BF Babies with Jaundice

[rachelleling]

Diza, if baby is on TBF, possible that he will not poo for up to a week! my baby haven been pooing for few days also. is normal if she's on full bm.

Ya, for both my kids when they were admitted in hospital, i practically camped there from 8am to 8pm just so that i can bf them! and then i will go home and cry. sigh. mummies are all the same!

mummybel, actually not that diff blood type group will cause jaundice. it is only when the mother is "O" and baby is "A" or "B". or when mummy's blood type is the negative and baby is positive. but if for my case,both my babies are A+ and I am B+, the diff blood group will not cause jaundice. i think for your case since is only few days old, is the common type of jaundice which is extremely common in Newborn. If you are not breastfeeding, the jaundice will clear very fast. usu after 2 weeks will be cleared. if you are bf, then the jaundice could be prolonged which is quite common.

You should not worry too much now. If after 2 weeks the jaundice is still thr even tho you are not bf, then need to seek doc's advice soon. anyway, why din you want to bf?

 

[MummyBeL]

Hi Rachelling,

My baby is AB+ type. The baby doc told me is becos she got B type blood group so will have jaundice. I never BF becos me myself body too weak as my mum sae wanna make chinese herbs to increase my blood. I hope tml or the day after, doc can discharge my baby gal as i really miss her badly. If 2 weeks is a torture to me. Hope everythings goes well.

 

[rachelleling]

Tats strange. Din know baby with blood gp B will hv jaundice. Your blood gp O n your hubby AB? Then makes more sense cos your blood gp is O n baby is not same as you.
Think I wasn't clear in my post. Wat I meant was usu baby with common jaundice will b discharged 2-3 days during first week of birth. Then when u go back to baby doc for review when baby abt 1 week plus, tat one will usu affect bf babies cos jaundice related to bf may set in during this time. If your baby is on fm, most likely she will not b affected during the review. So dun worry too much!

 

[diza]

I guess regardless of blood grp, it's common to have jaundice nowadays. My boy is A+ and my blood grp is AB+. Took a blood test to see if the antibodies in my blood is causing the jaundice to prolong coz baby is on BM. Thankfully this was not the cause. So like what rachelling said since ur on FM, it will go away quickly.

 

[MummyBeL]

Hi Mummies,

My blood group is A+ n my Hubbie is B+ so my baby gal is AB+. I now waiting for the call from TMC to said that i can bring my baby gal home as i really miss her badly. I can't sleep well last nite. Hope as both mummies said that FM will really quickly make the jaundice go away. Now most worry is my baby gal one side hearing screening not pass. Now i can understand being a mother, have to worry so much. Thanks for all mummies comfort, encouragement, support and sharing...

 

[budsjuices]

Breastfeeding Babies with Jaundice

This thread discussion is something close to my heart. I wish to share from my heart of my experience having a severely jaundiced baby but i may not be able to post all in one shot as time may not permit so, due to my day to day responsibilities and juggling all those hats of a woman... you ladies know what i'm talking about right?

Aniwaes here goes...

Part 1

Not a day goes by without having me think how or if i could have done things differently, if only i knew.. Having a baby, a firstborn child too.. and when told to my face better NOT to breastfeed was the biggest slap i have had as a mom. Was in like 13 hours of labour (first baby then, so no experience when was the right time to go down - another story for another time) and i was the only one in the ward who was told i wasn't allowed to bring my baby home. I cried buckets when no one was looking.. feeling more pain for the baby in the box than myself. I was told upon baby's birth she was jaundiced. Ok, small matter i thought at first. Old people swear by sun-tanning methods to clear jaundice. I could do that when we got home. Hubs was insistent he could do it too. But alas we were firmly told our baby was to stay. On the 3rd day, i was informed i could be discharged. But instead of going home, i went to the hospital nursery room and asked to carry my baby from under the single blue light. Post-partum or not, the instinct to tear up came easily. Baby was crying throughout the time the nurse got her ready to come out of the box.. change her diaper and that was the only thing she was wearing.. removed the Zorro mask from her cute little eyes.

1. Baby was born before 38 weeks.

I later found out that babies born before 38 weeks were more prone to being jaundiced. Not exactly a premie (premature) baby at 36-37weeks but smaller.

2. Baby's liver

Being small, the baby's liver was still immature hence it has difficulty in the breaking down capability of bilirubin especially for sudden elevated ones. I can't exactly recall how high my baby's level was at first prick, but it was definitely over 200. If i remember correctly, btwn 216-218.

