Treatment of Breast milk jaundice

The current recommendation for the treatment of breast milk jaundice (NOT breastfeeding failure
jaundice) is:
A) Continue to breastfeed.
B) Stop breastfeeding and change to a cow’s milk formula.
C) Stop breastfeeding and change to soy milk formula.
D) Stop breastfeeding and treat with rehydration solution (e.g., Pedialyte).

Answer And Discussion

The correct answer is “A.” Continue to breastfeed.

 Patients with hyperbilirubinemia due to breast milk jaundice should continue to breastfeed. Breast milk jaundice begins on days 5–7 of life, peaks by 2 weeks of age, and usually resolves by 10 weeks of age. Bilirubin levels will gradually decline while breastfeeding is continued. If breastfeeding is
discontinued, serum bilirubin levels decline rapidly. Kernicterus is a rare. The etiology is unclear but glucuronidase in breast milk resulting in deconjugation and increased enterohepatic recirculation of bilirubin has been proposed.