What You Need To Know About Jaundice & Successful Breastfeeding

How To Ensure Successful Breastfeeding With Jaundice

Do you think you’d know if your newborn is jaundice? I didn’t. I thought my baby was blessed with beautiful olive skin. ​I didn’t know what jaundice meant or how it could effect successful breastfeeding.

If I only knew, I’m sure I would’ve avoided being readmitted to the hospital and spared lots and lots of tears.

What Does It Mean When Your Newborn Is Jaundice?

Jaundice is when a baby has high bilirubin levels in the blood. The liver is sluggish at processing the waste product and removing it from the system.

​The result: a yellow baby.

Importance Of Successful Breastfeeding

• The tint of yellow starts in the face and travels south to the chest, then tummy and on down. An easy way to detect jaundice is the whites of your baby’s eyes. Are the whites, white?

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• The best proactive approach to avoid phototherapy is frequent and efficient feedings. We want lots of poopy diapers to flush out the system. What goes in, must come out…and will bring bilirubin with it!

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• Jaundice often makes for a very lethargic eater. You’ll hear tips like: undress him for feedings – use a wet washcloth – tickle her feet to wake her up. But I’m telling you, it’s a lot harder than it sounds.

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• What happens next? The baby is too sleepy to eat and therefore, doesn’t get enough calories. So, baby sleeps some more.

What If Baby Is Too Sleepy To Breastfeed Well

• Because volume intake is so important, it may make sense to pump and supplement with expressed breastmilk and/or formula. It’s typically a quick detour from your breastfeeding plan to get things moving in the right direction. Both literally and figuratively.

• Many times, pumping and bottlefeeding is a temporary course of action until bilirubin levels come down
  

• Your pediatrician will make sure blood levels peak then continue to go down to keep your baby safe and healthy.
  
  

Knowledge Is Power + Zen

Now you know that newborn jaundice is very common. You know the signs to look for and what to expect if treatment is needed. Understanding these potential issues that pop up with babies makes for a more confident, calmer mama. And no surprise, that zen is often picked up by everyone else around you. Big and small.

1:1 Breastfeeding Support

​​If you’re expecting and would like to hop on a quick call to find out how I can support you to feel more confident during those early days in the trenches, just click here to connect.

If the baby’s here and you need help now, text me @ 703.952.5405 for the quickest reply.