Well, I am sorry I read wrong the initial post.  I apologize and it
just goes to show you can understand something completely differently
from what it says.

Still, all this makes me think, which is a good thing, I suppose.  We
breastfeeding supporters are not scientifically inclined enough.  If
the question came up "Can the mother transfer bilirubin in her milk to
the baby?", I think the obvious response would have been "well, lets
measure it in the mother's milk".  I do not think this should be so
difficult to do, and would have advanced the science of breastfeeding
just a little.  The mother's milk would have been noticeably
discoloured if there were significant amounts of bilirubin in her
milk, but it would have been interesting to know if some could be
measured.

By the way, the problem of getting extra bilirubin.  In a healthy
baby, who, by definition is not hemolyzing, is well nourished and well
hydrated, even if his bilirubin is higher than average is a non
problem.

I should mention that the hypertension, elevated liver enzyme etc.
syndrome does not always make you deathly ill.  I have seen mothers
with it who did not know they were sick.  They were not jaundiced and
they felt fine.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC