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YY Lin, PN Tsao, WS Hsieh, et al
31 Clinical Neonatology 2008 Vol. 15 No.1
The Impact of Breast-Feeding on Early Neonatal
Jaundice
Yi-Ying Lin1,2,3, Po-Nien Tsao1, Wu-Shiun Hsieh1, Chien-Yi Chen1, Hung-Chieh Chou1
Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of breast-feeding promotion on the incidence of hyper-
bilirubinemia, on peak bilirubin level and on mean days of hospitalization.
Study Design: The study population consisted of 1273 healthy full-term newborns born before and after the Baby
Friendly Hospital Initiative Program was launched in July 2000. The relationship between breast-feeding and the inci-
dence of hyperbilirubinemia (bilirubin level >12.9 mg/dL), body weight(BW) loss ratio, mean hospital days, bilirubin
level on the third or fourth day, peak bilirubin level and mean days of phototherapy were analyzed.
Results: The rate of breast-feeding during hospitalization was increased from 92.18% to 97.15% after implementation
of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program. The incidence of hyperbilirubinemia among newborns born after the
Program also increased from 10.88% to 23.77%. There was a significant association between monthly rates of
breast-feeding and the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia, BW loss ratio, the bilirubin level on the third or fourth day, the
peak bilirubin level, the mean hospital days, the mean days of phototherapy, as well as the frequencies of urination and
defecation. Maximum BW loss day after birth, BW loss ratio and breast-feeding were the most significant factors related
to hyperbilirubinemia.
Conclusions: After the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program was launched, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia
increased. This result may be due to increased weight loss caused by improper breast-feeding. Increased weight loss
and breast-feeding were found to be associated with an increase in the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia, the bilirubin
level on the third or fourth day, the mean days of hospitalization and phototherapy. Although breast-feeding remains the
single best choice for infants and parents, jaundice and prolonged hospitalization related to improper breast-feeding
should be kept in mind by medical personnel. (Clinical Neonatology 2008;15:31-35)
Key Words: bilirubin, breast-feeding, hyperbilirubinemia, jaundice, Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program
Neonatal jaundice remains the most common problem in
full-term infants in the nursery, especially in Asia. Prior
studies have shown that the incidence of hyper-
bilirubinemia in full-term newborns in the first week of
life ranges from 4.8% to 15.5% [1-4]. However, there is
still much controversy over the role of breast-feeding in
the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia and its effect on
peak bilirubin level [1-8]. After increased promotion of
breast-feeding in Taiwan, the incidence of neonatal hy-
perbilirubinemia during the first week of life seemed to
be increasing. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the
impact of breast-feeding promotion on the incidence of
neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, on peak bilirubin level and
on mean days of hospitalization.
Materials And Methods
In Taiwan, the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program
was launched in July 2000. Mothers are encouraged to
nurse their babies when they were hungry and were told
not to limit the frequency or length of nursing. Supple-
mentation with infant formula was given only when the
babies cried even after breast-feeding or at the request of
the family.
A total of 3107 neonates were born in our institution
before (from July 1 to December 31, 1999) and after
(from July 1 to December 31, 2001) the Baby Friendly
Hospital Initiative Program was initiated. Babies with a
positive Coombs’ test, an elevated reticulocyte count,
1Departments of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University
Hospital and National Taiwan University College of
Medicine, Taipei 2Departments of Pediatrics, Taipei Hos-
pital, Department of Health 3Departments of Pediatrics,
Kinmen Hospital, Department of Health, Taiwan
Received: October 5, 2007
Accepted: April 24, 2008
Reprint Requests to: Dr. Hung-Chieh Chou, Depart
ment
of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital,
No.7,
Chung-Shan South Road, Taipei, 100, Taiwan
Breast-Feeding and Neonatal Jaundice
Clinical Neonatology 2008 Vol. 15 No.1
32
cephalohematoma, subgaleal hemorrhage, ecchymoses, a
major anomaly, jaundice occurring within the first day of
life, infection and maternal diabetes were all excluded. A
total of 1273 healthy, full-term newborns were enrolled
under the following criteria: uncomplicated vaginal de-
livery, birth weight >2500 gm, gestational age >37 weeks
and Apgar score >7 at 1 minute.
