Know About Jaundice In Newborns-1

Jaundice or the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eye caused by excess biliburin in the blood is quite common in newborns. Normally biliburin that is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells that is passed from the liver and is excreted as bile in the intestines. Jaundice in newborns occur when the biliburin builds up at a much faster rate than the liver can break it down and pass it from the body.

A few reasons that could lead to jaundice in newborns include:

a) The still developing liver of the newborn may not be able to remove adequate biliburin from the blood.

b) More biliburin is produced in the newborn than an adult as there is a high turnover of red blood cells.

c) A very large amount of biliburin is reabsorbed from the intestines than is eliminated by the stools.

It is significant to note here that a high level of biliburin increases the risk of deafness, cerebral palsy and other forms of brain damage in newborns. It is also significant again to know that jaundice could also be due to infection or thyroid problem, with the American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP recommending that all infants should be checked for jaundice within the first few days after birth.

The common types of newborn jaundice:

 
Physiological  jaundice: One of the most normal and mild form of jaundice that occurs in most newborns due to the immaturity of the baby’s liver that leads to slow processing of biliburin. Appearing on the 2nd to 4th day after birth, this type of jaundice disappears within 7 to 14 days of age.  

Breastfeeding jaundice: This type of jaundice is caused when the breastfeeding baby is not getting enough breast milk because of difficulty with breastfeeding or the mother's milk isn’t in yet. The problem here is not with the breast milk, but because the baby is not getting enough to drink.

Breast milk jaundice: Every 1 or 2 breast fed babies may get jaundice due to substances in the mother’s breast milk that causes the biliburin’s level to rise due to prevention of the excretion of biliburin through the intestines. Breast milk jaundice starts around 3-5 days of birth and goes off when the child is 3 to 12 weeks of age. 

Blood group incompatibility jaundice: Arising due to Rh or ABO problems, the mother may produce antibodies that destroy the infant’s red blood cells when the baby is of a different blood group than the mother.  This form of jaundice occurs as early as the first day after birth when there is a sudden buildup of biliburin in the baby's blood. It is now prevented with an injection of Rh immune globulin to the mother within 72 hours after delivery. This prevents her from forming antibodies that might endanger any subsequent babies.

I will soon come back with more information like the symptoms of newborn jaundice. 

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