Jaundice and breast-feeding among Alaskan Eskimo newborns
Q. Fisher, M. I. Cohen, L. Curda and H. McNamara
The course, incidence, and severity of neonatal jaundice was studied in 95
Alaskan Eskimo infants. Breast-fed infants had higher bilirubin
concentrations than bottle-fed babies. Both groups experienced high
bilirubin levels, similar to those previously reported in Navajo and
Oriental infants but greater than those observed in whites and blacks. A
marked capacity to inhibit hepatic glucuronyl transferase was observed in
breast-milk specimens but only partly accounted for the bilirubin
differences between breast-fed and bottle-fed Eskimo infants. These data
suggest that in some racial groups predisposed to neonatal jaundice,
feeding practices significantly alter the course and severity of
hyperbilirubinemia.