The clinical and laboratory data, including body
weight (BW), gestational age (GA), Apgar score, mater-
nal age, type and amount of feeding, bilirubin level, as
well as the frequencies of urination and defecation, were
extracted from the baby’s charts. All infants were
weighted naked each morning before feeding. Heel-stick
blood was obtained in the morning of the third or fourth
hospital day or at indicated times for microbilirubin level,
hematocrit and newborn screening. Microbilirubin level
was measured by direct spectrophotometry of the serum
in a microhematocrit tube (Leica Unistat bilirubinometer,
Wetzlar, Germany). If the microbilirubin level was <12.9
mg/dL, the babies were discharged and followed up at
our outpatient department. Otherwise, the babies were
kept in the nursery for observation until the micro-
bilirubin level falls below 12.9 mg/dL. According to our
neonatal care guidelines, the babies will be admitted to
the neonatal observation room (NOR) and receive pho-
totherapy if the microbilirubin level was >12 mg/dL on
the second day of life or >15 mg/dL on or after the third
day of life. When the bilirubin level was >17 mg/dL, the
following additional investigations were performed:
blood smear for RBC morphology, complete blood cell
count, reticulocyte count, Coombs’ test and blood typing.
The relationship between the monthly rate of
breast-feeding and the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia
(bilirubin level >12.9 mg/dL), BW loss ratio, mean hos-
pital days, the bilirubin level on the third or fourth day,
the peak bilirubin level and the mean days of photother-
apy were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Statistical analyses were performed using the independ-
ent samples t-test for continuous variables; otherwise the
Chi-Square test was used for categorical variables. To
quantify the relationship between clinical variables and
hyperbilirubinemia we used logistic regression analysis.
A p value below 0.05 was considered to be statistically
significant.
Results
The clinical and laboratory characteristics of the study
population are shown in Table 1. After implementation of
the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program, the rate of
breast-feeding increased from 92.18% to 97.15% and the
incidence of hyperbilirubinemia increased from 10.88%
to 23.77%. In addition, the BW loss ratio, the bilirubin
level on the third or fourth day, the peak bilirubin level
and the mean days of hospitalization and phototherapy
all increased significantly after breast-feeding promotion
started (all p<0.001). The frequencies of urination and
defecation on the first two days of life also decreased
significantly (p<0.001).
Table 1. Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics Before
and After the Start of the Baby Friendly Hos-
pital Initiative Program
Before
(n=726)
After
(n=547)
p
Male/Female 352/374 272/275 0.661
GA (weeks) 39.2
±
1.1 39.2 ± 1.1
0.841
Birth weight
(grams)
3238.1
±
346.2
3233.5
±
333.5
0.814
Maximum BW loss
day after birth
2.7 ± 0.8 2.7 ± 0.8 0.095
Maximum BW loss
ratio (%)
4.9 ± 1.7 6.0 ± 2.2 < 0.001
Maternal age (y/o) 30.9 ± 3.9 31.3 ± 4.1
0.041
Apgar score (5) 9 (8-10)+ 9 (9-9)+ 0.318
Bilirubin on 3rd or
4th day (mg/dL)
9.64
±
2.36 11.06 ± 2.58
< 0.001
Peak bilirubin day 3.4 ± 0.6 3.5 ± 0.6 0.073
Peak bilirubin
(mg/dL)
9.77
±
2.52 11.22 ± 2.74
< 0.001
Bilirubin >12.9
mg/dL baby num-
bers
79 130 < 0.001
Mean hospital days 3.8 ± 1.0 4.1 ± 1.2 < 0.001
Urination frequency
on 2nd day
6.0 ± 1.9 4.7 ± 1.8 < 0.001
Urination frequency
on 3rd day
6.8 ± 2.0 5.5 ± 1.9 < 0.001
Defecation fre-
quency on 2nd day
4.6 ± 2.4 3.8 ± 2.1 < 0.001
Defecation fre-
quency on 3rd day
4.7 ± 2.5 4.1 ± 2.1 < 0.001
Mean phototherapy
days
0.1 ± 0.6 0.3 ±0.8 < 0.001
* Data presented as mean ± SD
+ Presented as median (minimum-maximum)
YY Lin, PN Tsao, WS Hsieh, et al
33 Clinical Neonatology 2008 Vol. 15 No.1
The relationships between the clinical variables and
hyperbilirubinemia are shown in Table 2. In the group
with hyperbilirubinemia, the maximum BW loss day
after birth and BW loss ratio increased significantly
(p<0.001). The breast-feeding method also showed a
significant relationship with hyperbilirubinemia (p=
0.001).
