Actually formula does seem to pull bilirubin out of the body much faster.
In some cases this is a good thing - not in others.  

 

Can't give you the references but I distinctly remember a conference where
this was discussed in detail.  Bilirubin is actually an antioxidant - this
is a good thing.  This may be why breastmilk doesn't pull it out so fast or
allows the rise.  Even when baby is nursing well, they have a rise in
bilirubin and then it falls because the baby is stooling.  Around day 5+ or
so is when breastmilk jaundice would set in - but we aren't talking about
day 5 right now.  :-)  

 

Antioxidants are a good thing for us - so we don't WANT the bilirubin to be
pulled out too fast - that would rob baby of the positive antioxidant effect
of bilirubin they are supposed to get.  

 

However, when BF is not going well and baby is not getting enough milk of
course the bili levels can get too high which can be dangerous.  And we have
some babies who, tho they are BF well, their bili levels get way too high
for other reasons.  In this case, the use of ABM could be helpful in pulling
out the bilirubin before it causes any harm to baby.  Not that I am a fan of
using ABM - I'd much rather use more breastmilk first.  But I have seen
cases where even that did not reduce the levels well enough and using a bit
of ABM did the trick and put baby back in the safety range.

 

Sadly, too many will jump to ABM as a first resort with the mistaken belief
that any jaundice is a bad thing - when actually it is a normal thing.  I
wish I could remember who did this research and gave this info.If someone
else can place their finger on that bit of info that would be quite helpful.
Also, if someone can find the info that shows I am way off base here please
let me know!  :-)

 

Warmly,

Jaye

 

Jaye Simpson, IBCLC, CIIM

Breastfeeding Network

Sacramento, CA

www.breastfeedingnetwork.net

 


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