You must have heard about the attack of Jaundice in a new born baby. This can sound very alarming for the parents. According to the recent studies, Jaundice can take place in those babies who are premature in nature. For example if the expected date of delivery for a patient is after 10 months, the baby delivered before 2 month of the date of delivery is supposed is known as premature baby. These new born babies are expected to get attack of Jaundice quite frequently. But, initially, you might see the symptoms of Jaundice in a new born baby. Rather, it will take almost five to seven days to appear. This Jaundice lasts for a period of three weeks.
Jaundice means we always have an impression that the person will get yellow skin, yellowing of white portion of eyes and excreting yellow color urine. The symptoms are more or less same in new born babies. This is a normal phenomenon experienced by many babies after their birth. Generally this health condition occurs in babies in second or 4th day just after their birth. Sometimes babies may not have excessive yellow color over skin. Due to which it is difficult to find whether baby is suffering from jaundice. But, there is a way to find out whether the baby is suffering from Jaundice. All you have to do is press the forehead of your baby. If you find yellow color where you have pressed, it means your baby has jaundice.
Superficial symptoms
Doctors and clinicians suggest variety of symptoms for a new born baby affected by jaundice. The first symptom is yellowish skin of your baby. The yellowish tinge will appear from the head and then will get distributed to other parts of the body along with chest and stomach. Not all, but some babies are really unlucky to get the yellow effect till the fingers of hands and feet. You can get the appearance of yellow color to be much deeper as soon as you select a particular place of your body and press it. That particular part of the body will become yellower than other parts.
Changes of color with darker skin tone
It becomes really difficult to mark the changes in the body of the Jaundice affected new born baby if he has a darker skin tone. Thus, you need to go other way to check the symptoms. Yellow color will appear:
- Inside the mouth of the baby
- On the palms of the baby
- Whites of the eyes
- Soles of the feet
Other symptoms of jaundice in new born baby
- Limpness
- Sleepiness
- Pale stool
- Poor capacity of sucking while break feeding
- A high pitched cry
- Urination of dark yellow color
Time to seek medical advice
Just after 72 hours of birth if the sign of Jaundice appears terrifically, you must see a pediatrician as early as possible. Even if jaundice is not a very big reason of concern, but it is better to take precautions before it reaches the drastic stage. When the baby has high level of bilirubin in blood, it gives rise to jaundice at the early stage of birth. Billirubin is nothing but a yellowish substance which attempts to get the replacement of red blood cells. Liver plays an important role in breaking down the substance and get it removed from the body in the form of the stool. But, if the content of billirubin in your baby’s skin is higher, it will make the skin of your baby as well as other parts quite yellow in color.
Probable causes of jaundice
If the bilirubin level in the new born is little high, it is normal. The baby constantly grows inside the womb of the mother where placenta acts as a removal measure of bilirubin from the body of the baby. Placenta being a wonderful part that helps the baby to get food from mother’s consumption does not continue the activity after the baby is born. Rather, the liver of the baby starts feeding the baby instead of placenta. Most of the new born babies already have skin tone of yellow color. This particular appearance is known as physiological jaundice. Though this condition is harmless but this can even go worst when the baby is within the age range of 2 to 4 days.
The causes of jaundice in new born baby include
- Mismatch of blood type between the baby as well as mother
- Babies having higher level of red blood cells
- Inadequate quantity of enzymes and proteins
- Abnormal shapes of blood cells
- Bleeding underneath the scalp
- Variety of infections
- Side effects of medications
- Low level of oxygen
- Disorders which have been inherited
- Disease affecting biliary tract or liver of the child
If you see any symptoms of Jaundice, show your baby to the doctor in charge so that he does not suffer much from Jaundice.
Symptoms of jaundice in new born babies
- The extend of yellow color increases in the skin of your baby
- The white portion of his eyes becomes yellow
- Poor intake of mother’s breast milk
- Baby is not gaining weight at all
- Development of critical signs and symptoms
- Babies difficulties in getting awake
- Yellow color on abdomen
- Yellow in hand
- Legs getting changed to yellow color
Diagnosis for jaundice
It is important to find out the root cause of Jaundice infection before going through the treatment of Jaundice. Different types of babies are provided with the different treatment procedure to treat the problem of jaundice. It is important to show pediatrician and get the actual cause of Jaundice. In some cases blood test of new born babies are initiated to test the type of Jaundice.
Test performed to check jaundice
One of the procedures of Jaundice diagnosis is the checking of serum bilirubin. The blood test is conducted with the complete blood count. Another process is known as coombs test to see the antibodies which are responsible for destroying the red blood cells of an infant. The reticulocyte count is also checked in an infant. This is checked to see whether the baby is capable in making the new red blood cells in his body.
