Jaundice in babies

Jaundice is one of the diseases that sometimes seriously causes problems for babies and their parents. In general, more than 70% of babies suffer from this disease in the first days of birth, which indicates that it is common in babies, and this statistic reaches about 80% in babies who were born prematurely.
Jaundice in children includes discoloration or yellowing of the skin and eyes. The discoloration and yellowness of the skin and eyes in this case is the result of an increase in the amount of a yellow substance called bilirubin in the blood, which causes the accumulation of this substance under the skin and its yellowing, which often reaches the top of the chest. It continues.
Causes of jaundice:
The cause of this yellowness is the breakdown of red blood cells and the production of a substance called bilirubin.
The important point is that in babies, this substance easily passes through the blood-brain barrier and causes damage to brain cells, which manifests itself in the form of mental retardation, movement disabilities and deafness in the future. Therefore, infant jaundice is one of the cases that must be taken seriously and must be treated.
Jaundice usually starts from the head and face and spreads to the organs with the increase of bilirubin level. Yellowness of the face indicates the presence of 5 mg, jaundice up to the middle of the abdomen indicates 10 to 15 mg, and yellowness of the limbs and soles of the feet indicates the presence of 20 mg of bilirubin per deciliter of blood.
How to notice jaundice in babies:
Jaundice in babies starts from the first days of birth. Its symptoms usually appear with yellowing of the skin and sometimes the eyes. At first, jaundice only affects the face, but gradually it also affects the chest, abdomen, legs, soles, and lower limbs. Jaundice in babies sometimes causes excessive fatigue and malnutrition. Babies who experience these symptoms in the first 24 hours after birth must be tested for bilirubin. Of course, as a precaution, it is better to examine the child during the first 5 days of birth to make sure that he does not have jaundice.
Jaundice caused by breast milk:
Jaundice in some babies may be due to the use of breast milk. There are 2 groups of babies who get jaundice after eating breast milk. The first group is mostly babies of mothers who had a cesarean delivery, and jaundice is caused by the lack of breast milk and in the first days of birth. In this case, if the mother’s milk feeding continues, the mother’s milk gradually increases and the baby’s caloric deficit is compensated, and his bowel movements improve and the jaundice disappears. In the second type, the baby’s jaundice usually starts from the second week of birth. It can be caused by the substances present in the milk, which inactivates the baby’s liver and intestinal enzymes, which reabsorbs the bile substances. In fact, this problem occurs due to the insufficient growth of the baby’s intestines and liver.
In this case, doctors recommend that you continue feeding the baby with breast milk, and if the baby’s blood needs to be replaced due to the severity of jaundice, the doctor recommends that you stop breastfeeding for a maximum of 48 hours and use dry milk or expressed milk. Use it for baby feeding. Of course, after the jaundice is resolved, breastfeeding should be resumed.
How is jaundice treated?
If your child seems to have jaundice, your doctor may perform tests to measure the level of bilirubin in the blood and the need to start treatment. If the baby is born full-term and is otherwise healthy, most doctors will not start treatment until the blood bilirubin level reaches more than 20 mg/dL. Since the early 1970s, jaundice has been treated with phototherapy, a phenomenon in which babies are exposed to fluorescent light. This light breaks the extra bilirubin molecules and facilitates their removal by the baby’s liver. The child is usually exposed to light for one or two days without clothes, and his eyes are closed with a protective mask. If your child’s bilirubin level does not require phototherapy, you can help him by exposing him to sunlight early in the day or in the afternoon. If your child has rare diseases of blood group incompatibility and the amount of bilirubin reaches dangerous levels, he may even need a blood transfusion. The Rh blood test that you performed at the time of birth to diagnose Rh incompatibility will inform you very accurately about the possibility of blood incompatibility between the mother and the child. To avoid this, you will be injected with anti-antibody D or Rogam shots.

Producer: Sara Mousavi
Source: Breastfeeding support guide
Compilation date: summer 1400
Revision date: 3 years later
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