Newborn jaundice
Jaundice in newborn infants is common and usually harmless. It generates yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes. The medical phrase for jaundice in babies is neonatal jaundice.
Newborn jaundice symptoms
Symptoms of newborn jaundice enclose:
- Yellowing of the skin. It is hard to identify brown or black skin. Thus examining the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet becomes more accessible.
- Dark, yellowish urine (typically newborn baby’s urine must be colorless)
- Pale-colored poo (it must be yellow or orange)
The signs of newborn jaundice usually expand two days after birth and manage to get sounder without medicine by the time the newborn is about two weeks old.
Why does jaundice occur in a newborn?
Jaundice arises from bilirubin, found in the blood; a yellow matter created when red blood cells break down.
Jaundice is common in newborn babies. Babies have many red blood cells, which must be broken down and replaced frequently.
As a newborn baby’s liver is not fully matured, it’s less practical to clear the bilirubin from the blood.
When to seek the doctor?
Jaundice is typical in most cases, but sometimes jaundice can reveal an underlying medical disorder.
Contact the doctor if you witness the subsequent symptoms:
- Jaundice circulates or becomes more severe.
- Your baby ripens a fever over 100°F (38°C)
- Yellow coloring worsens in your baby
- Your baby feeds poorly, appears listless, and creates high-pitched yells
How is newborn jaundice treated?
Mild jaundice will resolve on its own as a baby’s liver forms to mature. Frequent breastfeeding benefits babies
More intense jaundice demands different treatments. Phototherapy is a beneficial method that utilizes light to break down bilirubin in a baby’s body.
In very severe cases, an exchange transfusion may be required in which a baby receives small doses of blood from a donor.
This substitutes the baby’s destroyed blood with nourishing red blood cells. This increases the baby’s red blood cell count and decreases bilirubin levels.
Reviewed by – Dr. Priyanka, MBBS MD Microbiology
Page last reviewed: 16 JULY 2022