Mothers may often observe that jaundice in healthy newborns may also be expected. This may be referred to as physiological jaundice which may go away after a week or two. However, if mothers observe that the yellowish skin color persists longer, they may bring their babies to their doctors for proper diagnosis as there might be some serious liver disease. Babies who also develop jaundice within the first 24 hours of life would require medical attention.
Jaundice in healthy newborns may be caused by the building up of a yellow substance in the blood which is called bilirubin. This substance should be processed by the liver so that it may be excreted from the baby’s body though the stools. However, the building up of bilirubin in the bodies of some babies may be too fast and their livers are not able to process it. This condition may happen because there are more red blood cells found in newborn babies and these cells have shorter lifespan. The breaking down and the removal of this yellowish substance take a little longer time to happen.
Jaundice in healthy newborns may occur at about 60% of them. There may be more cases of such condition especially with pre-term babies. Some healthy newborns who are breastfed may also have jaundice until they are about a month old. However, mothers have to seek medical assistance if they observe the condition for more than two weeks or their babies only start having jaundice after seven days of life. Mothers should also bring their babies to their doctors if they observe that the stools of their babies are chalky white.
In most cases, jaundice in healthy newborns may be corrected through light treatment or phototherapy. This may facilitate the removal of the bilirubin substance in their blood. In severe jaundice conditions, blood transfusion may be recommended. This process will replace the baby’s blood with one that does not have any bilirubin. If babies do not receive immediate medical attention when severe jaundice has been detected, they may develop some complication known as kernicterus. This may happen when the bilirubin substance enters the brain and this can cause damage or death in the brain.
Physiological jaundice in healthy newborns may be expected because their body systems are still developing. Once the bilirubin disposal body system matures, the extra red blood cells decrease and the jaundice go away. This type of jaundice in healthy newborns generally causes no harm. However, premature babies are more prone to this because their bodies have lesser ability to deal with the extra bilirubin.
