How does neonatal jaundice come about? An inventory of the causes and eight symptoms of neonatal breast milk jaundice

In fact, there are two types of jaundice related to breast milk: one is that within one week after birth, due to difficulties in breastfeeding, the newborn's insufficient intake leads to worsening jaundice, which is called breastfeeding failure jaundice; the other is that the child is breastfed and grows and develops well, but the jaundice appears later and lasts for a long time, which is what we call breast milk jaundice.

1. Causes of neonatal jaundice due to breastfeeding failure It is currently believed that insufficient feeding in the early stage can cause jaundice. As more and more parents insist on exclusive breastfeeding, breastfeeding fails due to a lack of relevant knowledge. Some children fail to get adequate feeding, which leads to worsening jaundice and have to undergo phototherapy.

This is mainly because the baby eats less after birth, has less intestinal peristalsis, and has delayed or less meconium excretion, which leads to increased intestinal reabsorption of bilirubin in the meconium, thus causing severe jaundice. In addition, some studies have shown that hunger can make the liver's bilirubin-processing enzymes inactive, resulting in the increased bilirubin in the body not being processed in time.

Breastfeeding failure jaundice usually occurs in the first week after birth because the baby does not get enough breast milk, so there is a common feature, which is rapid weight loss after birth. Normal newborns will experience physiological weight loss within 2 or 3 days after birth, and the decline is about 4-7% of the birth weight. If the weight loss exceeds 10% of the birth weight, it means that the child is not taking in enough milk and is prone to breastfeeding failure jaundice, so early feeding of newborns is very important.

2. Causes of Breast Milk Jaundice

Parents who choose to exclusively breastfeed or mainly breastfeed will face another problem, that is, nearly one-third of their children will have persistent jaundice. This type of jaundice appears later, usually one week after birth, and most lasts for 4-6 weeks, and some even last for 2-3 months. This is what we call breast milk jaundice.

We found that the jaundice of children with breast milk jaundice can be significantly reduced after temporarily stopping breastfeeding and switching to formula feeding, but the jaundice will increase again after breastfeeding again. Therefore, it is speculated that it is caused by some substances in breast milk, which is generally believed to be a substance called β-glucuronidase.

This enzyme can hydrolyze the conjugated bilirubin in the child's small intestine that should be excreted, converting it into unconjugated bilirubin, which is then reabsorbed back into the body by the intestines, causing persistent jaundice.

3. Check out the causes and eight symptoms of neonatal breast milk jaundice

1. Jaundice does not subside: It occurs during the period of physiological jaundice, that is, 2 days to 2 weeks after birth, but does not disappear with the disappearance of physiological jaundice. 2. Jaundice degree: It is mainly mild and moderate, severe is rare, and unconjugated bilirubin is more common. 3. Good general condition: The baby is completely healthy except for jaundice, eats well, has normal bowel movements, satisfactory weight gain, no enlarged liver and spleen, normal liver function, and HBsAg is negative. 4. Jaundice subsides rapidly after stopping breastfeeding: Jaundice is significantly relieved 48-72 hours after stopping breastfeeding, and bilirubin quickly drops to about 50% of the original level. After re-breastfeeding, serum bilirubin will rise within 1-2 days, and then slowly decrease after a period of time. Bilirubin will also drop to normal by itself if breastfeeding is not stopped. 5. Good nutritional development, weight gain, normal bowel movements, and normal stool color. 6. No enlarged liver and spleen. 7. Normal liver function and no anemia. 8. Jaundice usually appears 4-5 days after birth and gradually worsens. Elevated bilirubin can last for about 10 days, and then the jaundice gradually subsides and returns to normal levels in 3-12 weeks.

4. How to prevent neonatal breast milk jaundice

1. During pregnancy, mothers should pay attention to food hygiene, avoid alcohol and spicy foods, and do not abuse drugs.

2. In order to reduce the occurrence of this disease, it is encouraged to increase the early breast milk intake of newborns, which can increase the heat in the newborn's body and reduce the activity of glucuronidase.

3. Adhere to the principle of frequent feedings in small amounts, increase the frequency of bowel movements, and reduce intestinal absorption of bilirubin, which can reduce the incidence of jaundice.

4. Provide children with supportive therapies such as keeping warm, increasing calories, and preventing infection to prevent worsening of jaundice.

5. After the baby is born, it is advisable to closely observe the jaundice of the skin for timely diagnosis and treatment.