Help! Jaundice in 2 day old!

[SassyPants87]

Hi all had baby 2 days ago and we’ve noticed his eyes getting yellow and the skin on his face. I’m breast feeding and milk hasn’t come in just yet so he hasn’t had a lot of wet nappies but quite a few dirty ones!

midwife on the phone is saying if he’s difficult to wake then take him to A&E but I thought all newborns were difficult to wake! My first baby never woke, I had to keep waking her and she was fine. I think I can probably wait until midwife comes tomorrow?

can anyone let me know if their experiences of jaundice in new borns?? Should I do fldomr formula feeds whilst waiting for my milk to come in to try and flush it out?

Both of mine had phototherapy for jaundice, my eldest did 2 cycles. I'd call the maternity triage line and they'll probably ask you to come in. The treatment is fine but if left untreated can be very serious. I combi fed my second and the jaundice cleared much more quickly. The idea is you flush the kidneys. With fluid, if your milk isnt in he wont be taking as much as he does formula.

So you don't need to go to A&E phone the labour ward, you can go to the post-natal ward at the hospital you gave birth at. A bilirubin (test for jaundice) can be done in less than 10 minutes. If baby is hard to wake I would pick up the phone now.

Both of mine had "breast milk jaundice", which is different from breastfeeding jaundice and caused by factors in breastfeeding jaundice suppressing the factors in liver enzymes. In both my girls it took 4-5 weeks to fully clear, and their levels never got high, even though you could see it in their eyes. DD1's levels were borderline and as she was prem she was given 48 hours total phototherapy in the first week. DD2 never needed treating. Both were growing great, feeding vigorously (not sleepy) with loads of wet and dirty nappies, and I was told their jaundice was "normal for them".

Breastfeeding jaundice, on the other hand, is essentially caused by dehydration. In your position, as milk has come in and baby has started feeding well, I would wait till the morning test, but if baby becomes difficult to wake, seems interested in feeding or loses tone, go straight to a&e.

Oh OP, I’ve been there, we were admitted to NICU for five days to help combat it as baby wasn’t getting anything.

If you give formula, make sure it’s 0.5-1oz. We gave lots and baby was sick so we thought she didn’t get on with it and went back to just boob.

If you FF but really want to continue breastfeeding, try and pump too at the same time so your body still thinks the demand is there, it’s really important to get your supply up.

Definitely agree with @ChickinMarango I pumped and because I was on a maternity ward they stored the milk and I syringed it to them both as well as having them suckle and formula top ups

Quick update! Midwife came round and checked his level and they were well below treatment level so I’ve been told the jaundice should just go on it’s own but I was told all the things to look out for. Milk is starting to come in now and we had a big wet nappy and also a big poo today phew! So my plan is to just feed feed feed and flush the jaundice out. Still doing a little formula top ups here and there to speed things along but midwife has said the amounts I’m giving him won’t effect my supply

That's great op. And that's a good plan.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby and enjoy this special time together x