Jaundice In New Born Babies - Symptoms & Treatment

Hello friends,

I am Dr. Lata Bhat. I am a child specialist and new-born consultant. See, I am especially trained to handle the problems of a new-born, today I am going to talk on a topic related to the new-born aur ye bahut hi common topic hai aur vo hai Jaundice in the newborn. What is jaundice? Jaundice is yellowing of the baby’s skin and eyes. Ye bahut hi common hai aur isliye hota hai kyuki babies mein bilirubin, jo ki ek peele colour ka pigment hota hai, vo bahut hi high ho jata hai due to break down of red blood cells. Agar ye jaundice bade bachcho mein ho ya adults mein ho, so the liver processes the bilirubin aur liver isko aise change kar deta hai taki ye intestine mein ja kar ke explicit ho jaye, body se remove ho jaaye. But a baby’s liver is not mature enough to remove the bilirubin. Lekin good news ye hai ki jo jaundice hai new born ka, in most cases, vo dheere dheere apne aap hi kam ho jata hai. Aam taur pe jaundice kya hota hai? Day 2 pe, Second day of life pe aata hai, dheere dheere badta hai and peak hota hai between 4 to 7 days of life aur uske baad ye kam hona shuru ho jata hai and it disappears within 2 to 3 weeks. So, agar ye jaundice three weeks ke baad bhi rahe, then you must contact your doctor and further investigations need to be done. Aur dusri baat ye dhyan rakhne wali hai ki agar ye jaundice high ho toh iski treatment jaruri hai kyuki it can affect baby’s brain and can cause long term problems such as deafness, physical disability or some other disability related to brain damage. Isliye jo humare professional bodies hai National Neonatology Forum of India aur American Academy of Kids, unhone ye recommendations diya hai ki har bachche ko ek baar at the time of discharge, examine kiya jaaye aur uske baad between 3 to 5 days again hume bachche ko dekhna chaiye.

So, ab hum baat karenge what are risk factors of developing higher level of jaundice in the newborn babies. First is premature babies, babies born before 37 weeks or babies who are not getting enough breast milk or formulae feed, kyuki hum bachche ko kam feed denge toh unko dehydration ho jaate hai jiske wajah se jaundice badh jaata hai. And third risk factor is babies whose blood is incompatible with the blood type of the mother, baby ka blood group aur mother ka blood group compatible nahi hai. Iske alawa agar bachche ko bruising hui ho at the time of birth ya koi internal bleeding hui ho, liver problem hai, infection hai ya koi enzyme deficiency hai aur baby ke red blood cell mein koi abnormality hai toh bhi unka risk of developing jaundice high ho jata hai. Ye sab jan na isliye jaruri hai kyuki, inn situations mein hum aur bhi jyada cautious ho sakte hai aur doctor se frequently mil sakte hai. Ab hume ye baat karna hai ki aap ghar mein ek bachche ko kitna piliya hai ye kaise pata kare? Toh ye jaundice humesha face se shuru hota hai, aankhon se shuru hota hai uske baad dheere dheere chest, abdomen, thighs, legs aise neeche neeche aata hai. Toh agar apko doubt ho toh ek finger lagake halke se baby ke skin ko press karenge toh vo portion yellow dikhega. Toh that is the sign of jaundice. Aur agar aap daily dekhenge isko dekhna daylight mein hai, artificial light mein ya tube light mein nahi dekhna hai, aap din ki roshni mein bahar jake dekhenge subah sham toh aapko difference pata lag jayega ki ye kitna progress hua hai, kitna deep hua hai aur uske hisab se aap apne doctor ko contact kar sakte hai.

Aapko kab apne doctor ke paas le jaana hai? Agar aapko lage ki jaundice pahle din hi aa gaya hai, within 24 hours aa gaya hai, ya fir jaundice tezi se badh raha hai aur bahut jyada intense yani ki bahut jyada dee ho gaya hai aur iske alawa jab bahut jyada jaundice ho jata hai toh ye brain ko cross karke brain ko bhi affect karta hai, so uss samay baby can feed poorly, baby sust lagega ya baby ki high pitch cry hogi ya sometimes baby develops fever because usko feed kam mil raha hai. Toh important points jo hume yaad rakhne hai har halat mein ki most mothers are discharged by 72 hours from the hospital, so day 3 pe jab discharge hota hai toh uske baad agle 48 ghante mein ya 3 se 4 din ke beech mein aap aapne doctor ke paas apne baby ko check up ke liye le jaaye. Agar bachche ka skin peela lag raha hai toh jaundice toh hai hi, lekin jab tak blood test nahi karenge, uska level nahi pata lagega, kai baar nahi pata lagta hai ki bachche ko treatment ki jarurat hai ya nahi. Toh isliye blood test ki jarurat padh sakti hai. And in some cases, additional blood test may also be needed to find out the cause of jaundice.

Now coming to treatment, hum jaundice ka treatment kaise kare? Toh hum saare pediatricians standard charts follow karte hai jo ki internationally accepted hote hai, usme vo baby ka age, after birth aur baby ke bilirubin ke levels ke hisab se batata hai ki agar bachche ki umar itni hai, bachche ka bilirubin level itna hai, toh treatment ki jarurat hai ya nahi. Aur agar treatment ki jarurat hai toh should we give futa therapy or should we go for exchange transfusion. Accordingly hum treat karte hai. Futa therapy mein the child is placed under a blue spectrum light aur usko koi aur kapda nahi pahnaya jaata except diaper and we have to cover the eyes. It’s very effective mode of treatment. Aur agar jaundice bahut high hai then we have to go for exchange transfusion. And in this the baby’s blood is exchanged with a donor blood. Aur iss se jaundice ka level kam ho jata hai. Now as we all know that prevention is better than cure, toh hum sabko pata hona chaiye ki, can the new born baby jaundice be prevented? So the answer is No, there is no real way to prevent jaundice but yes we can prevent the jaundice from becoming very high. So, agar during pregnancy, you should get your blood group tested, aur after birth baby ka bhi blood group pata hona chahiye. If there is a mismatch between the baby’s blood group and mother’s blood group, yani ki mother agar negative ho aur baby positive blood group wala ho ya mother O ho aur baby A ho ya B ho toh hume close watch rakhna chahiye, kyunki there are chances of baby developing jaundice, especially after the first pregnancy. In the second subsequent pregnancies. Second thing is you have to keep a close watch on the baby and feed the baby adequatly. Taki agar jaundice develop bhi ho toh jaldi jaldi badhe na and jaise apko suspecion lage ki baby ko jaundice hai aur badh raha hai and baki saare signs jo meine bataye hai, vo hai toh aap apne doctor ko immediately contact kariye. Thank you very much for your patience hearing. If you are having any further queries, you can contact me through Lybrate.

Thank You!