Prolonged jaundice in BF newborn

[Wendy HS]

Has anyone else had a newborn with prolonged jaundice ( 5- 6 weeks old)? My DS is still jaundiced and is almost 6 weeks old. He's been tested twice now for bilirubin levels and they come back fine. He is gaining weight, nursing frequently, alert, and plenty of wet diapers. When I tell the nurse that he is still jaundice they say it is normal, but I've never known one to go this long. Has anyone else had this experience and what did you do about it?

[MsBlack]

Yes, I've seen this.  When baby is nursing well, growing, alert, and especially if bili count is ok, then no worries!

Have you looked into breastmilk jaundice?  Some have this, it lasts longer and generally passes off in a longer time than usual newborn jaundice.  My first, born 3.5wks early, had this--and she was a bit yellow for nearly 6mos.  My doc at the time said she was fine--and she was!

[Marissamom]

DD was yellow until 3 months. we just tried to make sure she got sunlight and did have her levels tested at 2 months, and it was mild. I've heard with breastmilk jaundice it will sometimes clear up if you switch to formula for 24 hours, but since it's mild and not a concern, there's no reason to do that.

[womenswisdom]

My daughter had jaundice for quite a while.  With my blood type and my husband's we suspected ABO incompatibility.  What blood type are you?

[bella99]

My daughter had what was probably breastmilk jaundice.  We didn't do anything.  She was fine, we knew she was fine, her doctor knew she was fine, there wasn't any reason to do anything.

It probably lasted about 4-5 weeks.  I think it was more noticeable with her because she was (is) very fair skinned and so she looked more yellow.  My friend's son spent a couple of days under bili-lights, but he didn't look yellow at all, but his levels were really high, but he had a noticeable darker skin tone than my daughter.

[dejagerw]

My son had it for about 2 months.  He never had concerning bili levels even in the hospital, or later when they checked him again at his 1 month appt.  I never really noticed that he was yellow, but the doctor did.  (later looking back at the photos, I noticed he definitely looked yellow too.)  We never did anything, just assumed it was breastfeeding jaundice.  It was no big deal, and went away on its own without formula.

[lville71]

Hi - I'm sorry to hear about your baby's jaundice.

It certainly sounds like good news that he's putting on weight and has plenty of wet diapers.

When they have done his bilirubin levels, are they providing just a total bilirubin or are they giving you a total bilirubin, along with a direct bilirubin and an indirect bilirubin?  That kind of a detailed breakdown of the bilirubin levels could be helpful to give you some more information about whether this might just be breastmilk jaundice or not.  I think it is great that you are continuing to bring it up to the doctors and the nurses - they can always do follow-up blood work (and even more detailed blood work) to make sure to keep an eye on this

[Eman'smom]

When was the last time he was tested and when was the last time he was actually seen by the nurse or doctor.  I won't scare you with ds's story but regardless of weight gain, wet diapers and nursing I'd have him looked at.  It's most likely fine but he should be checked out by a professional that deals with newborns.

[lville71]

How is your son doing?  Is his jaundice clearing? 

If he's still jaundiced at this point, what kind of blood work is his pediatrician doing to rule out cholestasis?

Just wondering and hope you are both doing well.