I had always heard about jaundice, but I didn’t really get what it was all about until I had kids. I thought I would share my experience, so others won’t be alarmed if their baby has it!
Jaundice is a condition a lot of babies have at birth. It’s normally just caused by the liver not functioning fully yet, so a substance called bilirubin starts to build up. It can be noticed if the skin is a little yellow, or even the whites of the eyes in extreme cases.
My daughter had a very mild case of jaundice when she was born, so they just had me sit outside with her in the evening so she could get a little sun! The sunshine helped her body break down the bilirubin and naturally balance her out. When they checked her bilirubin levels a few days later she was fine!
My two sons had it also, and they told me that it is common with breastfed babies to see it early on before the milk comes in fully, but it almost always resolves itself. They check in a few days just in case, because there are conditions that Mom can have that will make the bilirubin levels in the baby get too high and not come down.
This can lead to cerebral palsy and other bad health conditions for the baby! Fortunately, since they check at birth and again a few days later, they can catch if there is a problem and give the baby a shot so they will be fine.
All of my babies were fine after a few days, so I was pretty glad! With last baby I had an emergency c-section because he was breech and got stuck, so I had to stay in the hospital longer. Since he wasn’t getting sun, they just put him under a special ultraviolet light so he would be able to get balanced out.
Hope this sets some new mom’s minds at rest!
My baby had jaundice, but I didn’t understand what it meant because none of the doctors explained it to me! Thanks so much for the information.