Jaundice and "treatment."

My daughter was born with jaundice five years ago.

I blame it for my failure to breastfeed exclusively. The hospital never really said a whole lot about her levels but when I was sent home, her Pedi was extremely concerned and we had to have her blood tested every other day. Her numbers kept rising so they told me to supplement formula due to her not passing the whatever it is she was supposed to be passing through her system.

Am I allowed to ask the hospital to treat this one under that lights BEFORE we leave this time? I would prefer her be treated that way instead of any supplementation in hopes that my BFing will be more successful.

Hm. Idk. Did you have home phototherapy with her? My older two both went home with phototherapy machines, hit levels of 20, and never had a drop of formula (and it wasn't suggested by their peds either).

You should ask. They also had me supplement dd. we still ended up under the lights. If they ask you to supplement again you can refuse. I didn't know that till we got to nicu. A nicu nurse told me I could have refused and they would have just given her an iv. We did eventually successfully breastfeed but I wish I would have known then what I know now.

Its not your fault and not related to breastfeeding. My daughter was formula fed and needed to stay under the bili lights 24 hours, my son was breastfed and he had to stay under the lights too.

If your baby has jaundice than yes, you can request the bili lights. It won't hurt them so they're generally willing to do it as a precaution.

they won't treat the baby with the lights unless they are concerned about his/her levels. it would be unnecessary.

but.... i do know that if baby is just above the level they like, they will do it. my daughter's case was very slight and she was like maybe a number over their level. i want to say their level was, like, 10 and she was an 11. so, they put her under the lights and kept her an extra day. if she was worse, they'd have kept her longer and/or would have sent her home with bili blanket thing to treat her at home.

My milk took 3 days to come in which caused ds to to poop...   I think once I bfd and they gave him formula after then my milk came in and the poop started flowing. He was already under the lights though. Also he swallowed some mucus on the way out so he was spitting up mucous for the first day... I think they all made him not poop so his body couldn't get rid of it the right way. I'm just glad they found it before we discharged! Less germs in the nursery than the peds unit!

Good luck! I'm hoping this lo doesn't need those lights too.  

Omg... Sounds exactly like what happened with my daughter. Ask if they can prescribe a bilirubin blanket. It's a portable at-home blanket you wrap around the baby that does the same thing as the lights in the hospital. Our ped tried to find one for her, but they were all checked out so we had to supplement  
Ask them for a bilirubin blanket. It's bilirubin that they have top get out of their system.

Quoting Piecey.:" Hm. Idk. Did you have home phototherapy with her? My older two both went home with phototherapy machines, ... [snip!] ... with phototherapy machines, hit levels of 20, and never had a drop of formula (and it wasn't suggested by their peds either)."

They never offered me the at home treatment. They essentially told me to give her formula until her levels dropped or take her back to the hospital for treatment.

The day they made me supplement her levels were 16. As a first time mom, I googled and got all sorts of freaked out and gave her formula. My milk came in about two days later but the damage was partially done.

Thank you, everyone.

I am going to request that they test her and go from there. I would REALLY like to be able to BF successfully this time especially with a slightly extended maternity leave where I can get my supply up for pumping.

Don't blame not BF exclusively I just had my daughter and she was a bit jaundice they were worried because SO and I have incompatible blood types. and she's at risk for jaundice for the next week or so. And before we left they checked her levels her doctor came in and said "I'm really glad you've kept to breast feeding! Her levels are perfect!" Somehow she didn't seem to know that I had to start supplementing after 36 hours. The formula is what helped. Other than that I'm really not sure on the rest. You can ask the hospital to do anything I'm sure they'd pay extra attention if you let them know your past experience. I had to get DD checked out yesterday (1 day out of the hospital) and her levels were fine and I just started breast feeding again because my milk finally came in.

Quoting Emily Dickinson:" Thank you, everyone. I am going to request that they test her and go from there. I would REALLY like ... [snip!] ... able to BF successfully this time especially with a slightly extended maternity leave where I can get my supply up for pumping."

My doctors have all told me that it is not necessary to supplement with formula for jaundice.... that in fact, even though they don't get much from nursing, the colostrum is much more potent. Sunlight is the best treatment. My youngest never had formula until he was about 10 months old, and his jaundice cleared up quickly. I would just breastfeed if I were you... and if their levels are high enough to be ANY call for concern, request the lights.

Quoting Chels :3:" Don't blame not BF exclusively I just had my daughter and she was a bit jaundice they were worried because ... [snip!] ... (1 day out of the hospital) and her levels were fine and I just started breast feeding again because my milk finally came in. "

No, I'm not blaming the formula! The formula DID help. It just hurt my supply so I couldn't BF exclusively anymore.

Quoting MunchkinWrangler:" My doctors have all told me that it is not necessary to supplement with formula for jaundice.... that ... [snip!] ... I would just breastfeed if I were you... and if their levels are high enough to be ANY call for concern, request the lights."

Thank you!
Yeah, they scared the heck out of me. It wasn't just my Pedi, it was the lab and the nurses and I was a first time mom. This time, I have a little more ammunition in my pocket to make sure I stick to my guns.

Quoting Emily Dickinson:" Thank you! Yeah, they scared the heck out of me. It wasn't just my Pedi, it was the lab and the nurses ... [snip!] ... the nurses and I was a first time mom. This time, I have a little more ammunition in my pocket to make sure I stick to my guns."

Up until recently, breastfeeding was taboo. Nurses who have been around for a while will often tell you to supplement formula. They will even offer to supplement formula so you can "rest" in the hospital... When in turn, this effects your supply coming in and baby's latching techniques in many cases.

I had NO support breastfeeding with my first two kids. In the hospital they all just told me to give baby a bottle... Thankfully, this time I had support in all directions.

the only treatment i ever heard of was putting them under lights and our hospitals in mass dont do that anymore. if thats what your afraid of then your only sure bet would be to formula feed only.