasis as that affects my liver not the baby's. But definitely try not to worry (although I did obsessively! Hard not to with these baby things!!), if your DS seems healthy with it, then breast-fed jaundice doesn't do them any harm. The only reason they worry is that jaundice may be related to their liver (hence the different urine and poo colours) and whether the bilirublin levels are too high (lethargy), but as you say that only your baby's head and eyes are yellow, it sounds pretty mild. Both mine were yellow from head to toe for a while!

Another interesting jaundice fact I learnt was that the yellow colour starts in the head and then travels down the body and back up again as your baby is recovering from it, with the eye whites being the last to lose the yellow colour. I found that fascinating, when I wasn't worrying about it all!!

I was told to treat my babies like tomato plants, let them sleep by the window. Doesn't necessarily have to be direct sunlight, just bright daylight should help. Probably lovely and warm in Spain, is it? Our lovely heatwave over here is about to break tomorrow and heavy rain is forecast

that is interesting that the eyes are the last to lose the yellow - because I was thinking he was less yellow but then noticed his eyes again. So maybe it is on the way out, fingers crossed.

Actually is has been RAINING here for the last three days! Rubbish!!