Nikki Lee Health

1. Baby kept in the hospital for a bilirubin level of 11 on Day 3, secondary to “breastfeeding insufficiency.”
2. Baby treated for rising bilirubin level. I made 10 contacts in the first month of the baby’s life. Baby gained 1 pound/week, happy and healthy. . .except that MD told the mother that baby could have liver disease or a virus that could result in “blindness or deafness or learning disability”. Baby was always fine. Mother was frightened into weaning. . .as MD knew nothing about late-onset jaundice.
3. The MD told the mother to stop breastfeeding because her son hadn’t peed within 2 hours of a circumcision.
4. The MD told the the mother that she “can’t breastfeed, as the baby’s bilirubin wasn’t low enough.” (Baby was 4 days old; bilirubin level was within normal limits for age.)
5. The MD told the mother that her milk must not be good if the baby wanted to feed more than every 2 hours; baby gaining 11 ounces a week.
6. The baby was admitted to CHOP with the flu; the mother was told that her milk had made the baby sick AND that her milk would increase the baby’s mucous level.
7. Mother with gestational diabetes had her term baby admitted to the NICU with low blood sugar. The baby was fed every 3-4 hours in the NICU. When the baby breastfed on an ad lib schedule, the blood sugar was fine. The mother was told that breastfeeding every 2 hours would be too difficult to sustain.

Some positive and strong things MDs have said to mothers about their babies’ pooping frequency:

1. “Your milk is very strong and good for your baby.”

2. “This means that your baby is gaining weight.”