Some newborn babies have a yellow color to their skin and even the whites of their eyes. This occurs when it occurs a large amount of bilirubin, a yellow substance resulting from the normal breakdown of red blood cells, but why is your baby yellow?
Newborn children can develop these high levels during the first days of birth without being very important. It occurs because it may take a few days for the baby's liver to learn how to remove bilirubin. This pigment can be measured using a device called a bilirubinometer, which will determine if it is higher than normal. This is when the pediatrician will evaluate if the baby has jaundice and if it requires any special care.
My baby is yellow, what are the signs?
The first symptoms that appear is the yellowish color of the skin, where it can begin to manifest itself on the face including the whites of the eyes. Over time it will pass to the middle of the body and then to the lower extremities. Jaundice is difficult to see in children with dark skin, to find out you can pressing your finger on the baby's forehead or nose and when lifting it, the background of the remaining color must be observed.
Most babies tend to have mild jaundice and it becomes harmless. But with a high concentration of bilirubin they may be very sleepy, they seem sick, they don't eat properly and they don't have muscle tone. At this point you have to go to the pediatrician immediately, since a high level can cause brain damage.
Cause of jaundice in babies
Babies when they are born have a higher concentration of blood cells or red blood cells that adults need to make a large amount of bilirubin in order to eliminate them. This yellow pigment will be processed by the liver and will be eliminated through urine and feces, But there are times when these bilirubin levels increase in much greater amounts than normal, causing the skin to yellow.
Babies who have been born prematurely they are not prepared to be able to process this degradation and many of them have low levels of bilirubin. Other cases where it manifests is when The baby takes time to expel the meconium during its 24-48 hours of life. If this fact is delayed, it is when the bilirubin returns to the blood circulation and increases the risk of jaundice. This case is solved by helping to expel the meconium as soon as possible thanks to breastfeeding.
Jaundice from 'breastfeeding' also occurs when the baby you are not being fed correctly by breastfeeding during their first days of life. It may happen that does not breastfeed well or because the mother's milk has not risen, in this case you have to help him.
Other cases may be when the baby's blood group is different from the mother'sIn this case, the mother makes antibodies that attack the baby's red blood cells. Or when baby have a genetic problem which makes red blood cells more fragile. It is when they will degrade more easily causing some health problems.
How is jaundice treated?
In most cases jaundice is usually mild and disappears after several weeks. Do not be alarmed because it is a matter of waiting for your little body to eliminate excess bilirubin in the blood. If it is caused by insufficient nutrition much more food will be given through the breast or with a formula recommended by the doctor.
For much more serious cases phototherapy is applied, a treatment where babies are put to bed under special lamps so that their skin is exposed to a light that makes bilirubin can be expelled much better.
'The exchange transfusion' it is another emergency procedure that is applied when none of the above works. In this case, the baby's blood is replaced by that of a donor to quickly lower the bilirubin concentration.
Intravenous immunoglobulin is another treatment that prevents antibodies from attacking red blood cells when they have blood that is incompatible with the blood group. This therapy works well and prevents transfusions.
When the case of jaundice is mild and does not need special treatments, it is good that the newborn is exposed to sunlight, Although not direct due to possible burns, this will help the degradation of bilirubin and it will be expelled through the urine. If you want to know much more about the skin care of a newborn visit our link here