Artificially fed infants (so called "formula fed²) have artificially
suppressed (lower) levels of bilirubin.  There is serious medical evidence
that this "hypobilirubinemia" may increase the incidence of neonatal
infection.  Infants get sick at a higher rate from these bilirubin problems.

Conversely, of course, higher levels of bilirubin in normally fed
(breastfeeding) healthy full-term babies should be accepted and welcomed as
healthy. 

Breastfeeding not going well may give a baby a helpful, alerting increased
yellow tinge which leads to an increased level of vigilance and lactation
consultation.

Jay






-- 









Signature Links


Jay N. Gordon, MD, FAAP, IBCLC, FABM
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UCLA Medical School
Former Senior Fellow in Pediatric Nutrition, Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Institute


             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]