Hello, All: Our hospital is being visited the end of October by JCAHO (national hospital accreditation body here in USA) and of course we have all been industriously reviewing policies & procedures, etc. in preparation. Our department director brought to my attention A "Sentinel Event Alert" published by JCAHO in April, 2001 re: guidelines in the management of hyperbilirubinemia. Apparently there is concern in the medical community that kernicterus is on the rise. Some of the JCAHO recommendations are #1(!) Promote and support successful breastfeeding. Also recommended is that "women who are breastfeeding receive appropriate oral and written instructions about newborn jaundice. Infants should be breastfed at least eight to 12 times a day for the first few days to stimulate milk production and help keep the baby's bilirubin level down." The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) is also recommending "...and support and promote breastfeeding with on-site certified lactation counseling in support of breastfeeding." Does this mean there is hope after all? This information can be found at www.jcaho.org as well as at www.aap.org. The AAP's recommendations are a lengthy (but interesting)document. Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC Clinical Lead, Lactation Services Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, IL USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html