3. Colostrum

When i realized i had loads of this Liquid Gold, (i mean it is known as the perfect concentrated most natural and easily digestible source of first food for the newborn right?) I thought i had struck it rich. LOL! Gold what! Plus this gem is only a temporary component before it changes to mature milk. Colostrum was supposed to help baby clear her first stools from its laxative effect which indirectly is the most perfect way to bring down bilirubin.

So when i was informed i could breastfeed, but i should refrain from it if i wanted the bilirubin level to come down and bring baby back, i felt so insulted that it felt like a real slap.. no.. make that one tight slap from a very mean person. The person you will hate for the rest of your life. I mean all the preparation and the dream of being a mom.. a breastfeeding mom.. which i thought i was prepared for; suddenly felt like a nightmare i wanted to wake out of..

I became depressed and i wondered if i was the one who brought harm to my baby and would i cause further harm if i were to insist on breastfeeding despite the uhmm "advice"?

Now, back to the Zorro mask... as i took over from the nurse on duty to carry the baby... i whispered a prayer that the level had come down and though i much dread it, i asked aniwaes. "How's the level today?" "Same." Came the curt reply. With that the nurse resumed her other duties. I didn't get to say thank you. Baby stopped crying instantly in the nook of my arm and when she tried to slowly open her eyes, my heart broke seeing how extremely yellow her whites (eye) were but the skin on skin contact drew a smile out of her somehow. I whispered. "You are mommy's strong little girl.. you'd fight this won't you.. mommy will fight it out with you." I felt a choke in my throat just muttering that. Because her level was considered rather high, carrying her too long outside the the light was depriving her of phototherapy. I placed her back gently into that plastic box and tried to pretend i didn't hear her wailing for me. I breathed in her sweet baby scent so hard and fought back my tears even though it was like almost wanting to gush out at waterfall speed. I wanted to remember how she smelled to give me strength. The strength in pursuit of getting to the bottom of this supposedly common problem in newborns.

The first thing i did was bell-rang for the nurse and said, "Please inform the desk that i am not going to have myself discharged. As yet. Please help me see to it. Thank you." I text hubs to tell him i was staying. Period. Same text i gave daddie who then conveyed to mumsie. I received two different responses.

Mumsie & Daddie : Good if you can stay. You'd be able to rest better in hospital. No need to go to and fro. Baby's there too.

Hubs : What the ..? Why? Can't you just come back first.. dont know when the baby can be discharged.. bilirubin level goes down at snail's pace like one or two down after a whole day of phototherapy god knows why.. hospital bills.. bla bla bla.. Why bla? Cos i switched off.

[Off topic here abit. Hubs and i weren't married long before i realized i conceived. I conceived after my first menstrual cycle. We didn't have enough time to learn more about one another prior to having a baby together hence our first few years of marriage was rough. Nope. I didn't know him long enough prior to marrying him... or that much more... prior to receiving our first child.]

Moms with supportive hubbies or if you married your soul mates, half your battle is won.

I gotta go breastfeed chubs now. I see if i can resume my post again soon. Mommies embroiled in heartache with the gazillion questions in your mind right now about your jaundiced babies, hang in there. *hugs*

 

[diza]

As I read ur descriptive post, it brought me back to the time when my boy was admitted and how it broke my heart to see him under 5 UV lights. He was totally naked, without a diaper and only had the mask. I can totally relate to how you feel. At least u had the choice to stay. For me, I was already discharged then and had to travel back and forth for 4 days to the pt that my feet became swollen and my southern region hurts like hell coz I walked too much. But I ignored my pains coz I just wanted to see my baby daily and BF him. I was alone most of the time as hubby couldnt get leave coz he just started working in that comp. I practically camped outside the nursery room from noon till 9pm. Do cont ur story k.

 

[Alisa]

i think blood group is not the course of jaundice. my husband is O, i am O and my son is O yet he still have jaundice.

 

[rachelleling]

Alisa, Blood group incompatibility is one of the reasons for prolonged jaundice. but is not always the reason. The liver specialist which we saw for our daughter's prolonged jaundice mentioned to us. So, for your case, the reason for the jaundice is not the blood group incompatibility but other reasons

 

[Alisa]

i see... cuz his jaundice took about 3 weeks to settle down.

