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Everyone should know that neonatal jaundice is different from adult jaundice. It does not occur because of liver failure. It occurs due to the presence of high bilirubin in blood and babies have immature liver so their immature liver has no power to survive from it.

If newborn babies suffer from jaundice, they should be given medical care because it can cause death sometimes.

Jaundice in newborn

How is neonatal jaundice detected

When your baby’s skin, whites of the eyes, soles of feet look yellow colour immediately you should consult with a doctor. It may be a severe jaundice.

Blood test should be done for checking the unconjugated bilirubin level. By checking bilirubin levels, doctor can tell you the condition of your baby.

Treatment

If the level of bilirubin is very high in the baby’s blood, treatment should be done.

Here are some methods of treatment:

i) Phototherapy-

It is very common treatment of newborn jaundice. In phototherapy treatment, special blue light is used on newborn babies. In this case, genitals and eyes of babies should be covered. This process is called photo oxidation.

Photo oxidation means it adds oxygen to the bilirubin and makes it water soluble substances and these substances make easier to break down of bilirubin and easily filtered by the kidneys and remove through urine. Phototherapy treatment is discontinued when your doctor will suggest that your baby is safe and you can take home safely. This treatment takes usually one or two days.

ii) Sunlight therapy:

Sunlight therapy does the same work as phototherapy. Sunlight therapy is a process which is continued for few days by the suggestion of doctor after discharge of baby to make sure of removing bilirubin from the blood. In this therapy you should spend one hour with your baby before 9 am in the morning and after 4 pm in the evening to avoid harsh rays of the Sun. you can also give Sun bath.

iii) Exchange transfusion:

Exchange transfusion is another treatment in case of severe jaundice. If phototherapy cannot cure the baby, exchange transfusion may be recommended. Exchange transfusion is also known as blood transfusion. In this method, exchange the entire blood of the baby with blood of someone who has the same blood group. This process takes usually several hours. It is continued till the high bilirubin is removed from the blood.

iv) Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG):

This treatment may be recommended in the case of severe jaundice for reducing the bilirubin level. This treatment is needed when mother with Rh negative and the child with positive.

Preventive measures:

If we have some knowledge of risk factors of neonatal jaundice, we can try to avoid those risk factors to prevent neonatal jaundice. In this case mother should be concerned.

Here are some preventive measures of newborn jaundice:

i) Blood test during pregnancy-

Blood test should be done during pregnancy to prevent the blood type incompatibility. Rh and ABO incompatibility occurs when a mother’s blood type is different from her newborn child and when mother with Rh negative and child is Rh positive. During pregnancy mother’s red blood cells cross into the placenta and at this time antibodies developing antigens in mother’s red blood cells attack the new born child’s blood cells and breakdown the cells, producing more bilirubin and cause jaundice and it is not treated leading to brain damage.

So, blood test is necessary to prevent blood incompatibility and Rh immunoglobulin treatment should be done to prevent Rh incompatibility.

ii) Lower the risk of preterm baby-

if a baby is born before 37- 38 weeks of gestation, he or she may born with immature liver. Immature liver cannot eliminate the bilirubin properly. So, mother needs prenatal care to stay healthy during pregnancy.

•  Mother should avoid environmental stress that can harmful for baby.
•  Before taking any medicine, she should consult with her doctor to avoid the risk of premature birth.
•  A healthy diet is also necessary for mother. Lack of proper nutrition can cause the premature baby.

iii) Begin breastfeeding babies early-

Mother should begin the breastfeeding as early as possible after birth of newborns. In this way newborn will get nutrition from breast milk. Breast milk contains essential nutrients and baby gets colostrums which contain antibodies and these antibodies protect the newborn baby against diseases. If baby gets breastfeeding properly, baby develops early and it helps to develop mature liver. Mature liver makes easier to eliminate bilirubin.

iv) Feed the new born baby frequently-

Mother should breastfed the newborn baby at least 8 – 12 times daily. Increasing the frequently breastfeeding helps the baby to develop early. Frequent breast feeding is the best way to prevent jaundice. Breast milk helps to move the bowel of baby and in thus way baby excrete the bilirubin through stools.

If there any problem in breastfeeding mother should consult with a lactation specialist to learn the proper technique of breastfeeding. Specialist helps the mother to learn about the proper latching which can help the baby to get milk properly.