Overview Of Neonatal Jaundice

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Overview Of Neonatal Jaundice

Jaundice is a common disease, caused by build-up of bilirubin in the blood.

If jaundice is present in newly-born baby; it is called as Neonatal Jaundice (NJ). Approximately 80% of new-borns are suffering jaundice after two or three days of their birth.

Bilirubin is yellow- coloured waste-product and is formed when old blood cells broken down. Bilirubin is released from liver in the form of bile into small intestine; where it helps in the digestion of fat.

How to Diagnose Neonatal Jaundice?

Yellowish skin, is first sign to diagnose jaundice. Neonates have yellow-skin appearance on face first, than abdomen, chest and legs. Baby’s eye and nails colour also play an important role to diagnose jaundice.

Neonatal jaundice should be confirmed after blood- bilirubin tests in the laboratory.

What should I do to protect a baby from NJ?

Your baby should be breastfed/bottle fed in every one or two hours of intervals. Don’t leave them more than four hours of starvation even though, baby is sleeping.

When and why should jaundice be treated?

Mild or moderate cases of jaundice do not require any medication, but in severe jaundice, when the level of bilirubin are noted higher than 25 mg, than they need hospitalization.

If NJ left untreated then it can lead to deafness, cerebral palsy, or other brain damage.

How is jaundice treated?

For severe jaundice, baby require to undergo phototherapy, in which baby is treated with a special light that helps to get rid of extra bilirubin. Baby is kept in neo-natal unit for 2-4 days, depending upon the severity of jaundice.

Myths and Misconceptions

1. Turmeric: There is no need to stop eating turmeric by mother.

2. Yellow clothes: Colours of the clothes are not responsible to cause jaundice in babies.

3. Exposure to sunlight: New-borns have so soft and delicate skin, harsh sunlight can harm them. Sunlight is a different type of light and should not be misunderstood with the light given during phototherapy.

Have you also heard any myth or misconception about Neonatal Jaundice?

MBH/AB

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There is also a myth that if a baby is having jaundice then the mother should stop breast feeding. They don’t know that frequent breast feeding helps the infant to pass waste which clears bilirubin.

Neonatal jaundice should be treated with proper precaution show that we can prevent severe complications like brain damage.

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Informative, some people still believe that neonatal jaundice can be controlled by keeping the baby in sunlight for 10 minutes, without realizing that jaundice can become serious.

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