Breast feeding baby with jaundice...

[arielc]

hi mummies,

my baby is 2 weeks old and has jaundice since day 5. doctor recommended home phototherapy treatment from day 5. between day 5 to 9, jaundice levels dropped a bit, but not enough. on day 10, doc advised us to admit baby in hospital for stronger phototherapy. he was in hospital for 2 days and jaundice dropped to acceptable levels.

he came home on day 12, and looks ok. until today, i noticed that he's looking yellow again. it has been raining the past 2 days so CL can't bring bring baby for 'sun tan'.

i'm worried that it's my bm that's giving him jaundice. or could he be not drinking enough and unable to flush the jaundice out?

any of you have similar experience?

 

[CutieLya]

Hi there.. Go to chi medicine shop. Ask for jaundice medicine. There is 2 type, wood n flower. Ask for wood type. Then u boil it, after that u wipe ur baby with the medicine water. Whole body. Definitely recover faster. Try it. Let me know if still not ok.

 

[arielc]

Hi there.. Go to chi medicine shop. Ask for jaundice medicine. There is 2 type, wood n flower. Ask for wood type. Then u boil it, after that u wipe ur baby with the medicine water. Whole body. Definitely recover faster. Try it. Let me know if still not ok.

hi CutieLya,

is the water yellowish? my CL did that already.. and still not ok leh...

 

[tulipmelody]

According to my doc, bm does cause the jaundice level to raise. That why he suggested to me to stop bf-ing if i wan to keep the level within the safe range.

 

[arielc]

According to my doc, bm does cause the jaundice level to raise. That why he suggested to me to stop bf-ing if i wan to keep the level within the safe range.

how high was your baby's jaundice level? mine started 15, now down to 8.
so you stopped bm and replaced with formula?
after baby recover from jaundice, did your baby continue with bm?

 

[miracle25]

how do we knw d level of jaundice? mine also got jaundice & some other issues & was afmiited icu aft birth. all recovered except jaundice & was discharged. PD didnt tell us d level leh.. & we only occasionally sun d baby at home ard 8+ in d morning but still see his face abit yellow.

 

[arielc]

how do we knw d level of jaundice? mine also got jaundice & some other issues & was afmiited icu aft birth. all recovered except jaundice & was discharged. PD didnt tell us d level leh.. & we only occasionally sun d baby at home ard 8+ in d morning but still see his face abit yellow.

hi miracle25,

prob your baby's jaundice level not very high...
mine started with 15, so needed home phototherapy.
10 and below no need phototherapy, just normal sunning.
he came home these few days got no morning sun cos it always rains in the morning...

 

[rachel huang]

I thought breastmilk provides the most nutrients to baby, how come have to stop breastfeeding to lower jaundice.
It really makes me wonder...

 

[lyra]

Mummies, if baby's jaundice level is not so high that it's at very dangerous level (eg: 30), breastfeeding will actually help baby wash the bilirubin out of the body through their poo poo. You will see that their poo poo is a bit greenish and watery. The issue is jaundice will last longer in breastfed babies. My baby was a very sleepy jaundice baby (jaundice between 12-15) before he's 1 month old. His yellowishness decreased when he was near 1 month but the yellowish in his eye white still remains until he's about 1.5month old. You can imagine how worried I was! I cried almost everyday! But I carried on breastfeeding and he gained weight very well. He grew to be a very healthy boy! Phew! No more jaundice by the time he's 2 month old. The pediatrician I went to is very pro breastfeeding. He never asked me to stop. He encouraged me to breastfeed and told me some of the babies he sees had jaundice until 3 month but they continued breastfeeding. Parents are only asked to stop breastfeeding if the jaundice is at very dangerous level. If there is no sun, I suggest renting the phototherapy machine home for baby and continue breastfeeding. Not worth it to give up breastfeeding because of this unless it's very dangerous level. If your baby is like mine, around 12-15, it is not necessary to stop. I can recommend pro breastfeeding prediatrician to you. Some pediatrician dont't understand and wants baby's jaundice level to drop very fast so they asked mummies to stop breastfeeding but this is not beneficial to baby in the long run and sabotage the poor mummies' efforts to breastfeed

To add on mummies, you can read my blog to find out more about my breastfeeding journey as well as FAQ that might help you answer some questions. It's really a very arduous very worthwhile journey!

 

[Mummyeve]

How about blood incompatibility esp if mother is a O and baby is A or B?

Any mummies experience that and have any idea if still can go full bf? My PD ask me not to go for full bf due to such case. So now i express milk n alternate feeding between bm n fm for my ds.

I have read some some article online n the damage can be as serious as brain damage. After reading, as much as i would love to full bf my ds.. I didnt dare to..

 

[ast0212]

As far as I know it is safe to breastfeed with blood incompatibility. My mum is O and breastfed me and siblings and all 3 of us were jaundiced but we aren't anymore and our brains are functioning properly...I hope! Sometimes this can contribute to jaundice but the risk is greater if the baby is not breastfeeding. Best to breastfeed as often as possible, 8-12 feeds a day.

