Most healthy newborn babies become jaundiced (yellow) around about day three or day four, we call it physiological jaundice. It usually appears on the face and trunk of your baby's body. The reason for this, is because your baby is now breathing air and no longer requires the excess red blood cells that (carries oxygenated blood) he needed while he was in your womb. The baby's liver begins to break down those excess blood cells and the jaundice manifests itself through the skin in the form of a yellow pigment. The jaundice begins to fade gradually over a period of 10 days and does not cause any harm.
The advice we give is to let your baby feed at the breast for as long as he wants, that way the sufficient quantities of breastmilk will help your baby eliminate the jaundice from his body.
Breast milk Jaundice
Some babies can develop breastmilk jaundice which is not harmful, in fact, breast milk jaundice can develop later than 10 days after birth and continue for as long as two to three months. The cause of breast milk jaundice is not known and there is no reason why breast feeding should be discontinued. If the jaundice persists beyond two weeks, your midwife may do a blood test to check your baby's bilirubin levels and seek the advice from a paediatrician.
When should you be concerned?
With the exception of breast milk jaundice, in the case of physiological jaundice, the jaundice will gradually fade and disappear around 10 days. Your baby will remain alert when awake and breast feed on demand. A healthy newborn baby will gain weight and have at least six wet nappies in 24 hours, although it will be difficult to tell if your baby has a wet nappy if he has opened his/her bowels. Your baby's stools will change colour from the thick black meconium (produced for the first three days) becoming lighter, and usually by the third or fourth day are a yellow/brown colour.
If the jaundice (yellow colouration) becomes deeper and covers more of the baby's skin or white (sclera) of the eyes become yellow and your baby's behaviour changes from being very alert as he was in the first few days, to becoming sleepy and not very interested in feeding, it is important that you seek advice from your midwife. Your midwife can perform a blood test on your baby that records the serum bilirubin (yellow pigment) in the blood and its a way to check if your baby requires treatment.
If your baby becomes jaundiced within 24 hours of birth, you must inform your midwife immediately.
Always seek the advice from your midwife or well child provider if you have any concerns about your baby.
http://www.lalecheleague.org.nz/resources/15/231
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