Question
The baby’s skin test showed a bilirubin level of 16.8 at eight days old, and after taking dandelion, the skin test showed a bilirubin level of 6.8 at 30 days old, and the blood test at 42 days old showed a total bilirubin of 109.64 umol/L. Could it be breast milk jaundice?
Answer
It is generally believed that infants have a high content and activity of glucuronyltransferase in their small intestines. This enzyme, mainly from breast milk, can convert conjugated bilirubin into unconjugated bilirubin. This process occurs in the infant’s small intestine, and since the infant’s intestinal peristalsis is slower, it leads to a large amount of bilirubin that should be metabolized being dissociated into unconjugated bilirubin by this enzyme, causing the jaundice to worsen, thus leading to breast milk jaundice. Doctors suggest you stop breastfeeding for three days to observe whether it is related to breast milk. You don’t need to worry too much; you can still focus on breastfeeding afterward. This is the advice for the question ‘Baby’s skin test showed bilirubin at 16 at eight days old,’ hoping it will be helpful to you, wishing you good health!