On October 16th, Alicia Dermer requested information about the source of a
statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics on "not discontinuing
breastfeeding with jaundice and not using water".  The statement she is
referring to is probably the one that appeared in the article entitled:
"Practice Parameter: Management of Hyperbilirubinemia in the Healthy Term
Newborn" in Pediatrics 94: 558-565, 1994 (October 1994).  In this official
policy statement the following paragraph can be found on page 561:

        "The AAP discourages the interruption of breastfeeding in healthy
term newborns and encourages continued and frequent breast-feeding (at least
eight to ten times every 24 hours).  Supplementing nursing with water or
dextrose water does not lower the bilirubin level in jaundiced, healthy,
breast-feeding infants."
        References are given and the article goes on to offer options for
management of the jaundiced breastfed infant.

        A related article with more detailed discussion of this and other
issues appeared in another publication of the American Academy of
Pediatrics.  More references are provided.  That article was written by me
and is entitled: "Neonatal Jaundice" and appeared in Pediatrics in Review
15:422-432, 1994 (November 1994).  The policy statement and my review
article were intentionally published at the same time to elaborate on
management issues in neonatal jaundice.  Another paper by me also concerns
some of these same issues, particularly about water supplementation and
frequency of nursing in relation to jaundice.  This third article is
entitled: "On the Question of the Relationship Between Breastfeeding and
Jaundice in the First 5 Days of Life".  It appeared in Seminars in
Perinatology 18:502-509, 1994 (December 1994).

        I hope this is the information you needed.  Please ask again if you
have more questions.

                                                Larry Gartner
Lawrence M. Gartner, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics/Gynecology
The University of Chicago
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