Contrary to what
you often will hear about how bilirubin levels increasing in a newborn
is not a good thing, there is new research which is showing the
importance of the presence of bilirubin. Bilirubin
has the ability to function as an antioxidant in the brain, scavenging
free radicals and protecting the brain against oxidative damage.
"When women
breastfeed, the babies have higher levels of bilirubin and are
healthier. Babies with higher bilirubin levels are more disease-resistant,"
said Dr. Sylvain Dore of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore,
Maryland. "Bilirubin also protects against retinopathy in
premature babies."
Dr. Dore has done
research on the neuroprotective effect of bilirubin in the hippocampus.
His studies have indicated that low concentrations of bilirubin
decreased oxygen-radical mediated injury, suggesting that bilirubin
could act as an antioxidant.
Dore further experimented
on cultured neurons showing that bilirubin protects against oxidative
stress. The enzyme hemeoxygenase is responsible for making bilirubin.
In these experiments researchers prevented bilirubin synthesis
by eliminating the gene for hemeoxygenase and found, as a result,
twice the level of stroke damage in mice.
There is also some
belief amongst medical professionals that bilirubin is a bacteriostatic
compound which acts to slow or eliminate bacterial growth and
therefore give an advantage to babies with higher levels of jaundice.
This theory would contribute to the fewer infections in breastfed
babies, whose bili counts often descend at a slower rate.
These studies shed
new light on the way in which bilirubin in a newborn should be
viewed. There is no reason to overreact to bili counts ranging
up to low 20's as long as the mother is frequently nursing (every
60 - 90 minutes during the mother's waking hours and no more than
two stretches of four hours maximum at night), baby is wetting
and the counts have begun to slow in ascension or have begun their
descent.
Mother must be
diligent at following a pattern of frequent nursing until jaundice
is gone, even if it includes having to wake the baby, because
jaundice tends to make a baby sleepy. |