Breast Milk Jaundice: Getting to Know its Fundamentals

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What is breast milk jaundice? And how to treat the underlying issue?

All mothers that have just given birth are advised to breastfeed their newborn as it protects them from any harmful diseases that they may encounter for the first 6 months of their life. One of the issues that mothers face would be breast milk jaundice.

Breast Milk Contents

Breast milk has a lot of components that are good for babies. As babies mature, the chemical composition in their mother's breast milk also changes. 

They change to meet the needs of the newborn. Studies have shown that more protein and fewer carbohydrates are found in the first few drops, also known as the colostrum, as compared with mature milk. 

The colostrum is the yellowish substance that comes out of the mother's breasts in the first few days after delivery. It has a thick consistency, unlike the mature breast milk that is more watery. Normally, the amount of colostrum is not that much, but it is enough to make a newborn feel full for long periods of time due to its contents. 

Breast Milk Jaundice

The yellowing of the skin or eyes is known as jaundice. About 60 percent of newborns experience jaundice in their first few weeks or months. This happens when the bilirubin, or the yellow pigment that is produced when red blood cells breakdown, is found in high levels in their blood. 

This happens since most of the time, newborns have underdeveloped liver, which could not remove bilirubin from the blood. When bilirubin gets saturated, the skin appears yellow that sometimes even turns the whites of the eyes yellow. 

Breast milk jaundice is a type of jaundice that newborns acquire when breastfeeding. Normally, this condition is seen one week after birth and lasts up to 12 weeks. 

Signs to Look Out for

• Yellow coloration in skin and eyes

• Slow or poor weight gain

• Restlessness

• High pitched crying

• Disinterest in anything

Causes and Cure

What causes breast milk jaundice is unknown and normally there is no known cure to this. However, doctors advise mothers to continue breastfeeding their babies to help them eliminate bilirubin in their bodies. 

However, if it takes too long for jaundice to go away, then the pediatrician would sometimes suggest the mother give formula milk for one week and then resume breastfeeding once the yellowish is gone. 

The Difference with Breastfeeding Jaundice

Breastfeeding jaundice is different from breast milk jaundice. 

Breastfeeding jaundice happens when the newborn is not receiving enough milk from the mother thus delaying the removal of bilirubin from the body. This situation causes the reabsorption of bilirubin to the intestines keeping the level elevated that causes the yellowing of the skin. This is sometimes caused when there is improper latching or if there is difficulty in breastfeeding.

In order to treat this, the mother should not stop breastfeeding, instead, she should breastfeed her baby more to help the bilirubin come out together in the meconium. She may increase the number of feedings a day. Or she may seek the help of a lactation consultant to help unclog milk ducts that could be getting in the way.