How does baby jaundice occur 5 causes of jaundice

Within 28 days of birth, due to the accumulation of bilirubin in the body, the level of bilirubin in the blood increases, in this case, 60%-80% of newborn babies will have yellowing of the skin within 2 to 5 days after birth, which is what we often call neonatal jaundice.

Generally speaking, there are 5 major causes of neonatal jaundice.

1. Physiological jaundice

Physiological jaundice in newborns is a phenomenon unique to the neonatal period, which is due to the excessive production of bilirubin after the baby is born, and the liver function is immature, which restricts bilirubin metabolism, resulting in jaundice in the baby for a period of time after birth.

2. Breast milk jaundice

Jaundice in newborns who are breastfed is called breast milk jaundice, which is a specific type of pathological jaundice. Breast milk jaundice is characterized by jaundice that continues to worsen after the peak of physiological jaundice.

Breast milk jaundice generally does not affect the baby's health, and there are no symptoms of fever and poor appetite. Jo's mother would like to remind her that even if the baby has breast milk jaundice, she must continue to breastfeed. This helps bilirubin to be secreted into the intestine and excreted during bowel movements. Stopping breastfeeding temporarily may seem like a good way to reduce yellowing, but it actually increases the risk of formula allergies in the future.

3. Hemolytic jaundice

The most common cause of hemolytic jaundice is ABO hemolysis, which is caused by the incompatibility of the blood type of the mother and the baby. It is most common for the mother's blood group to be O and the fetal blood group to be A or B, and the jaundice caused by this condition is also more severe.

Hemolytic jaundice in newborns is characterized by the onset of the baby within 24 hours of birth and progressively worsens. Mild symptoms caused by ABO blood group can be treated with light therapy.

4. Infectious jaundice

Infectious jaundice is jaundice that occurs due to damage to the function of the baby's liver cells due to viral infections or bacterial infections. Jaundice is characterized by persistent physiologic jaundice or persistent jaundice after the physiological jaundice has resolved.

5. Obstructive jaundice

Obstructive jaundice is mostly caused by congenital biliary malformations, congenital biliary atresia is more common, jaundice is characterized by jaundice 1-2 weeks or 3-4 weeks after the baby is born, and gradually deepens, while the stool color gradually changes to light yellow, or even white clay color, this jaundice can generally be detected by B ultrasound.

Pediatric jaundice is more effective in insisting on feeding and phototherapy than medication

Because I heard that jaundice will affect the baby's intellectual development, many parents will be very anxious, always thinking about making the baby yellow as soon as possible through medicine.

In fact, jaundice less than 17 mg/dl (291 mmol/L) in infants older than 1 week of age does not require specific treatment. Whether neonatal jaundice affects the brain or not depends on the degree of jaundice, not the duration. After 5-7 days of birth, a jaundice index >17 mg/dl (290 mmol/l) will not cause damage to the brain.During this period, insisting on feeding and basking in the sun through the window will help the baby to turn yellow.

Only severe jaundice or disease states, such as hemolysis, severe infection, etc., require medical treatment. The safest treatment is phototherapy, not suspension of breastfeeding or medication. Many mothers have heard rumors about preventing and treating jaundice by taking glucose orally, but in fact, this has no effect, but will affect the metabolism of blood sugar.

Phototherapy is an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia by fluorescent light irradiation. This is done by having your baby undressed and lying in a crib (with eyes and perineum covered) and then exposed to a blue fluorescent light. Through light, ultraviolet light can convert bilirubin into something that is easier to excrete through your baby's urine, which can relieve your baby's jaundice.