I don't know about Singapore but in Australia we no longer test for baby's blood type. I think only if mum has negative blood type... I have no idea what my kids' blood type is so I guess it means there is no problems breastfeeding babies with different blood types.

 

[arielc]

Mummies, if baby's jaundice level is not so high that it's at very dangerous level (eg: 30), breastfeeding will actually help baby wash the bilirubin out of the body through their poo poo. You will see that their poo poo is a bit greenish and watery. The issue is jaundice will last longer in breastfed babies. My baby was a very sleepy jaundice baby (jaundice between 12-15) before he's 1 month old. His yellowishness decreased when he was near 1 month but the yellowish in his eye white still remains until he's about 1.5month old. You can imagine how worried I was! I cried almost everyday! But I carried on breastfeeding and he gained weight very well. He grew to be a very healthy boy! Phew! No more jaundice by the time he's 2 month old. The pediatrician I went to is very pro breastfeeding. He never asked me to stop. He encouraged me to breastfeed and told me some of the babies he sees had jaundice until 3 month but they continued breastfeeding. Parents are only asked to stop breastfeeding if the jaundice is at very dangerous level. If there is no sun, I suggest renting the phototherapy machine home for baby and continue breastfeeding. Not worth it to give up breastfeeding because of this unless it's very dangerous level. If your baby is like mine, around 12-15, it is not necessary to stop. I can recommend pro breastfeeding prediatrician to you. Some pediatrician dont't understand and wants baby's jaundice level to drop very fast so they asked mummies to stop breastfeeding but this is not beneficial to baby in the long run and sabotage the poor mummies' efforts to breastfeed

To add on mummies, you can read my blog to find out more about my breastfeeding journey as well as FAQ that might help you answer some questions. It's really a very arduous very worthwhile journey!

hi lyra,

thanks for sharing your experience.. indeed, seeing the yellowish in his eyes now makes me wanna cry and i'm super worried, always wondering if it's something wrong with my bm. he's 2 weeks old now and still have yellowish.. most of my friends' kids say the jaundice go away after 2-3 days...

also, can i ask you if you had any diet restrictions when your baby had jaundice? for example, avoiding herbs etc.. my PD say its okie, but the older folks seem to think otherwise...

lastly, who's your PD and where is his/her clinic?

thanks.

 

[lyra]

Hi Arielc! My pediatrician is Dr Ong Eng Keow from International Child and Adolescent Clinic at Mount Alvernia. I heard that Dr Koh from the same clinic is good too. If Dr Ong is not around, you can look for Dr Koh.

As for diet restriction, I avoided ginger totally. The nutritionist at Mount Alvernia told us that if breastfeeding mothers consume ginger, we will not cause jaundice in baby. But if our baby already has jaundice, we have to stop consuming ginger as there are substance in it that can worsen the jaundice. I took all other normal confinement herbs.

There's nothing wrong with our breast milk. Jaundice is very common in Asians, unfortunately but its the same for both breastfed and formula fed babies. Hope this info helps.

hi lyra,

thanks for sharing your experience.. indeed, seeing the yellowish in his eyes now makes me wanna cry and i'm super worried, always wondering if it's something wrong with my bm. he's 2 weeks old now and still have yellowish.. most of my friends' kids say the jaundice go away after 2-3 days...

also, can i ask you if you had any diet restrictions when your baby had jaundice? for example, avoiding herbs etc.. my PD say its okie, but the older folks seem to think otherwise...

lastly, who's your PD and where is his/her clinic?

thanks.

 

[Mummyeve]

As far as I know it is safe to breastfeed with blood incompatibility. My mum is O and breastfed me and siblings and all 3 of us were jaundiced but we aren't anymore and our brains are functioning properly...I hope! Sometimes this can contribute to jaundice but the risk is greater if the baby is not breastfeeding. Best to breastfeed as often as possible, 8-12 feeds a day.

I don't know about Singapore but in Australia we no longer test for baby's blood type. I think only if mum has negative blood type... I have no idea what my kids' blood type is so I guess it means there is no problems breastfeeding babies with different blood types.

Thanks.. Ya.. Now i give ds ebm So that he can flush out via poo poo.. I didnt latch him directly fearing he will sleep while nursing.. And i wanted to monitor his intake.. So far compare to those few days on full fm, he is pooing n urine more.. Hopefully he get better soon..

 

[shermyn]

Dear mummies, i believe the jaundice will go away soon. dont end up like me, believing a polyclinic dr take breast milk makes bb yellow and gave up nf my baby. that's the biggest regret in my life ~ really.

 

[arielc]

Hi Arielc! My pediatrician is Dr Ong Eng Keow from International Child and Adolescent Clinic at Mount Alvernia. I heard that Dr Koh from the same clinic is good too. If Dr Ong is not around, you can look for Dr Koh.

