Have you ever gone to visit your sister or cousin in the hospital after they’ve had their baby? You’re so eager to hold their little one, grateful that they’re willing to let you hold them.
You pick them up, stare down at their little face, and then cringe…because you’re looking at this little YELLOW alien. “Oh, she’s so…..cute,” you falter out, while you’re REALLY thinking, Why is her skin so yellow? Did they even notice?
But I’m sure you have seen many other babies since then and you’ve learned that this is quite common. But yet, some babies don’t appear this way either? Why?
Newborn Jaundice Levels – What This Yellowness Is All About
Yellow skin and sometimes white of the eyes is the obvious symptom of jaundice. This is caused by high bilirubin levels. Well, what the heck is bilirubin then too?
Bilirubin is a naturally occurring product in our blood when our red blood cells die. On a regular basis, our red blood cells are replaced and the old ones are broken down. Bilirubin comes from the breakdown of hemoglobin (the stuff that makes our blood red).
Well, when someone has a much higher level of red blood cells dying, it causes this build up of bilirubin which in turn causes the yellow color. Normally, our bodies naturally get rid of most of it through our urine. But our liver and kidneys can only work so fast to process and filter it out of our blood.
Here’s a quick video my husband did after our third baby was born. Can you tell if he is jaundiced?
Newborn babies can get jaundice a number of ways.
Blood Type Matters
Many babies don’t have the same blood type as their mother. Baby can have any combination of ABO blood proteins that are provided by you and the father.
Sometimes they’re exactly the same, like in my case. My husband and I are both O+ blood types. And so far both of our children have been as well.
So when you have a different blood type than your baby, the incompatibility causes an increase of bilirubin in your baby’s blood.
How To Prevent? The only way to make sure this isn’t a cause for your baby is to know your husband’s blood type before you become pregnant. And if he’s different than you, then not having a baby is the only way.
But I doubt this will matter to you. 🙂
Natural Excess Blood Levels
Until your baby is physically separated from you after the umbilical cord is cut, their blood volume can be low. (Up your baby’s odds of gaining every drop they need here.) You have A LOT more blood volume than your baby. Plus, your baby has to start immediately producing more blood cells to naturally replace your blood cells that it shared with you. So they have a big jump in red blood cells being broken down the first few days after their birth.
How To Prevent? You can’t do anything about this. Sure, you could choose to make an unwise decision to not consume enough water so your blood volume isn’t where it should be. (Read about how much water you need here.) But that obviously is just creating greater problems and risks for yourself as well as your baby. Don’t do this.
Meconium Not Passing Quickly
“Great, another unknown term,” you’re likely thinking. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.
Meconium is simply the first few bowel movements your baby will have after they’re born. It’s not like regular poop because it contains a ton more things that your baby has been holding onto as they were growing inside of you.
It’s real thick and tarry, and holds a lot of stuff that your baby doesn’t need. When your baby doesn’t get rid of this within the first day or so of birth, their jaundice levels will increase and it becomes harder to clean that bilirubin out.
How To Prevent? The best thing you can do is get that baby to latch on and breastfeed asap after they’re put into your lap. Breastfeeding gets their little digestive systems going and it stimulates their bowels to clean out. So the sooner it’s passed, the better.
Often, if you’ve had a natural birth, your baby will want to latch on within their first few hours of life. My second little boy, I remember, was breastfeeding before I had even left the delivery room.
Epidurals Too
The drugs in epidurals naturally interfere with our baby’s natural physiology and metabolic cycles. (Read more about that here.) So when something else is competing, baby’s body can’t naturally clean out the gunk as fast.
Think of it like this….
When you take an aspirin or Tylenol for your headache, what that painkiller is actually doing is competing with receptors and proteins in your body that cause the signals for your pain. So you have an unnatural molecule blocking the natural molecule’s route.
But eventually, the unnatural stuff is recognized by the body and cleaned out too, which is why you have to take such pills every 4-6 hours or so to keep on top of it.
Does that make more sense? The drugs from your epidural get into your baby and stop baby’s body from doing its job. Yet another reason to avoid this option.
How To Prevent? If it isn’t clear yet, don’t get that epidural, or any drug for that matter–even pitocin, injected into you. It’s making it harder for your baby.
What Levels Of Bilirubin Are Harmful?
Most babies don’t have levels that are harmful. Your doctor will test your baby’s blood atleast once during your hospital stay to determine if any further action is needed to help clear it up.
Image courtesy of http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
If you look at this graph, any level above the solid line will likely determine if you baby needs additional treatment. When levels are very high, there is a much greater risk that there could be damage caused to your little one’s brain if steps are not taken to bring those bilirubin levels down.
