Categories: Parenting

What to Expect If Your Newborn is Diagnosed with Jaundice

Jaundice is the term for a child or adult whose skin has turned yellow. The yellow color is the result of bilirubin, the result of the liver disposing of old, red blood cells, no longer needed by the body. For some people the body can’t process the amount of red blood cells and yellow pigment from this causes skin and eyes to turn yellow.

It is not an uncommon thing for a baby to be born with, or to develop, jaundice, particularly if the baby is premature. Premature or otherwise, babies often have livers which simply aren’t yet capable of processing the bilirubin as quickly as needed. There is more than one type of jaundice that can occur.

Physiologic jaundice is noted in a healthy baby and is an ordinary issue that’s easy to “cure”. When the jaundice is serious enough to cause a risk to the patient’s health, it’s called Pathologic jaundice. Pathologic jaundice can occur if the baby certain blood diseases, liver problems, certain infections or blood incompatibility. The cause of the jaundice must be determined before treatment can begin, since different treatments are required for each of the various types of jaundice.

Breast feeding jaundice is a condition where 1 in 10 babies are recognized with jaundice, most within the first week of life. A low calorie intake, from improper breast feeding or other conditions, is thought to be the cause of this type of jaundice.

Breast milk jaundice occurs much less often than breast feeding jaundice. Agents in the mother’s blood are seemingly the cause of this type of jaundice, causing liver problems, which are indicated by the baby’s skin turning yellow over the period of a week or so.

If you’ve already taken your baby home from the hospital, and you notice that the baby’s skin seems yellowish, call the doctor and take the baby for testing. Make sure that you aren’t seeing the yellow skin under a fluorescent light, though, since skin can appear yellowish under fluorescent lighting. Take the baby outside in medium sunlight to check for yellow skin, eyes or mouth.

Jaundice can be a serious condition which should always be diagnosed by a physician. Without treatment dangerous levels of bilirubin can accumulate in the brain, causing serious illness or even death. In some cases, though, no treatment at all is needed for jaundice, depending upon what type your baby has.

Jaundice isn’t normally difficult to diagnose. The yellowish skin is a dead giveaway, but if the skin isn’t showing yet, the whites of the eyes, or the inside of the mouth, could also be yellow. If your child is dark complected it is harder to see the yellowish tint, unless looking at the eyes or in the mouth.

The treatment for jaundice is not painful. Light therapy is generally used to cure the condition. Also referred to as phototherapy, a light is shined upon the baby with the eyes protected by large wads of cotton, taped in place. The treatment is performed for a couple of days as the doctor closely follows the baby’s condition.

Some side effects of the light treatment include diarrhea, dehydration, and a rise or fall in body temperature. Your doctor will monitor the baby closely. Don’t worry, though. Jaundice is easily identified, easily treated, and usually isn’t serious.