A Controlled, Randomized, Double-Blind Trial of Prophylaxis Against Jaundice Among Breastfed Newborns

Glenn R. Gourley; Zhanhai Li; Bill L. Kreamer; Michael R. Kosorok

doi:10.1542/peds.2004-1807

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conflict of interest
Valerie W. McClain

Published on: 17 September 2005
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Nikki Lee

Published on: 02 August 2005

Published on: (17 September 2005)

conflict of interest
Valerie W. McClain, lactation consultant
I do research on the patenting of human milk components and at times for a change of pace look at infant formula patents. This paper by Gourley, Li, Kreamer, and Kosorok just happened to look familiar to me.
Glenn R. Gourly and Bill L. Kreamer are inventors to patent # 6,627,213 called "Inhibition of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in breast fed infants," filed in September 28, 2001. It is a patent "for infant...
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I do research on the patenting of human milk components and at times for a change of pace look at infant formula patents. This paper by Gourley, Li, Kreamer, and Kosorok just happened to look familiar to me.
Glenn R. Gourly and Bill L. Kreamer are inventors to patent # 6,627,213 called "Inhibition of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in breast fed infants," filed in September 28, 2001. It is a patent "for infant supplements containing casein, a salt of casein, whey and/or a casein hydrolysate which are free of carbohydrate, and methods for their use with breast feeding babies." The patent mentions L-aspartic acid and casein hydrolysate as reducing jaundice.
It seems to me that having this invention might be considered by some to be a conflict of interest.
Conflict of Interest:
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Competing Interests: None declared.
Published on: (2 August 2005)

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Nikki Lee, lactation consultant
This study goes into great detail about amounts and contents of supplements, yet there is no mention of how many times a day babies went to breast.
DeCarvalho (1982) and Yamouchi and Yamanuchi (1990) published studies showing an inverse relationship between number of breastfeeds in the first days postpartum, and bililrubin levels. Babies that breastfeed more than 9-11 times in 24 hours in the first three day...
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This study goes into great detail about amounts and contents of supplements, yet there is no mention of how many times a day babies went to breast.
DeCarvalho (1982) and Yamouchi and Yamanuchi (1990) published studies showing an inverse relationship between number of breastfeeds in the first days postpartum, and bililrubin levels. Babies that breastfeed more than 9-11 times in 24 hours in the first three days are babies that are kept with their mothers, rooming-in; their bilirubin levels are significantly lower than babies who feed less than 9-11 times in 24 hours.
While there are studies showing that breastfed babies have more jaundice, the issue is more of insufficient breastfeeding than anything else. Dr. Lawrence Gartner has been quoted as calling this "lack of breastmilk jaundice".
Anecdotally, I have heard that nurseries in Baby-Friendly Hospitals see very few babies with jaundice. Babies in hospitals with the BFHI designation are able to feed frequently because they are with their mothers for enough time. Effective breastfeeding works, in both preventing jaundice and in preventing re-admission for hyperbilirubinemia.
Breastfeeding is already proven valid and reliable and free, unlike some new supplement that must be produced and tested, and then sold.
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Conflict of Interest:
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Competing Interests: None declared.