title: Breast milk beta-glucuronidase and exaggerated jaundice in the early neonatal period.
abstract: Breast-feeding is associated with jaundice in the early neonatal period. Previous work has shown levels of the enzyme beta-glucuronidase in maternal breast milk to be related to infant serum bilirubin on postnatal day 21. Our aim was to establish if there was a correlation between the level of breast milk beta-glucuronidase and the degree of early (first week) neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia. A study of 55 mother and baby pairs showed that breast milk beta-glucuronidase levels had no relationship with the level of infant serum bilirubin between postnatal days 3 and 6. Breast milk beta-glucuronidase does not directly account for the early neonatal jaundice seen in breast-fed babies.
authors.affiliation: Royal Maternity Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afrasiabi
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology*; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D005966:Glucuronidase; D001663:Bilirubin