Following the thread on bilirubin and BF . . . I had a call from a
mom today whose 5 day old has a bili of 17.  Peds. told her that her
breastmilk was "making the baby jaundiced, so she must stop BF for 2
days".  Mom crying and asking "Is he jaundiced because I chose to BF?"
She says she intends to change peds.  I managed to calm her down and
help her understand that her choice to BF did not make her baby ill.
Have an appt. with this mom tomorrow to help her other problem of very
traumatized nipples.  Hope I'm not off base to assist with positioning
the baby at breast during the 2-day "no breast milk" time frame.  She's
been giving abm by bottle since early this am. If I'm lucky she'll be
able to find a peds she likes better by tomorrow so we can get orders re
starting to nurse again. This reminds me of a call I had last year from
a mom wanting to rent a pump b/c the peds had told her she must stop
nursing for at least 10 days as she was "inroducing exogenous bilirubin
to her baby in her breast milk".
Anne in VA