title: Serum indirect bilirubin levels and meconium passage in early fed normal newborns.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of early feeding of the normal newborn with formula and sterile water on: time of initial meconium passage, serum indirect bilirubin levels at 48 hours of life (HOL), observed jaundice at 48 HOL, and percentage of weight change at 48 HOL. Thirty normal, term newborns were sequentially assigned to one of three treatment groups: a control group given the routine hospital feeding of up to 30 ml of sterile water at 4 HOL and up to 30 ml of formula at 8 HOL; a water-fed group given up to 30 ml of sterile water at each feeding at 1, 2, and 3 HOL; and a third group fed formula at the same times and in the same amounts as the water-fed group. The time of initial meconium passage was significantly earlier in both groups of early fed infants than in the control group, F = 4.202, p = .026. The difference between the water-fed and the formula-fed groups was not statistically significant, but the mean time of passage was earlier in formula-fed infants. Serum indirect bilirubin levels at 48 HOL did not differ significantly, F = 0.412, p = .666, although the mean for the formula-fed group was lower. The correlation between the time of initial meconium passage and serum indirect bilirubin levels at 48 HOL was r = .3271, p = .083. Nine infants in the control group were jaundiced, compared to six in the water-fed group and six in the formula-fed group, a difference that was statistically significant, chi 2 = 6.79, p = .034.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000097:blood*; D001835:Body Weight; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007225:Infant Food; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D007567:Jaundice, Neonatal / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008470:Meconium / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001663:Bilirubin