Infant Jaundice
Infant jaundice is a common condition, particularly in preterm babies and kids (born before 36 weeks). Jaundice is caused when blood of a newborn contains excess amount of bilirubin – marked with yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes.

Bilirubin is produced by the breakdown of red blood cells. In normal condition, bilirubin then passes via the liver and is excreted as bile by the intestines. Since the liver of a newborn is still developing, it is not yet geared up to remove bilirubin from the blood adequately. This results in infant jaundice. Other reasons of jaundice in newborns and kids can be – underlying disorder such as infection in the blood (sepsis), incompatibility between mother’s blood and kid’s blood, bacterial or viral infection, enzyme deficiency, etc.

Infant Jaundice Symptoms
Generally, symptoms of jaundice become visible in the second or fourth day of life of an infant or a kid. It starts with yellow skin coloration of the eyes and face of an infant. As jaundice progresses, yellow discoloration may start affecting the skin of the arms, legs, chest and abdomen. Even the stool of the infant can become yellowish brown or pale and so is his urine, which can turn yellow.

One way to check kid’s jaundice is to press a finger gently on his forehead. After pressing, if the skin looks yellow, he is likely to have jaundice. You may immediately want to contact with a child specialist. On the other hand, if the skin just looks pale, you have nothing to worry.

How is Jaundice Measured?
Bilirubin level is measured in mg/deciliter (dl) of blood. For an adult, it is usually 1mg/dl of blood, while in a newborn the bilirubin level can be as high as 6 mg/dl on the third or fourth day of his life. In the first week, the level usually comes down to 2-3 mg/dl and then touching 1 mg/dl by the beginning of third week or end of second week.

Treatment of Infant Jaundice
Mild symptoms may require no treatment and disappear on its own within 2-3 weeks after the birth of an infant. But for moderate-to-severe jaundice, the choice of treatment could be dependent on the level of bilirubin in the blood.

Treatment of infant jaundice may include:

• Phototherapy (Light Therapy): It is the most common treatment. Under phototherapy, the baby is worn protective eye patches and diaper and is exposed to intense blue-green light. The light breaks the bilirubin molecules so as to excrete them through urine and stool. Phototherapy is a continuous treatment and the baby is given breaks only for feeding.
• Intravenous Immunoglobulin: Sometimes, incompatibility with mother’s blood can also cause jaundice in newborns. When this happens, blood of the kid carries mother’s antibodies that result in breakdown of red blood cells in infants. In such a case, intravenous transfusion of immunoglobulin can bring the bilirubin level down.
• Exchange Blood Transfusion: In rare cases, small amounts of blood are taken out repeatedly from the baby. This dilutes out the concentration of maternal antibodies and bilirubin. Then transfused blood is supplied into the baby.