According to health.org medical reports, Infant jaundice is a yellow discoloration in a newborn baby’s skin and eyes which occurs because the baby’s blood contains an excess of bilirubin, a yellow-colored pigment of red blood cells. It is a common condition, particularly in babies born before 38 weeks gestation (preterm babies) and some breast-fed babies.
Infant jaundice usually occurs because a baby’s liver isn’t mature enough to get rid of bilirubin in the bloodstream. In some cases, an underlying disease may cause jaundice. Treatment of infant jaundice often isn’t necessary, and most cases that need treatment respond well to non-invasive therapy. Although complications are rare, a high bilirubin level associated with severe infant jaundice or inadequately treated jaundice may cause brain damage.
Some of the symptoms include Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes is a sign of infant jaundice that usually appears between the second and fourth day after birth. However, most hospitals have a policy of examining babies for jaundice before discharge between the third and seventh day after birth, when bilirubin levels usually peak major risk factors for jaundice, particularly severe jaundice that can cause complications, include: Premature birth.
A baby born before 38 weeks may not be able to process bilirubin as quickly as full-term babies do.
Also, he or she may feed less and have fewer bowel movements, resulting in less bilirubin eliminated through stool. Significant bruising during birth. If your newborn gets bruises from the delivery, he or she may have a higher level of bilirubin from the breakdown of more red blood cells, blood type. If the mother’s blood type is different from her baby’s, the baby may have received antibodies through the placenta that cause his or her blood cells to break down more quickly. Breast-fed babies, particularly those who have difficulty nursing or getting enough nutrition from breast-feeding, are at higher risk of jaundice.
Dehydration or a low calorie intake may contribute to the onset of jaundice. However, because of the benefits of breast-feeding, experts still recommend it. It’s important to make sure your baby gets enough to eat and is adequately hydrated. Speaking further about Jaundice in newborn babies on Channels’Health Zone, CEO Medical Outreach Services Dr. Efunbo Dosekun revealed how jaundice can be treated in newborns and why more babies are jaundiced at birth. “When a baby has jaundice, the first thing you need to do is to give the baby adequate fluid, because it helps to keep it low. The next thing you could do is to give the baby light, there is a special light that helps keep the jaundice level down, the babies can be put in a cot, their eyes protected because this light can damage the retina. Also the private parts are protected especially if it’s a baby boy because the light can affect that too. The light is put directly on the baby.
They are special bulbs and I try to advice doctors that if you don’t have the proper light for jaundice don’t insist on it because if you use a poor quality light or tell the mother to keep the baby in the early morning sun light, there is a chance for a child who may develop severe jaundice due to difference in blood group or sepsis, there is chance that it is going to get worse. Jaundice is a silent killer, it doesn’t give symptoms, it just changes your skin colour and the baby will keep crying and getting weaker. When the baby has symptoms that is when it is too late because the brain is already damaged.
On how best to detect or prevent Jaundice, she says “every mother right from the time she is pregnant should know if she and her husband have different blood groups, as soon as the baby is born, she should ensure the baby is kept in good conditions, try as much as possible not to use old clothes for your baby, when the baby is 3 days old, offer the baby to the health workers to test whether the baby is jaundiced or not. To help detect it at a mild stage.”
Credit: citypeople.com
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