DCMerkle
03-18-07, 07:45 AM
I had thought that I was prepared for anything and everything when my first baby was born, but I was shocked when I found out that my baby was jaundiced. At first I was pulling a blank on what it was. After I found out what it was I was scared, but as time went on even though it was still serious, I was able to focus and work with my baby.
Jaundice seems to be a problem in newborns that are premature. My daughter was 4 weeks early and under weight. Two things that put the baby at risk for jaundice. The problem is when the liver is not functioning like it should. Babies become jaundiced when they have too much bilirubin in their blood. Bilirubin is a pigment produced as red blood cells break down. It is usually processed by the liver and excreted in the baby’s stool. When a baby has jaundice, either too much bilirubin is being produced or the liver does not get rid of it quickly enough.
One of the most obvious signs is the the baby's skin will have a yellowish tinge to it and in the most extreme cases the whites of their eyes as well. Some say the color may look slightly orange as also.
The way jaundice is treated is through phototherepy. The baby is placed under a special light that hangs over their bed. Their eyes are protected from the light by placing eye pathches over their eyes. The light can damage the eyes and has caused blindness, but the eye patches prevent this. Depending on how high the bilirubin is in the system it usually takes two to three days of this treatment before your baby is out of danger.
With my daughter, I kept her in my room so I could take care of her. Most hospitals will allow this if the baby has no other problems that need to be taken care of in the nursery. My daughter got better and the bilirubin level dropped down as expected, but it was still a very scarey time for me. I couldn't wait to get her home. The first thing I did when I did get her home was refuse to put her in anything yellow. Maybe that was over the top, but I never wanted to see in yellow again.
DCMerkle
Jaundice seems to be a problem in newborns that are premature. My daughter was 4 weeks early and under weight. Two things that put the baby at risk for jaundice. The problem is when the liver is not functioning like it should. Babies become jaundiced when they have too much bilirubin in their blood. Bilirubin is a pigment produced as red blood cells break down. It is usually processed by the liver and excreted in the baby’s stool. When a baby has jaundice, either too much bilirubin is being produced or the liver does not get rid of it quickly enough.
One of the most obvious signs is the the baby's skin will have a yellowish tinge to it and in the most extreme cases the whites of their eyes as well. Some say the color may look slightly orange as also.
The way jaundice is treated is through phototherepy. The baby is placed under a special light that hangs over their bed. Their eyes are protected from the light by placing eye pathches over their eyes. The light can damage the eyes and has caused blindness, but the eye patches prevent this. Depending on how high the bilirubin is in the system it usually takes two to three days of this treatment before your baby is out of danger.
With my daughter, I kept her in my room so I could take care of her. Most hospitals will allow this if the baby has no other problems that need to be taken care of in the nursery. My daughter got better and the bilirubin level dropped down as expected, but it was still a very scarey time for me. I couldn't wait to get her home. The first thing I did when I did get her home was refuse to put her in anything yellow. Maybe that was over the top, but I never wanted to see in yellow again.
DCMerkle