Define jaundice?

Before having James, I’ve never heard of the word jaundice ever before. No, it doesn’t mean bitterness, resentment, or cyncism; but instead is the medical condition where the skin and eyes become more yellow as the liver tries to clear out bilirubin, which is a waste product from breaking down red blood cells. In adults, this can indicate liver issues but can be quite common for newborn babies to have.

Who gets jauindice?

About 60% of all babies born will have jaundice in the first week of life. In Australia, we have a really good healthcare system and the doctors and nurses will be able to help treat jaundice in babies. Jaundice is so common that the nurses and doctors weren’t too worried about James having jaundice on the second day. As new parents though, it didn’t allievate our worries when they told us that babies normally get this. Just being told that our baby might have a condition on the second day of life, no matter how normaly the condition can be, was enough for us to almost panic over. In hindsight, I think trusting the doctors and being calm would have been better instead of worrying too much about it.

Why do babies get jaundice?

Jaundice is caused by a substance called bilirubin accumulating in the blood. This substance occurs when red blood cells breaks down in our body. For adults, our bodies will then excrete this substance as the liver functions and clears out our blood. However, newborn babies produce and break down a large amount of red blood cells which can then cause too much bilirubin to accumulate. Babies are still also learning to excrete materials and do not poo or pee as well as adults. It takes them longer then to get rid of all the bilirubin that builds up in the body.

When does it happen?

Babies usually get it in the first week as the body tries to clear out the excess substance and their liver is learning to function properly. James had it in the second and third day and he continued having it for the first two weeks.

How do we get rid of it?

To get rid of the excess bilirubin, babies need to pee and poo regularly. One trouble we had with this is that James was too small to eat too much and he had trouble being fed in the first few days. As the milk was still coming through, James was unable to drink a lot which made it harder to poo and pee in the beginning. As he got more jaundiced, he also became more sleepy which made it even harder to feed him. So it became a vicious cycle where the more jaundiced he became the less likely he fed, which made it harder to poo and pee.

What then?

We were told to implement a strict routine where everytime he breastfed, we would have to top him up with formula. This encouraged him to poo and pee alot more as we needed up to 7 - 8 diaper changes every day. It was a bit rough in the first few days as he definitely just wanted to sleep all the time. Being consistent, which is a common theme with babies, and making sure he drank quite a bit finally helped him get rid of the jaundice. James however had a bit too much jaundice for our doctor’s liking and he had to go in for phototerapy to get rid of it. That was a nerving time for us but we are grateful for the doctors and nurses who were there to explain and teach us what to do.

TLDR

Jaundice is a common medical condition in babies, in which over 60% of babies get it. Feeding a baby often will help him get rid of jaundice. In Australia, doctors are really good at taking care of jaundiced babies and we were always in good hands and shouldn’t worry too much. But then again… New parents are always going to be worried but it’ll be fine.