According to the recent AAP guidelines, a bili of 16 in a 4-5 day old term
infant is considered to be high NORMAL.  Therefore, a bili of 17 in a 5 day
old is *not* of concern.  Generally, in a term infant in this age range,
phototherapy does not need to be considered untill the bili is approaching or
equalling 20.  If the baby is gaining weight, having good stool & urine
output (in other words, BF well) & is active & normal, there is no
"treatment" needed.  The mother should continue BF & in fact should BF MORE!.
 The more the baby nurses, and the more rapidly the liver processes the bili,
the quicker the bili will come down.

IMHO, the mom should ignore the mis-advice of her ill-informed MD, continue
BF frequently, make sure the baby is BFng well & starting to gain weight, and
go on to have a good BF relationship with her baby.  Her Breastmilk is  the
best for the baby, she didn't cause the increased bili by BF, and she needs
to know she's doing the right thing by continuing to BF.

I get so frustrated sometimes by this kind of mismanagment of BF by my
colleages.
AAAGGHH!

Linda L. Shaw MD.