Jaundice in newborns - Things to know

Summary

Congratulations! If you’ve just confirmed your pregnancy, you’re probably thinking about how to tell friends and family the exciting news. Whether you’re a first-time mom or you’re adding a new sibling to your little ones’ lives, sharing this news can be a fun way to spread the joy. Here are some ideas for making your pregnancy announcement special and memorable.

Almost all kids born on this earth will get jaundice. The reason why a newborn gets jaundice is not because their liver is affected. It's because when they are inside womb, they have a different hemoglobin called as fetal hemoglobin. As soon as they come out, it has to change to adult hemoglobin. The destruction of those old cells result in liberation of a chemical called as bilirubin which gives yellowish hue to a child. This phenomena is exaggerated in few patients e.g.

if mother's blood is O positive and baby's blood group is A, B or AB or,
if mother's blood group is Rhesus negative and baby's blood group is positive.

Treatment

It normally develops around day 3 and disappears on day 7. If it develops earlier than that or crosses a particular limit, the doctor may want to do bilirubin level and would like to compare the values with certain normograms available. If it is beyond a limit, child has to be admitted for phototherapy. If it's mild only, one can expose the baby to sunlight which will take care.

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