 

[germac]

Dear budsjuices,

Ur post brought tears to my eyes. (and i know for sure it cant be post-partum, my little one is already three mths old)
It really touched my heart, and as a mother of an ex-prolonged jaundice baby, i could feel ur pain.

My little one was born at exactly 37 weeks, and it was an induced labour for i was havin placenta insufficiency and low amniotic fluid. The weight of my girl even dropped in me, so dr said it was time to bring her out as my womb isnt a good home for her anymore.

A day later, my little bundle of joy was born. She was so pink when i delivered her. I thought, wah, such a rosy baby! later did i know the redness was leading to her being jaundiced. On the day of discharge, she was at 183. I was to bring her for a repeat jaundice check the next day. i thought it will be all fine, but the next day, it went up to 217. Still does not warrant phototherapy, but we had to repeat again two days later. Two days later, it was 232. The next day, we had to repeat again, it was 256. So it was on an upward trend. Each time i received the result, i will pray with all my heart that it will drop, but instead, my heart sank everytime.

These jaundice checks went on for another week. Throughout this whole period, i was breastfeeding. Tried latching her but bcos she was a sleepy baby, she never suckles for more than 5-10mins. So i pumped out to feed her via the bottle. Bottling had its hiccups too, she regurgs and never finishes her feeds, so her output was little, causing her ever-then distraught mum to be teary and frustrated (since we all know a jaundiced baby needs to pee n poop for the level to drop). But never once was i told by anyone to stop bf. my mum who did my confinement for me was rather insistent that i had ginger in my diet but i pleaded with her to not cook my meals with it till my baby level drops n she was agreeable. My husband jus left the decision to me. All the drs i went to (polyclinic and kk children emergency) never once told me to stop bf, though it was quite evident that my girl had bf jaundice.

When the two weeks was up n my girl needed an intravenous blood sample from her hand to check her liver function (instead of a capillary sample from her heels), My sister felt enough was enough. She brought me to see her pediatrician in mount e, who had been in practice since 1967, and i was then told that baby jaundice is under ctrl. He din even prick her for anymore tests, cos after a physical assessment n a thorough history taking (like checking for liver enlargement, asking whether her stools were white etc), he confidently told me baby will be fine n the jaundice, though prolonged, will go away. He did not ask me to stop bf too. He was very reassuring n i felt so much better after that day's visit.

True enough, my baby began progressively got better. I did not even bring her for anymore blood investigations after that pd visit. Her eyes got whiter, her skin was less yellow.. I think it took all in all abt 3.5-4 weeks for her jaundice to totally clear up. Admittedly, i am a quite a statistical mother, as in i need a value or a number to indicate to me that my baby no longer has jaundice, but i rather not subject my baby to numerous pricks.

Now looking at her sleeping soundly away as i type this, i really feel i will do anything for her. And i believe this goes out to all the mummies here too.

P.s.: pls ctd ur story budsjuices. And to all mummies out there struggling with jaundiced babies, be strong, ur little one needs u!

 

[rachelleling]

Germac, can really feel the frustrations n worries u went thru. For your case, cos the level of jaundice e is not dangerously high in the first week, perhaps tat why doc did not ask u to supplement with fm. For my case, my baby jaundice went up to 358 n still hovers ard 270+ after 3 weeks, so the reason why I was to to supplement with fm was to Cfm that it was bm jaundice n not other underlying liver prob. When I supplemented with fm for 2 days, level went up instead if down, thus doc quickly referred me to liver specialist. I read tat worse case scenario, if truly a case of liver disease n need a liver transplant, got to do it within 60 days of birth if not baby will not survive more than 3 yrs.
so usu doc wants to b cautious to b sure. After we saw the liver specialist, we were more assured n got to know more abt jaundice. So, we can't say tat doc who ask u to supplement with fm are bad or doc who din ask u to supplement are good cos really depend on baby n mummy. For my case, I had high blood during preg so prolonged jaundice is common for babies like mine.

I continued to bf when the liver specialist was convinced tat it was not liver disease.

Wat I m trying to say is, sometimes we really need to assess the situation n deliver the best solution. Tho bm is the best milk, if there is a need to supplement for wat so ever reasons n for the best interest of baby, I think we shd let go. I was extremely upset when told to supplement with fm cos I hv so much milk. My hubby was the one who told me to weight the pros b cons.