Table 2. Relationship Between Hyperbilirubinemia and
Clinical Characteristics
Peak Bilirubin
Level (mg/dL)
<12.9
(n=1064)
>12.9
(n=209)
p
Male/Female 515/549 109/100 0.321
GA (weeks) 39.2 ± 1.1 39.1 ± 1.1 0.813
Birth weight
(grams)
3233.1
±
339.6
3251.8
±
346.1
0.468
Maximum BW
loss day after birth
2.6 ± 0.7 3.0 ± 0.8 < 0.001
±
±±
±
Maximum BW
loss ratio (%)
5.2 ± 1.8 6.2 ± 2.7 0.001
±
±±
±
Maternal age (y/o)
31.1 ± 4.0 31.1 ± 3.8 0.887
Number of
Breast-fed babies
82 38 0.001
±
±±
±
Apgar score (5) 9 (9-10)+ 9 (8-9)+ 0.999
±
±±
±
Urination fre-
quency on 2nd day
5.5 ± 2.0 5.1 ± 1.8 0.748
±
±±
±
Urination fre-
quency on 3rd day
6.3 ± 2.1 6.0 ± 2.1 0.883
±
±±
±
Defecation fre-
quency on 2nd day
4.3 ± 2.3 4.0 ± 2.0 0.247
±
±±
±
Defecation fre-
quency on 3rd day
4.5 ± 2.4 4.4 ± 2.1 0.472
* Data presented as mean ± SD
+ Presented as median (minimum-maximum)
± Logistic regression
Significant positive correlations were noted between
the rate of breast-feeding and the incidence of hyper-
bilirubinemia (r = 0.810; p = 0.001), the BW loss ratio (r
= 0.872; p < 0.001), the bilirubin level on the third or
fourth day (r = 0.768; p = 0.004), the peak bilirubin level
(r = 0.765; p = 0.004), mean hospital days (r = 0.791; p =
0.002) and mean days of phototherapy (r = 0.822; p =
0.001) (Table 3). Significant negative correlations were
also noted between the rate of breast-feeding and the
frequencies of urination and defecation on the second
and third day of life (Table 3). A significant relationship
between maximal BW loss ratio and the incidence of
hyperbilirubinemia was also documented (r = 0.944; p <
0.001) (Figure 1).
Fig
FigFig
Fig.
..
. 1.
1. 1.
1. Relationship between maximum BW loss ratio
and the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia
(r = 0.944; p < 0.001)
In our study, 3.99% and 8.78% of infants had
bilirubin level >15 mg/dL before and after the Baby
Friendly Hospital Initiative Program, respectively, indi-
cating a correlation with the rate of breast-feeding (r =
0.560; p = 0.058).
Discussion
The incidence of hyperbilirubinemia in full-term new-
borns in the first week of life has been found to vary
from 4.8% to 15.5% in previous reports [1-4]. The inci-
dence of hyperbilirubinemia in our study increased from
10.88% to 23.77% after the launching of the breast-
feeding promotion program. Numerous reports have in-
dicated a striking association between breast-feeding and
hyperbilirubinemia [3,4,6,7,9-13], but this does not seem
to be universal [1,2,4,8,14]. Our study showed a strong
correlation between neonatal jaundice and breast-feed-
ing.
Several interpretations can be made of the associa-
tion of breast-feeding and neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
The most likely mechanisms include dehydration, caloric
deprivation and enhancement of enterohepatic circulation.
