Jaundice in Healthy Newborns - La Leche League GB

If your new baby has jaundice, it’s normal to be worried and concerned. Knowing more about newborn jaundice will help you decide if you need to see medical help and understand why tests may be needed.

More than 80% of all newborns appear jaundiced during the first week of life. In most cases, this is a normal part of adjusting to life outside the womb, but occasionally jaundice is a sign of other more serious health problems. Jaundice is also more common in pre-term and premature babies, who need treatment to avoid serious health problems. Sometimes treatment of jaundice presents challenges that new breastfeeding mothers and their babies need to overcome.

What causes jaundice?
Breastfeeding and jaundice
When to be concerned
Different types of jaundice
Is jaundice normal?
Treating newborn jaundice
Sleepy baby
Breastfeed frequently
Enough breastmilk?

What causes jaundice?

Most babies are born with more red blood cells than they need for life outside the womb. When these cells break down after birth, they produce a yellow pigment called bilirubin, which circulates in the blood. When bilirubin reaches the liver, it is changed into a form that can be transported to the intestines and passed out of the body in the baby’s poo. However, a newborn baby’s liver cannot process all the bilirubin at once. Excess bilirubin is deposited in the skin, muscles, and mucous membranes of the body, which look yellowish or a golden colour. This may be harder to notice on darker skin.

Breastfeeding and jaundice

Jaundice seems to occur more often and last longer in breastfed babies. It’s more serious in those who don’t breastfeed frequently in the first days of life. Newborns who nurse every hour or two have frequent poos, and this clears bilirubin from the intestines more efficiently. However some healthy breastfed babies may still show signs of jaundice at two or three weeks of age.

When to be concerned?

Seek medical help if your baby:

appears jaundiced within 48 hours of birth;
appears jaundiced beyond the third week;
appears jaundiced and is premature or sick;
shows yellowing of the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet;
has black, brown or green poo after day 5
shows signs of dehydration with fewer than five wet nappies per day

When a baby appears jaundiced, regular blood tests may be requested to monitor bilirubin levels.

Continue breastfeeding

Frequent breastfeeding during the first days of life will help clear bilirubin from your baby’s body. Babies who are breastfeeding well are less likely to be jaundiced. If your baby is jaundiced, continue to breastfeed and make sure they are getting enough milk. See our information here and seek help if you are unsure.

Don’t give water

Bilirubin is eliminated in a baby’s poo and a baby who is frequently breastfed will have plenty of bowel movements. Giving water or other breastmilk substitutes makes things worse as baby will nurse less often.

Different types of jaundice

Suboptimal intake jaundice

Occurs within the first week in association with ongoing weight loss
should resolve within two weeks

Breastmilk jaundice

Jaundice which persists past 2-3 weeks along with healthy weight gain.
May last up to three months
Treatment is not generally required

Is jaundice normal?

When bilirubin levels rise slowly over the first three or four days, a baby probably has normal physiological jaundice. This is harmless and some experts think it may even be beneficial.

When blood bilirubin levels are too high, bilirubin may enter the brain and damage the nervous system. High bilirubin levels and jaundice may be related to other health problems. Blood tests can identify these early, so the underlying problem can be treated.

Treating Newborn Jaundice

Blood Tests
If your baby finds blood tests distressing, it helps to breastfeed immediately after the test.

Phototherapy
Sometimes phototherapy is needed to treat newborn jaundice. Phototherapy uses special blue-green lights to break down the bilirubin stored in a baby’s skin so that it can be eliminated more easily. A baby lies under the ‘bili-lights’ wearing just a nappy, with their eyes covered to protect them. They stay under the lights continuously for a day or two, although you may remove them from the lights for feeds. Once the bilirubin levels begin to fall, the lights are no longer needed.

Phototherapy restricts the time you can spend holding and nursing your baby. So if phototherapy is needed, try to do everything you can to stay close to them and continue to breastfeed as frequently as possible. This can be a stressful time for you – contact an LLL Leader if you want support or to talk things through.

Keep baby close during phototherapy:

If you are still in the hospital, the phototherapy unit can usually be set up at the bedside, so that you can talk to your baby, touch them, and breastfeed frequently.
In some cases, babies can receive phototherapy using a fibre-optic blanket that wraps around the baby’s body and provides continuous light treatment. Your baby’s eyes will not have to be covered, and you can hold and breastfeed them during treatment.

Questions to ask about treatment options

How necessary is it to treat the jaundice at this stage?
Could we continue to monitor our baby’s bilirubin levels, encourage him to breastfeed more frequently, and re-evaluate the situation in 24 hours?
If phototherapy is needed, how can we ensure frequent breastfeeding?

Sleepy Baby

High bilirubin levels can make your baby sleepy and lethargic and less interested in breastfeeding. Encourage your sleepy baby to nurse well using the suggestions from Sleepy Baby—why and what to do.

Breastfeed frequently

Frequent breastfeeds help clear bilirubin from baby’s intestines more quickly. A baby who feeds well and often is less likely to have a problem with jaundice.

Respond to your baby’s early feeding cues and encourage your baby to breastfeed at least 10–12 times in 24 hours.
Help them to attach deeply and comfortably at the breast and nurse well. ‘Laid back breastfeeding’ positions where your baby is snuggled in full body contact against you for periods of time can encourage frequent, comfortable breastfeeding. Seek skilled help straight away if you are finding breastfeeding difficult or painful.
If your baby is not breastfeeding effectively, express your milk every couple of hours to help establish milk production and reduce breast engorgement. Give small amounts of your expressed milk to your baby by cup or syringe. Once your baby has the food they need, they will have more energy to breastfeed.

Enough breastmilk?

What comes out is a sign of what has gone in, so counting dirty nappies can be a useful guide between weighing sessions.

Age	Dirty Nappies per 24 hours
1-2 days	Greenish-black tarry meconium
3-5 days	At least 3 greenish transitional poos
5+ days	At least 3-5 yellow, loose unformed poos the size of a 2p coin or larger

If your baby is not getting enough milk, refer to our article Is my baby getting enough milk? or My baby needs more milk or seek support from an LLL leader to increase your milk production. Sometimes supplementing may be necessary while continuing to breastfeed.

Seek support

If you are feeling overwhelmed, an LLL Leader can provide a listening ear. She can also offer ideas to help you improve your baby’s attachment and suggest ways to encourage your baby to breastfeed better to help clear the jaundice.

Written by Karen Butler, Sue Upstone and mothers of La Leche League GB. Photo courtesy of Justine Fieth and Lena Knowles