Jaundice

Jaundice is a common and usually harmless condition in newborn babies, which refers to the yellow colour of the skin and whites of the eyes that happens when there is too much bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a pigment produced by your baby’s red blood cells. Normally, it passes through the liver, which releases it into the intestines as bile (a liquid that helps with digestion).

Jaundice happens when bilirubin builds up faster than it can be broken down by a newborn baby's liver. This is because newborns make more bilirubin than adults do and also because their liver is still developing and might not be capable enough to remove all the bilirubin from the blood. Sometimes your baby's intestines absorb bilirubin that would normally leave the body in the stool. 

There are several types of jaundices, including:

Physiological (normal) jaundice: Most newborns have this mild jaundice because their liver is still maturing. It often appears when your baby is 2 to 4 days old and disappears by 1 to 2 weeks of age.

Jaundice of prematurity: This is common in premature babies since their bodies are even less ready to excrete bilirubin effectively. To avoid complications, they'll be treated even when their bilirubin levels are lower than those of full-term babies with normal jaundice.

Breastfeeding jaundice: Jaundice can happen when breastfeeding babies don't get enough breast milk due to difficulty in feeding. This is not caused by a problem with the breast milk itself, but by the baby not getting enough of it.

Breast milk jaundice: In very rare cases of breastfed babies, jaundice is caused by substances in breast milk that can make the bilirubin level rise.

Blood group incompatibility: If a mother and baby have different blood types, the mother's body might produce antibodies that destroy the infant's red blood cells, which increases bilirubin in your baby's blood.

When to seek expert advise

It is recommended that newborns should be examined for jaundice between the third and seventh day after birth and during routine medical checks at least every eight to twelve hours while in the hospital.

If your baby’s skin becomes more yellow with time, he/she becomes lethargic, isn’t gaining weight, not feeding properly or you see any alarming symptoms, make an appointment to consult with our expert doctors and nurses working with the Children’s Hospital Services at The Aga Khan University Hospital. You can be assured of receiving multidisciplinary care under one roof at the only internationally accredited hospital in Pakistan.

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