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Glance at Newborns' Jaundice Risk
Mon Aug 18, 9:31 PM ET
By The Associated Press
The vast majority of babies with jaundice recover easily, most without
treatment. But promptly detecting severe jaundice allows newborns to
get therapy in time to prevent serious brain damage, a rare but
re-emerging condition called kernicterus.
Babies most at risk of jaundice include those:
- with a sibling who had jaundice.
- who bruise at birth.
- are born prematurely.
- whose skin is yellowish in the first 24 hours of life.
- who don't eat much in the first few days of life. Breast-feeding mothers may need to temporarily supplement with formula if the newborn is sucking poorly.
- born to an East Asian or Mediterranean family. They have the added risk of jaundice being harder to see in babies with darker skin tones.
Parents should immediately call or visit a doctor if they think their infant has jaundice Never skip the checkup that newborns are supposed to get two days after they're discharged from the hospital.
Jaundice usually peaks around the fourth day of life, so that visit can be key to detecting a problem.
It's an emergency if the skin becomes very yellow or orange beginning at the head and spreading to the toes, or if the baby becomes lethargic, has a high-pitched cry or arches backward like a bow.
An advocacy group, Parents of Infants and Children with Kernicterus, or PICK, urges parents of infants with even mild jaundice to demand a bilirubin test, an easy blood test that checks how much of the jaundice-causing substance the baby harbors.
While treatment levels are controversial, PICK advises demanding light therapy if the bilirubin levels are 15 or higher.
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Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press.
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