Show i sa d x t 1 I t I s f t I t. t wr a T a f SANDY ABRAM midwife at County Hospital holding newborn daughter of Owen and Valerie Valorie Atwood Hospital news i Jaundice in the newborn Having a baby's blood drawn to check its content has recently concerned the parents who have had to bring their babies in for this service So this week Sandy Abram the wife mid at our hospital will explain why this is done and what the content in a newborn c cantell tell your Doctor Jaundice in the Newborn By Sanda Sandi Abram Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by the deposit of f a bile pigment called About 30 to 75 percent of newborns develop a physiologic or normal jaundice which carries no harmful effects This occurs on the third to fourth day of life and usually disappears by one week of age THIS TillS NORMAL or physiologic jaundice is caused by the breakdown of red blood cells which normally occurs as the cells become older olde and non non- functional functional One of the products of red blood cell breakdown is which is carried to the liver for processing allowing the body to eliminate wastes and store needed products such as iron In the newborn oftentimes the liver is immature and cannot handle these waste products as fast as they are brought to the liver These yellow ellow products then continue to be carried by the blood bloodstream bloodstream bloodstream stream and are laid down in the 1 skin skin As the baby's liver matures the jaundice pears Newborn jaundice d dif differs fers from adult jaundice Adult Jaundice is usually caused by liver disease Physiologic jaundice is not a disease and not harmful to the newborn unless the jaundice becomes very severe which ismore is ismore ismore more more often the case in abnormal abnormal abnormal ab ab- ab- ab normal or pathologic jaundice If U jaundice becomes severe as measured by the level of in the baby's blood there is danger that the brain may accumulate too much and be damaged That Thatis is why levels in the blood are not permitted to rise too high by medical personnel ABNORMAL or pathologic jaundice in the newborn is most commonly caused by blood group incompatibilities This occurs when the mothers mother's and the baby's blood are in conflict and the baby breaks down red blood cells at an increased rate This was once a very severe problem for mothers with RH RII negative blood In the last ten years the drug which is administered to the mother shortly after delivery has helped eliminate this severe problem RH incompatibility incompatibility incompatibility in in- compatibility Occurs occurs when the mother is RH negative and the baby is RH positive Another type of blood group incompatibilities incompatibilities in compatibilities occurs when the mother is type 0 and the baby is type A or B B. This is called an anABO anABO anABO ABO incompatibility This problem is not too commonly seen and is is' generally not as severe as the RH incompatibilities incompatibilities incompatibilities in in- compatibilities formerly were I THERE ARE many other less common common causes of jaundice in inthe inthe inthe the newborn Since it is a sign of many disorders and should not not be allowed to rise too high jaundice e is never ignored Babies who go home with a slight degree of jaundice are followed at home b by bringing the baby in for simple blood tests If the baby goes goes home and the m mother notices ices her baby l W then 1 u 00 consult her physician Jaundice can be treated to prevent brain damage One safe effective meth method d of ti treating th the infant is This means placing the hospitalized I infant under a light which bleaches the yellow from the skin and lowers the level When jaundice is severe severeen en enough ugh an exchange transfusion transfusion transfusion tran tran- may be done This is accomplished by removal and replacement ment of the baby's blood supply with fresh blood IN RARE instances jaundice occurs in breast fed babies from froma a substance in the mothers mother's milk which slows slows' down the livers liver's processes This jaundice develops later after one week of life is not severe enough to cause damage and rapidly clears up if nursing is stopped for one or two days and then resumed The advantages of breast feeding to tomother mother and baby far outweigh the risk of developing this jaundice problem Jaundice in the newborn in inthe inthe inthe the majority of cases is harmless harmless harmless har har- not contagious and easily treated Jaundice today is watched more closely than it formerly was Although it should not be ignored an understanding understanding understanding un un- of the causes and nature of the condition can help to eliminate many unnecessary fears in the parents |