what is jaundice?
? jaundice is the yellowish discolouration of the baby’s skin & white of the eyes
? babies become jaundiced when they have too much bilirubin in their blood.
? bilirubin is a
? it is usually processed by the liver, recycled & elimintated in the baby’s stool
is jaundice harmful?
? most jaundice is not harmful
? it usually shows up during the baby’s first 3 to 5 days of life
how to detect jaundice?
? look at the white of baby’s eye, observe for a yellow discoloration.
? check by pressing gently on baby’s chest with your fingers & observe the skin for a yellow discolouration
? blood test (serum bilirubin)
Risk factor for jaundice
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Baby's blood group is incompatible with their mother’s blood gorup (abo incompatibility) or rhesus factor difference
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g6pd deficiency. ( an inherited lifelong condition)
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cephalohaematoma. (bllod clot in the scalp)
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Babies whose siblings had history of jaundice & needed treatment.
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babies who develop jaundice early in life, especially during the first 24 hours
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breastfeeding jaundice is caused by insufficient milk intake in first few days, resulting in dehydration.
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breast milk jaundice which occurs during the second & third weeks of life is caused by hormonal substance in the breast milk and usually is harmless
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infection.
what will happen if jaundice is not treated early?
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baby will be less active
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sleeps most of the time
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refuses breast feeding or bottle feeding
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may develop high pitched crying
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in a severe case, a baby may develop fits, deafness, cerebral palsy or mental retardation.
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death