Baby Jaundice

One out of every two babies get jaundiced between two and six days of age. This is more common in breast fed babies.

Jaundice is the yellow color seen in the skin of many newborns. It happens when a chemical called bilirubin builds up in the baby’s blood.

The skin of a baby usually appears yellow. The best way to see jaundice is in good light, such as daylight or under fluorescent lights.

Jaundice usually appears first in the face and then moves to the chest, abdomen, arms and legs as the bilirubin level increase.

In most cases, the level of bilirubin that causes the jaundice is not harmful and does not require treatment.

However, any jaundice visible in the first 24 hours of life should be assumed to be serious.

The jaundice can be worsen due to:
*ABO disease – when mothers with type O blood may have babies with type A or B blood and thus have mild compatibility.

*Rh disease – incompatibility of the Rh factor in the blood between the mother and baby.

*The reabsorption of bruise marks after a difficult delivery.
Baby Jaundice