What are the dangers of neonatal jaundice

Jaundice is a very common disease among babies. This disease harms the health of children and affects their growth. Therefore, mothers need to know more about neonatal jaundice and pay attention to the harm caused by this disease. So what are the harms caused by neonatal jaundice after the onset of the disease?

Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin, sclera, and mucous membranes that we can observe with our naked eyes. The reason is the increase in the level of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a chemical product in the human body. Due to certain characteristics of the neonatal period, it gradually increases and causes the skin, sclera, and mucous membranes to turn yellow. Jaundice can occur in people of different races and skin colors, especially in East Asians. The proportion of newborns with jaundice in my country is about 50% in full-term infants and about 80% in premature infants.

Mild jaundice does not harm most babies, it is a normal growth process. However, severe jaundice and jaundice with some high-risk factors may harm the baby. The most terrible thing is the nerve damage caused by bilirubin entering the brain. Because breastfeeding can cause increased reabsorption of bilirubin in newborns, breastfed newborns will have more obvious jaundice than artificially fed newborns. Most breastfed newborns have more severe jaundice due to improper feeding, not breast milk itself. Therefore, in such a situation, you should first check whether the feeding method is appropriate. A good and correct feeding method and amount can promote increased peristalsis of the digestive tract, promote the excretion of bilirubin from the stool, and reduce the degree of jaundice. At this time, you should insist on breastfeeding and increase the number of breastfeeding, 8-12 times/day (i.e. once every 2-3 hours), and try to reach 30-60ml of milk each time. If you still have feeding problems after your efforts, please consult a pediatrician.

Experts explain that physiological jaundice is usually caused by the immature liver function of newborns. As the newborn liver's ability to process bilirubin increases, jaundice will naturally subside, so parents generally do not need additional care for physiological jaundice. During the period of jaundice, the child can be fed with warm water or glucose water for diuresis. However, it should be noted that severe pathological jaundice can be complicated by cerebral nuclear jaundice, commonly known as "kernicterus", which causes damage to the nervous system and leads to serious sequelae such as mental retardation in children, or even death. Parents need to carefully observe the changes in their children's jaundice. When special circumstances occur, they should be sent to the hospital in time to ask for the doctor's help.

Most mild jaundice does not require special treatment. In order to avoid the gradual worsening of jaundice, the best prevention method is adequate feeding, increasing gastrointestinal motility, and promoting bilirubin excretion. Adequate feeding means 8-12 times/24 hours, 2-3 hours/time, 30-60ml/time. Oral boiled water and glucose water cannot help reduce jaundice. On the contrary, it will cause a decrease in milk supply and reduce bilirubin excretion, which is not conducive to the disappearance of jaundice. Direct sunlight exposure cannot effectively reduce jaundice, because the amount of blue wavelength light in sunlight is limited, and it is difficult to expose large areas of skin to sunlight at home. Even if it is done, it is easy to cause side effects such as ultraviolet burns and colds.

With a comprehensive understanding of this knowledge, we know the dangers of neonatal jaundice. Jaundice is a very common disease among newborns and endangers the health of many babies. Therefore, everyone should pay attention to neonatal jaundice. Once your child shows symptoms of this disease, you must actively seek treatment.