Jaundice is a common occurrence in newborn babies. Usually, this will go away on its own 1 to 2 weeks after giving birth. However, if parents find that a newborn baby with jaundice has not been relieved even for a long time, you should take him to a reputable hospital for examination and timely intervention.
Causes of jaundice in newborn babies
Bilirubin is a pigment that exists in human blood. This type of orange pigment is a waste product of naturally broken red blood cells in the blood. Bilirubin goes through the liver and then out of the body by excretion such as feces or urine. This also explains why our feces are often yellow (due to the oxidization of bilirubin).
During pregnancy, this kind of pigmentation is removed by the mother's liver activity. After their birth, the little angels' livers take a while to start "working." This inadvertently causes bilirubin to accumulate in the blood too much and for a long time, leading to jaundice in newborn babies.
To be clear about this condition, this is called physiological postpartum jaundice in infants. Baby skin and eyes will turn yellow on their own. Usually, physiological jaundice appears 2 to 3 days after birth and disappears on its own within 2 weeks.
In premature babies, this can occur 5 to 7 days after birth. It also takes longer to heal on its own, potentially up to 2 months. In addition, jaundice can be caused by a number of factors in the postpartum:
Disagreement mother and child blood type
Slow down poop
Bleeding under the skin
The fetus is infected with a virus
Suffering from congenital liver related diseases
Newborn jaundice: When is it dangerous?
Usually, jaundice goes away on its own about 2 weeks after birth. However, if the child has some of the following signs, parents should take the baby to reputable hospitals for examination:
Jaundice appears 24 - 36 hours before birth
All body, including palms and feet, were yellow
This lasts more than 1 week for term babies and more than 2 weeks for premature babies
Jaundice is accompanied by abnormal signs in the child such as poor feeding, fast breathing, slow heart rate, fever, convulsions, silvery stools, hypothermia, drowsiness and difficulty awakening ...
To detect your baby's jaundice with the naked eye, you should go to a well-lit place (preferably outdoor light) to check. When a baby is just born, parents should regularly observe the child's whole body. If it's difficult to determine, the doctor can gently press the baby's thumb against the baby's skin for a few seconds.
After letting go, if you have jaundice, the place where the finger is pressed on the child's body will appear yellow. When children show signs of dangerous jaundice as mentioned above, parents should urgently bring their children to the hospital for prompt examination. Because if left for a long time, the child is more likely to be deaf, slow to develop or even paralyzed.
Prevention of jaundice in newborn babies
In order to prevent jaundice from causing serious complications, in addition to having your baby checked by a doctor, there are some useful precautions you can take:
During pregnancy, mothers should have prenatal check-ups according to doctor's appointment, and cooperate enthusiastically in ultrasound. This not only helps to reduce the risk of jaundice, but also early detects signs of fetal malformations , down syndrome, low birth weight or overweight, infection from mother to child ...
Babies after birth should be fed colostrum as soon as possible, along with keeping warm for babies to avoid hypothermia, hypoglycemia and early stool.
The mother and baby's room in the hospital should have adequate light to facilitate checking the baby's skin pigmentation.
Colostrum should be breastfed as soon as possible
The rate of newborn babies with jaundice is between 80% and 85%. Therefore, if parents want to take care of their children in the best way, parents should equip themselves fully with knowledge to prepare to welcome a healthy angel to this world.
See more:
6 warning signs of serious illness in a newborn mother must not be neglected
10 things parents absolutely avoid when taking care of babies and young children!
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