- What causes neonatal jaundice
- How to identify Jaundice
- How to treat neonatal jaundice
- Phototherapy Treatment
- Other forms of treatment
Neonatal jaundice arises when the skin, eyes and mucous membranes in the body turn yellow, due to excess bilirubin in the blood.
The main cause of jaundice in the baby is physiological jaundice, which arises due to the liver's inability to metabolize and eliminate bilirubin, as it is still underdeveloped. It is generally not a cause for concern, and treatment is done with phototherapy.
Bilirubin is a yellow pigment that is produced by the breakdown of blood cells in the body, and is then captured by the liver where it is bound to proteins and eliminated along with bile through the intestine, therefore, changes in any of these phases can cause this pigment to rise in the blood. Learn more about bilirubin by examining bilirubin and its values.
What causes neonatal jaundice
Newborn or neonatal jaundice is a frequent problem, and the most common causes include:
- Physiological jaundice: it is the most common cause, which appears after 24 to 36 hours of birth, as the baby's liver is poorly developed and may have difficulties in transforming and eliminating bilirubin; Increased destruction of blood cells: it is a serious cause of jaundice, which happens due to blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia, spherocytosis or hemolytic anemia, which can be caused by the incompatibility of the baby's blood with that of the mother. Learn more about this condition at: Fetal erythroblastosis; Jaundice in breast milk: it appears in babies who are exclusively breastfeeding, usually after about 10 days of birth, it arises due to the increase in hormones or substances in the blood that increase the resorption of bilirubin in the intestine and hinder its elimination, despite its causes have not yet been fully clarified; Liver diseases: they are usually hereditary diseases, such as Crigler-Najjar syndrome, Gilber syndrome and Gaucher disease, for example; Congenital diseases: which can be caused during pregnancy, such as rubella or congenital hypothyroidism; Bile duct deformities; Virus or bacterial infections.
Better understand the possible causes in: What causes and how to treat neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
How to identify Jaundice
Generally, jaundice appears on the second day of the baby's life but in premature babies it tends to appear on the 5th day of life.
The yellowish color of the skin advances from the head towards the feet, being observed first on the face, then on the trunk and later on the feet. Lightly pressing the baby's chest is a good way to identify jaundice outside the hospital. If the pressured area turns yellow, contact the doctor to start treatment.
How to treat neonatal jaundice
Although jaundice is not always a serious condition or with serious consequences, adequate treatment is necessary because, in rare circumstances, it can cause brain damage. This condition is called kernicterus and treatment in these cases involves a blood transfusion. Understand what it is and what to do in case of kernicterus.
Phototherapy Treatment
Phototherapy is done by placing the baby in a small crib where he is completely naked, wearing only a diaper, being exposed to a special light, a treatment called phototherapy. As long as the baby is exposed to this fluorescent light, he must remain blindfolded with a protective mask.
In the mildest cases the pediatrician may recommend that the baby be exposed to the sun daily, in the morning, when the sun is still weak, always before 10 and after 16 hours. The treatment can last for 2 days and the time of exposure to light can vary from 15 to 30 minutes at a time.
Understand better how phototherapy works in which diseases phototherapy can treat.
Other forms of treatment
Breastfeeding the baby is a great way to complement the treatment, normalizing the baby's color faster, as it reduces the reabsorption of bilirubin in the intestine. Rare cases of "breast milk jaundice", on the other hand, breastfeeding may have to be interrupted for 1 or 2 days, until the bilirubin concentration in the blood normalizes.
In the most severe cases of jaundice, such as those of infectious, congenital or genetic causes, the treatment is specific according to the cause, guided by the pediatrician, during hospitalization, which may involve the use of antibiotics, corticosteroids, hormone therapy or, in cases very high bilirubin, blood transfusion, which helps to remove bilirubin more quickly from the blood.
