Reduced calorie intake, rather than mere dehydration, is
a possible cause of breastfeeding-related jaundice.5,8,9
Because breast milk is the best food for infants, the first
remedy should be increased nursing frequency. However,
maternal or neonatal factors may not permit this. Supplementary
feeding with human milk or infant formula can
prevent severe weight loss that leads to hyperbilirubinemia.
To avoid overuse of infant formula, which may interfere
with nursing, empirical data are needed regarding the
indications for supplementary feeding. To the best of our
knowledge, this is the first study to have investigated the
optimal BW loss percentage cut-off value at 2 and 3 days
of age to predict subsequent neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.