Jaundice is a yellowish tinge to the skin and whites of the eyes and is quite common in newborns. In fact, around 50% of all healthy newborn babies will develop jaundice in the first few days of life. In many instances the doctor will diagnose your baby with jaundice while you are in hospital while in other instances you may notice it and bring it up with a midwife or child health nurse.
Jaundice is normally nothing to worry about. It will usually go away on its own within a week or two in a full-term baby and a little longer if your baby was premature. Below are some important facts on Jaundice.
Causes of Jaundice
Jaundice occurs for a number of different reasons. The scientific reason is due to an excess of the chemical called bilirubin, which is produced during the normal breakdown of red blood cells. Because newborns cannot metabolise extra bilirubin quite yet, jaundice is common in young babies.
Jaundice can occur due to:
- Infection
- Rhesus disease
- Preterm birth. Around 80% of premature babies will experience jaundice compared to 50 percent of full term babies.
- Damage to the nervous system. This is only in extremely rare cases
Treatments for Jaundice
- Breastfeeding is one of the easiest ways to help treat jaundice. If your baby is not feeding every 2 to 4 hours, then you may need to wake them up to feed them. Often jaundice babies will also be sleepy babies.
- Phototherapy another popular method to treat jaundice is phototherapy which involves having an ultraviolet light over the baby’s bed for a certain period of time. This is usually done at the hospital but in some instances you may be able to borrow the device to bring home.
- Fibre Optic therapy this involves a special fibre optic blanket that your baby will be wrapped in. The blanket has little lights that shine directly onto your baby’s skin but they are not confined to a cot and you are still able to hold them while they have the wrap on.
- Antibiotics if the jaundice is caused by an infection then she may require medication in order to combat the problem. However, this is something that your doctor will prescribe.
Keeping an Eye on Jaundice
Jaundice is most noticeable on fair skin. To check if your baby has it, you can do a simple home test. Simply apply pressure to an area on your baby, such as their leg. Once the pressure is released, if there is a yellow tinge to the skin, then this is an indication that your baby may be jaundiced. Other symptoms of jaundice apart from the yellowish tinge in the skin include sleepiness and yellowness in the whites of the eyes or around the gums. If left untreated it can cause more serious health problems in babies.
References:
Better Health Channel. Jaundice. 2013 http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Jaundice_in_babies
If you become concerned about any symptoms please seek immediate medical attention we have some hotlines and suggested websites for further information and advice https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/my-kids/babies/important-hotlines-websites/
SAHM takes no responsibility for any illness, injury or death caused by misuse of this information. All information provided is correct at time of publication.
