Ad:

Neonatal jaundice

You can read this text in 1 min.

Neonatal jaundice

Pantherstock

Infant

Neonatal jaundice is categorised as a common condition.

Ad:

It usually appears on the second day of life, does not need to be treated and passes by itself. It is a symptom of the immaturity of the baby's liver and not, as once thought, a disease. The liver fails to process and then expel the excess bilirubin from the body, hence the baby's skin turns yellow.

On average, yellowing in children lasts for about a week. The most accurate way to check a baby's bilirubin levels is to take a blood test. One effective way to protect the baby from jaundice is for the mother to breastfeed very frequently. Until the baby's bilirubin level falls, the baby stays in hospital.