Previous studies had documented that breast-fed infants
lose more weight in the first few days of life than for-
mula-fed infants and that there is an association between
BW loss and hyperbilirubinemia [7,12,15]. Our study
also showed that infants born after the Baby Friendly
Hospital Initiative Program was started to lose more BW,
indicating a striking positive association between maxi-
mum BW loss ratio and rate of breast-feeding.
0 5 10 1 5 20 2 5 30 35
The Incidence of Hype rbi lirubine mia (%)
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
5.0
4.5
Maximum BW Loss Ratio (%)
Breast-Feeding and Neonatal Jaundice
Clinical Neonatology 2008 Vol. 15 No.1
34
The effect of caloric deprivation on serum bilirubin
was first noted by Gilbert and Hershi in 1906 [16]. Later,
Barrett [17] and Felsher et al [18] have shown that fast-
ing causes a significant elevation of serum bilirubin lev-
els in both normal adults and patients with hepatic dis-
ease. After nursing and milk flow are well established,
breast-fed infants have been shown to receive fewer
calories than bottle-fed peers in the first three to five
days after birth [19]. Gartner et al documented that the
enhanced enterohepatic circulation of bilirubin is a major
factor in the pathogenesis of fasting-induced hyper-
bilirubinemia [20]. De Carvalho et al found that
breast-fed infants excrete significantly less bilirubin in
their stools and pass less stool than bottle-fed infants in
the first three days of life [21]. In this study, we also
found that BW loss ratio increased significantly after the
breast-feeding promotion was started and that there was
a significant negative correlation between frequencies of
urination and defecation and monthly rate of breast-
feeding.
In accord with previous results, early neonatal jaun-
dice was found to be associated with an increase BW
loss ratio and breast-feeding in this study. The reason for
the greater BW loss may be inadequate breast-feeding.
Proper breast-feeding is necessary to prompt a good sup-
ply of breast milk and inappropriate breast-feeding can
cause poor breast milk production and dehydration.
Skin-to-skin contact between mother and infant immedi-
ately following birth, rooming-in, anticipatory guidance
and avoidance of formula supplementation and pacifiers
are recommended to establish and maintain successful
breast-feeding [22]. Although the rate of breast-feeding
was increased in our nursery, the incidence of hyper-
bilirubinemia also increased. This may be due to an in-
appropriate sucking posture and inadequate feeding fre-
quency. Thus our efforts must be directed towards more
frequent visits to the lactating mother and closer moni-
toring of the breast-fed newborns. The evaluation should
include general health, body weight, positioning posture
during breast-feeding, jaundice and elimination fre-
quency.
We also found that the mean days of hospitalization
and phototherapy were significantly increased after the
promotion of breast-feeding. Prolonged hospitalization
maybe due to the elevated incidence of hyperbilirubine-
mia, in which case infants are kept in the nursery for
close observation or admitted to the NOR for photother-
apy. Prolonged phototherapy may be due to less effective
phototherapy when the caloric and fluid intake levels are
low [23]. Prolonged hospitalization and phototherapy
also increase medical costs, in addition to causing de-
spair and anxiety among the parents. Hence, all health-
care providers should be familiar with inappropriate
breast-feeding induced jaundice and the treatment of
breast-feeding jaundice. Moreover, we must increase our
efforts to establish and maintain successful breast-feed-
ing, including person-to-person support of the lactating
mother, skin contact between mother and infant immedi-
ately following birth, rooming-in, more frequent visiting
of the lactating mother and closer monitoring of the
breast-fed newborns; these activities will reduce the in-
cidence of hyperbilirubinemia causing by inappropriate
breast-feeding.
Conclusions
After Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Program was
launched, the incidence of hyperbilirubinemia increased.
This change may be due to increased weight loss caused
by improper breast-feeding. Increased weight loss and
breast-feeding were associated with the increase in the
incidence of hyperbilirubinemia, the bilirubin level on
the third or fourth day as well as the mean days of hospi-
talization and phototherapy. Although breast-feeding
remains the single best choice for infants and parents,
jaundice and prolonged hospitalization related to im-
proper breast-feeding should be kept in mind by medical
personnel.
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