As for diet restriction, I avoided ginger totally. The nutritionist at Mount Alvernia told us that if breastfeeding mothers consume ginger, we will not cause jaundice in baby. But if our baby already has jaundice, we have to stop consuming ginger as there are substance in it that can worsen the jaundice. I took all other normal confinement herbs.

There's nothing wrong with our breast milk. Jaundice is very common in Asians, unfortunately but its the same for both breastfed and formula fed babies. Hope this info helps.

hi lyra,

thanks so much for the referral and sharing your experience.. makes me feel less guilty as i thought my bm got problem and caused baby's jaundice...

you took all the other confinement herbs? my mil has asked me to stay away from herbs too cos don't know what's in the ingredients..

i now feel more at ease as more and more mothers who bf their babies with jaundice said that it will eventually go away.. just takes a long time...

 

[Alisa]

my son had jaundice for about 2 weeks and as he is G6PD deficiency, i took extra care in what i eat during confinement. i do not take any herb to pu my body (which is bad cuz i am a weak person even b4 preg), i did not take ginger (my husband & MIL kept scolding me for this... they said ginger & herb are good for me but i refuse cuz i do not wan my son to suffer longer on his jaundice). moth ball will trigal my son's jaundice and i realised that his jaundice level actually increased after he came back from hospital ( he was hospital stay for another 2 days while i am discharged...) then i noticed that our bathroom is hanging moth ball (those with beautiful colour wans) so i told my MIL to remove it. the very next day is his review on his jaundice and the result was lower than the last test! im not sure whether for babies without G6PD deficiency, will moth ball affect the jaundice or not tho. But pls give your baby more BF, when they drink more, it will help to expel the jaundice through urine & poo. BF is the best!

 

[arielc]

my son had jaundice for about 2 weeks and as he is G6PD deficiency, i took extra care in what i eat during confinement. i do not take any herb to pu my body (which is bad cuz i am a weak person even b4 preg), i did not take ginger (my husband & MIL kept scolding me for this... they said ginger & herb are good for me but i refuse cuz i do not wan my son to suffer longer on his jaundice). moth ball will trigal my son's jaundice and i realised that his jaundice level actually increased after he came back from hospital ( he was hospital stay for another 2 days while i am discharged...) then i noticed that our bathroom is hanging moth ball (those with beautiful colour wans) so i told my MIL to remove it. the very next day is his review on his jaundice and the result was lower than the last test! im not sure whether for babies without G6PD deficiency, will moth ball affect the jaundice or not tho. But pls give your baby more BF, when they drink more, it will help to expel the jaundice through urine & poo. BF is the best!

hi alisa,

wow you're really wei da... not taking ginger and herbs even though your hubby and mil ask you to...
for me, my mil ask me not to eat herbs... i feel a bit upset that i can't bu my body, cos everyone tells me there will be consequences in future if confinement is not done well... i'm now eating a healthy and balanced diet.. once i'm better, i also hope to start exercising so i can build up my body strength and health again.. i was very active before preggie, always exercising.. can't imagine if i can't do that anymore...

it's so tough when our babies have certain condition (e.g. G6PD or jaundice) and we are bf-ing, and people start thinking we are the source/cause of it...

 

[cn211279]

I'm currently breastfeeding my second child. He is 5 days old and has very high jaundice level of 22.4. I'm not intending to stop breastfeeding cos my first child had juandice too but I persisted in breastfeeding and the jaundice eventually went away. There is no problem with my first boy and he turns 4 this year.
In fact, I have consulted 2 docs and both thinks that all the paranoia with juandice is over hyped. Both said that there is very little risk of juandice having any permanent side effects on children as it is very common among asian babies. The reason why the juandice level is being monitored is because doctors are concerned that the juandice is due to liver problems rather than just normal physiological juandice.
Juandice will typically peak around the 7-10 day, and it should gradually decrease from there. Breastfeeding does prolong the juandice but as long as the baby is feeding and growing well, and the juandice level show signs of decreasing...there is no need to worry.
As juandice can last for some time for breastfeed babies, some doctors like to "take the easy way out", or what I deem as "cover ur ass" method of recommending fm, phototherapy... Etc... As to bring the level of juandice down ASAP..

 

[lyra]

Agree with Alisa & cn211279. Let's not take the easy way out and give our baby the best. Thinking back, I was so foolish to cry everyday because baby had jaundice. Lol. It's an amazing experience to be a mom. I've yet to cry so hard for anyone before my baby is born!

Arielc, I dislike herbs n supplements n didn't think they were necessary... I also shower and drink water during confinement but I don't have any problems. Ironically, I think my friend who followed all confinement rules religiously had more problems instead. I guess it's up to individual's body. If u exercise regularly, continue to do so! That's better than bu, in my opinion.