What are the symptoms of neonatal jaundice

When the baby is born amid everyone's anticipation, there will be some reactions that will catch many parents off guard and make new parents very worried. The most common phenomenon is jaundice in newborns. Generally speaking, jaundice in newborns is a normal phenomenon. If there are no other symptoms at the same time, the jaundice will gradually disappear on its own. So what are the symptoms of jaundice in newborns?

Symptoms of neonatal jaundice

Neonatal jaundice can be divided into two types: physiological and pathological. The symptoms of neonatal jaundice vary depending on the type.

1. The symptoms of physiological neonatal jaundice are:

Newborns will develop yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes and oral mucosa on the 2nd to 3rd day after birth, with varying degrees of severity. It is usually more obvious on the face and chest, but the palms and soles of the feet are not yellow. It is most obvious on the 4th to 6th day, disappears on the 10th to 14th day after birth in full-term infants, and may last until the 3rd week in premature infants. During this period, the child was in general good condition and showed no other discomfort.

It is normal for newborns to have physiological jaundice, but parents should also pay close attention. Generally speaking, physiological jaundice is relatively mild, the bilirubin concentration in the blood is low, and it will not affect children's intelligence.

2. Symptoms of pathological jaundice are:

Jaundice in children may occur within 24 hours after birth, or it may persist, or jaundice may reappear after it subsides, or jaundice may progressively worsen.

Pathological neonatal jaundice can also cause manifestations of other diseases, such as kernicterus. When it occurs, the child's jaundice becomes significantly worse, and begins to show symptoms of drowsiness, weakness or choking when sucking milk, and decreased muscle tone. If not treated promptly, serious symptoms such as groaning, screaming, convulsions, and respiratory failure may follow. Some children die from respiratory failure, and those who survive often have sequelae such as intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy.

Nursing methods for physiological jaundice

1. Drink boiled water.

Parents can feed their babies boiled water every morning and evening so that the baby can expel jaundice from the body while urinating. If your baby is drinking formula, you should give him water between meals.

2. Drink glucose.

When parents find that the newborn's jaundice index is very high, they can give the baby some glucose water. Just add glucose to the water and feed it to the baby.

3. Sunbathe.

Around 10 o'clock every morning, when the sun is not very strong, you can expose your baby to the sun. Try to expose the child's skin as much as possible, but be sure to protect the baby's eyes and don't expose them to the sun. In addition, you should also pay attention to keeping your baby warm and avoid catching a cold due to exposure to the sun or wind.

4. Stop breastfeeding.

If the above methods do not work, you can try to stop breastfeeding for 2-3 days. Because the cause of high jaundice may be breast milk, the jaundice index will drop after stopping breastfeeding. When the symptoms of jaundice are mild, you can continue to breastfeed. When the symptoms are severe, you should stop breastfeeding and switch to other formula milk. Once your baby's jaundice has subsided, you can continue breastfeeding.