Wat ever the reason to supplement with fm, as long as you get to continue bf after tat, is really fine. A few dAys of fm is insignificant if u r going to bf for long. So I hope mummies will weigh the pros n cons, asses the situation, look at mummy n baby's health condition before deciding whether to supplement. Internet, diff doc say diff things so its up to your maternal instinct to make the best decision!

 

[diza]

My boy is now 5w3d and still having jaundice. His level has dropped to 130. The dr at poly told me to return today to have his blood taken to check his liver. Then return agn tmrw for results... Hopefully nothing is wrong with his liver and I hope it's BM jaundice.

 

[rachelleling]

Diza, as long as jaundice level is dropping, most likely is bm jaundice. if liver prob, the jaundice level would be higher than 250+ after 1 mth (at least that was what i was told). So no worries! your baby is going to b fine!

 

[germac]

Germac, can really feel the frustrations n worries u went thru. For your case, cos the level of jaundice e is not dangerously high in the first week, perhaps tat why doc did not ask u to supplement with fm. For my case, my baby jaundice went up to 358 n still hovers ard 270+ after 3 weeks, so the reason why I was to to supplement with fm was to Cfm that it was bm jaundice n not other underlying liver prob. When I supplemented with fm for 2 days, level went up instead if down, thus doc quickly referred me to liver specialist. I read tat worse case scenario, if truly a case of liver disease n need a liver transplant, got to do it within 60 days of birth if not baby will not survive more than 3 yrs.
so usu doc wants to b cautious to b sure. After we saw the liver specialist, we were more assured n got to know more abt jaundice. So, we can't say tat doc who ask u to supplement with fm are bad or doc who din ask u to supplement are good cos really depend on baby n mummy. For my case, I had high blood during preg so prolonged jaundice is common for babies like mine.

I continued to bf when the liver specialist was convinced tat it was not liver disease.

Wat I m trying to say is, sometimes we really need to assess the situation n deliver the best solution. Tho bm is the best milk, if there is a need to supplement for wat so ever reasons n for the best interest of baby, I think we shd let go. I was extremely upset when told to supplement with fm cos I hv so much milk. My hubby was the one who told me to weight the pros b cons.

Wat ever the reason to supplement with fm, as long as you get to continue bf after tat, is really fine. A few dAys of fm is insignificant if u r going to bf for long. So I hope mummies will weigh the pros n cons, asses the situation, look at mummy n baby's health condition before deciding whether to supplement. Internet, diff doc say diff things so its up to your maternal instinct to make the best decision!

Very well said my dear! Sorry if i had come across as "drs who advise to supplement with fm are bad"... Wasnt my intention as i am a healthcare professional myself.. Like u said, always in the best interest of the baby. I strongly believe in that too!

 

[rachelleling]

no la, germac, i was just a little reacting cos i hear from frens and from others in forums who keep saying that drs who said to give fm are taking short cuts and said we should go to docs who will never ask us to give fm. I find it a little too judgmental cos really hv to look at the situation and make the correct judgement. I think all doc have the interests of the patients at heart so will give the best solution after weighing the pros and cons. Just want to bring some justice to these docs. hahah.

 

[germac]

no la, germac, i was just a little reacting cos i hear from frens and from others in forums who keep saying that drs who said to give fm are taking short cuts and said we should go to docs who will never ask us to give fm. I find it a little too judgmental cos really hv to look at the situation and make the correct judgement. I think all doc have the interests of the patients at heart so will give the best solution after weighing the pros and cons. Just want to bring some justice to these docs. hahah.

Yeah, definitely agree with u on this. Different situations call for different advice n treatment. No two babies conditions r exactly the same and can be dealt with using a template. Like u mentioned, all drs hv the interests of their patients at heart; Am sure all drs shld know the benefits of bm n advocate it, unless contraindicated. So if they really do advise to supplement with formula, there has to be a strong rationale for it --> n therefore once again, to affirm wat u said, offering the best solution after weighing the pros n cons.

Given the benefit of doubt, perhaps sometimes maybe the baby's condition may really not warrant formulae supplement yet, but if the dr sees the mother is so distraught n affected n emotionally strained by the baby's jaundice (whats more with post-partum hormones), he or she may then thus advise to supplement with fm first so as to "ctrl" the baby jaundice condition, so mummy is not so distressed. Then as baby grows older n liver gets stronger, advice to go back to bm again. So these drs, although they did advise to give fm, r still gd drs! Just my two cents...