Jaundice

Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) that is caused by high levels in blood of the chemical bilirubin.

Why do some babies get jaundice?

Red blood cells have a shorter life in babies than they do in adults. This means more bilirubin goes through your baby's liver. If your baby's skin is bruised during birth, more red cells may need to be broken down. Then your baby's liver has to handle even more bilirubin. Sometimes a baby's liver is not mature enough to handle the extra bilirubin.

Usually Asian babies tend to have high chances of getting jaundice compared to Western babies. I have many Asian friends who have babies who have jaundice for 1-2 mths.

How can I tell if my baby has jaundice?

You should watch for color changes in your baby's skin. You should also check the whites of your baby's eyes and the pink skin inside your baby's mouth. If they get yellowish, you may want to see your baby's doctor. If your baby has pale skin, it should look white when you gently press it with your fingertips. If the skin looks yellow, your baby may have jaundice. If your baby has darker skin, it may be harder to check, except by looking at your baby's eyes and inside your baby's mouth.

If your baby's skin is yellow, see your baby's doctor right away. The doctor will take a small amount of your baby's blood and measure the bilirubin in it. In Singapore, it is important to bring baby to see the PD within the first month, so that the PD will be able to monitor to see if he has jaundice and whether it is of high levels.

My PD asked us to bring BB for blood test to test on whether there was high jaundice levels. So, we went for testing; what the nurse did was to poke his foot to extract blood for laboratory test. BB was so sleepy that he slept throughout, only when it came to the 'poking', that he gave a loud cry then he was silent after that. Perhaps it felt like an ant bite.

If the bilirubin level is not too high, your baby might not need any treatment. As for my BB, it was 15.8 thus it was above the acceptable level. The acceptable level was 10 and below. That was why BB had to be on phototherapy, thus we had to rent the 'Billy Bed' or admit him into hospital.

It doesn't seem like a serious issue, but high bilirubin levels may cause brain damage, thus it is better to monitor the issue. Hope this helps if you need advice on jaundiced babies.

Some text referenced from familydoc.org.