Jaundice In New Born Baby

Baby

oi-Staff

By Super Admin

Friday, June 24, 2011, 9:49

Jaundice in a newborn baby or neonatal jaundice is usually harmless and is often seen around the second day of birth. It may last till 8 days in normal birth or around 14 days in premature births.

It is caused, as the newborn baby's liver cannot work fast enough to dispose a pigment called bilirubin. Bilirubin is a yellow pigment, which is produced when the red blood cells are broken down and cleared by kidneys as well as liver. As the liver is relatively immature, it is unable to get rid of this pigment, which gets accumulated. This in result causes the characteristic yellow skin. So do not panic when you see yellow skin just after two days of birth.

Symptoms

• Yellow skin
• Yellow sclera and nail beds.
• Baby sleeps for a longer time than usual.

Treatment

If the Jaundice is mild it clears on its own in 10 days of time. However, it is mandatory to follow these treatments in order to reduce the severity.

• Breastfeed the baby more often.
• Exposure to indirect sunlight. Preferably place the cot or the cradle of the baby next to the window with a thin screen.
• Breast-feed your baby more often.
• Place them under bili lights (a photo therapy tool) that is expose them to high level of coloured light to break down the bilirubin. Blue light is usually used for this purpose. Green light is more effective in breaking down bilirubin. However it is not commonly used as the babies start appearing sick.
• In severe conditions blood is transfused
• Use of specific drugs to stimulate the liver to get rid of the yellow pigment.

Note: if jaundice continues beyond 2 weeks; then newborn metabolic screen should be checked for galactosemia and congenital hypothyroidism. Family history should be explored with the evaluation of infant's weight curve. Stool colour should also be assessed.

Some interesting Facts

• A survey states that jaundice is more prominent in male infants than female infants. However it is not related to bilirubin production rates, which are similar to those in female infants.
• French researchers recently stated that exposure to strong sunlight will lead to development of moles on the skin. These moles are termed as melanocytic naevi in medical jargon. Therefore the researchers advice the parents to give sufficient protection while exposing them to intense light therapy.
• Few years back Johns Hopkins University proved that the pigment bilirubin, which turns skin yellow, is a powerful antioxidant. It protects baby's cell from damage. Therefore jaundice can act like a barrier from cell damage. However jaundice should be taken care.
• Making the baby drink water in the first days after birth will increase the severity of newborn jaundice. So breast-feed the baby more than giving water.

Follow these instructions to enhance healthy growth of infants.