Jaundice is an illness that can happen in the first few days of a baby's life. It turns your baby's skin, eyes and mouth a yellow color. The yellow color is caused by bilirubin.
Bilirubin is made when the body breaks down old red blood cells.
This is a normal process that happens all through life. Bilirubin goes to the liver, where it is changed again. Then it goes into the intestines and the kidneys, and then it goes out of the body. If too much bilirubin builds up in your baby's body, it makes a yellow color called jaundice. Jaundice is common in babies and is usually not serious.[1]
Types of Jaundice
The most common types of jaundice are:
Physiological (normal) jaundice: occurring in most newborns, this mild jaundice is due to the immaturity of the baby's liver, which leads to a slow processing of bilirubin. It generally appears at 2 to 4 days of age and disappears by 1 to 2 weeks of age.
Jaundice of prematurity: occurs frequently in premature babies since they are even less ready to excrete bilirubin effectively.
Breastfeeding jaundice: jaundice can occur when a breastfeeding baby is not getting enough breast milk because of difficulty with breastfeeding or because the mother's milk isn’t in yet.[2]
Treatments
It is usually treated by frequent feedings and the use of bilirubin lights in severe cases. Your doctor will be able to tell if treatments is necessary by examining your baby or doing a blood test.
If your baby is yellow on his face and upper part of his chest, then you may place him in front of a window for ten to fifteen minutes 3-4 times each day. The sunlight (and ultraviolet light if it is cloudy) helps to convert the bilirubin that makes his skin yellow into another substance that can pass in the urine.[3]
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Laughing Baby Photos
Mom says I am a rarely laughing baby. I dont know why. That's why whenever I laugh, dad or mom take the picture of it as it the rare moments. I hope I can laugh more often when I grew older. Here's my laughing photo when I am 8 months of age.
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Notes:
[1]familydoctor.org
[2]kidshealth.org
[3]keepkidshealthy.com
