When infant jaundice isn't severe, your doctor may recommend changes in feeding habits that can lower levels of bilirubin. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about how much or how often your baby is feeding or if you're having trouble breast-feeding. The following steps may lessen jaundice:
April 03, 2014
- More-frequent feedings. Feeding more frequently will provide your baby with more milk and cause more bowel movements, increasing the amount of bilirubin eliminated in your baby's stool. Breast-fed infants should have eight to 12 feedings a day for the first several days of life. Formula-fed infants usually should have 1 to 2 ounces (about 30 to 60 milliliters) of formula every two to three hours for the first week.
- Supplemental feedings. If your baby is having trouble breast-feeding, is losing weight or is dehydrated, your doctor may suggest giving your baby formula or expressed milk to supplement breast-feeding. In some cases, your doctor may recommend using formula alone for a couple of days and then resuming breast-feeding. Ask your doctor what feeding options are right for your baby.
- Wong RJ, et al. Clinical manifestations of unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in term and late preterm infants. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Nov. 7, 2013.
- Management of hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn infant 35 or more weeks of gestation. American Academy of Pediatrics Policy. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/1/297.full.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2013.
- Hay WW, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics. 21st ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com /resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=14. Accessed Nov. 7, 2013.
- Wong RJ, et al. Evaluation of unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in term and late preterm infants. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Nov. 7, 2013.