How serious is jaundice in a week-old baby? for Questionland Seattle

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How serious is jaundice in a week-old baby?

My daughter is a little yellow at 5 days old, but not like a banana. The doctor says it appears to be going down. Should I worry? What does jaundice do to a baby?

Talula asked in Pregnancy & Newborn about 1 year ago | Report

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Bion Satir

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First of all, congratulations! :)

I'm no doctor, but my son was mildly jaundiced, and it went away after about a week.

I think in a nutshell the answer to your question is: It is not serious, unless your doctor says it is serious. So, basically, as long as she is feeding well and pooping, don't worry, but check in with the doc if it doesn't start going away in week 2.

It takes a while for your newborn's blood processing system to kick in (having relied on mom's system in utero), so bilirubin starts building up once she's disconnected. Bilirubin causes the yellowness in skin and eyes. Normally, within the first week or so, the baby starts processing the bilirubin herself, and the yellow gradually fades.

As long as your MD is aware of the situation and says it is okay, and as long as she is eating well, it is not a concern. If feeding is an issue, that is a red flag because she won't be pooping enough to clear the bilirubin out of the body - in that case, you need to see the MD.

We took our son out for brief stints in the sun when we could, because apparently that breaks down the bilirubin. He was feeding fine, and his yellowness went away over the course of week two.

Bion Satir answered in Pregnancy & Newborn about 1 year ago | Report

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agness

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I read something interesting about jaundice, that yellow is just a color and that jaundice is not a disease. What tgey are really worried about is kernicterus, so prolonged *high* levels of excess bilirubin are a preindicator.

Jaundice can be more common with breast fed babies and this article pointed out that since breastfeeding of human infants is the biologic norm then jaundice in breast fed babies must be normal -- even though that isnt always how the medical establishment treats it. Evidently the extra bilirubin functions as an antioxident in the body, which may help cover the newborn period until the baby's body is able to make its own.

Both of my breastfed babies had some jaundice but didnt require treatment. My second baby actually stayed yellowish for almost two months and I broughf him back in to get looked at but the pediatrician believed it was breast milk jaundice and not an issue.

As long as tge baby is eating and elininating well it shoukd clear up over time without intervention.

HTH

agness answered in Pregnancy & Newborn about 1 year ago | Report

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I have to say Andrew Justin did a great job of answering this question! Thank you!

It's normal for a baby to be a little jaundiced after birth--it usually peaks about day 4 or 5 and starts decreasing as the baby gets more milk. Jaundice is a side-affect of excess red blood cells dying off. It's nothing to be concerned about as long as baby is eating well, gaining weight and pooping like mad.

Enjoy your baby!

Renee Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC answered in Pregnancy & Newborn about 1 year ago | Report

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Our daughter became very jaundiced due to her liver not processing old red blood cells for a week after her birth. But on the last day possible, it started working, and she responded just fine... loosing that yellow tint over the next week just fine. (In some ways, it's a lot like a bruise fading away as the blood cells are broken down.)

But if a child's liver does not "kick in", and the billyrubin number climbs to 20, the docs can do something invasive to try to solve the problem. (They blood-typed our baby as they were getting ready for this, but she crested at "19"... whew!)

The fact that your doctor says it appears to be going down, and that she is not yellow-green, is a good sign. And I don't think there is any problem based upon what you've shared.

But I'm not a medical person. Ask a doc or nurse.

O my captain answered in Pregnancy & Newborn about 1 year ago | Report

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