Treatment is really simple. It’s called phototherapy. All that your baby has to do is be exposed to certain lights for predetermined amounts of time to help clear up the bilirubin. Often your baby may have to come back to the hospital a few times for this treatment because it’s not exactly the same as just being outside in the daylight.
Image courtesy of www.myhousecallmd.com
When I was in the hospital with our very first baby, we were so frustrated because the lab had lost my baby’s blood sample for the bilirubin test. We’d been there two days and I was SO anxious to leave.
I was dressed, our stuff was ready to go the second the nurse walked in through the door with that test result. But we had to wait even longer because they had to do another heel prick to run the test again.
It was a time I hated standard hospital protocol because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my boy’s bilirubin levels were super low. I even told the nurse, “Look at him. His color is perfectly fine.” And yet, she had to have that test result or she could lose her job.
Sure enough, the chart came back and his levels were clear down below the 10th percentile of bilirubin levels. I signed the discharge papers and walked out the door.
All in all, this is not something to worry about. But it can be helped a bit so that your stay and excessive hospital visits are kept to a minimum. Plus, then you can explain to your husband why he need not freak out that his little yellow alien is actually perfectly normal.
Now that you’ve got baby’s recovery covered, make sure you’re ready for your own recovery.
Learn How To Prevent A Painful Recovery For Yourself
Has anyone here ever had a jaundiced baby?
I quite like looking through a post that can make men and
women think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!
Glad you found it enjoyable, Eleonor. You’re welcome!
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
Did you create this website yourself or did you hire
someone to do it for you? Plz respond as I’m looking
to construct my own blog and would like to find out
where u got this from. thanks a lot
Thanks Tanesha. I’ve created my site myself, but I had tons of help from my host. Go here: http://www.wealthyaffiliate.com?a_aid=00b736c1. They’ll teach you everything you need to know about developing your own site, they also provide the hosting too. Everything I have learned is from there at Wealthy Affiliate. Best!
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely think this amazing site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be returning to see more, thanks
for the advice!
Thanks for your comment, Jeanie! Feel free to share and visit anytime.
An intriguing discussion is worth comment. I think that you need to write more about this topic,
it might not be a taboo matter but typically
people don’t talk about such issues. To the next! Many thanks!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for your comment.
Another post with great information! Though a child is not on the way any time soon for me, I already worry on some complications that can happen. With such a delicate life, it’s beautiful but worrisome. I can cross one worry off of my list!
Children truly are one of the best gifts of life.
I agree Matthew, children ARE one of the greatest gifts of life. You cannot experience a fullness of joy without them. Thanks for your comment!
Hello Sarah, it’s so important to check the skin color of the baby! Many children have jaundice. It is important that they get the treatment they need (if needed). And in some cases yellow skin might be a sign of another diseases. My cousin had a child that needed a kidney transplant – the first sign was the yellow skin. So make sure your baby has a healthy color of the skin!
Thank you for educating me, Marie! I didn’t think to consider other diseases that may be present, although rare. But that makes sense because the kidneys filter out everything, and if they can’t, then the bilirubin and other toxins we normally excrete just build up.
I’m going to pay more attention when the next one gets here just for that reason now. It’s always nice to hear from you dear.
Sarah, your site got very professional information for any new moms! Whilst I am still far away from this stage, my potential wife should definitely get these quality education haha!
Absolutely. Look forward to hearing from you in the future, Keye. Thanks for your comment!
Another great post. You are so well informed. While I have nothing to relate to in my personal experience, just reading your posts are so engaging and educational for me.
Thank you Cory. You’re most welcome to share with anyone you feel it may be helpful for too. There is a blog site that I enjoy reading too, not because it necessarily pertains to me, but because I enjoy the read and occasionally I learn something new that’s useful. Thanks for your comment!
Very informative post you have here. Personally i learned a lot. I knew what jaundice is but never really studied the science behind it. Thank you for bringing your superb writting skills to this page.
If we don’t understand the science even just a little bit, how can we fully appreciate how our bodies work? Thanks Shawn. I’m glad you enjoyed the read.
This is a lot of great information. My youngest boy had to go through this. The hospital sent him home to early and he ended back in the hospital for several days.
I hope to not have any babies have to stay in the hospital longer than absolutely necessary for that very reason. They should be home, bonding with mommy and daddy, growing into their new little world. That can’t happen in the hospital. Glad your boy is doing well now. Thanks Curt!
Interesting stuff. My son was born 3 weeks early and had Jaundice. He recovered fairly quickly. I never knew about the blood type issue though and as it happens I’m O Rhesus Negative which isn’t that common. about 15% of the population I believe. He’s now 13 and is very healthy. never gets much more than a cold. He is also taller than me and I’m his dad. So being born premature with jaundice didn’t make that much difference. I’m glad we didn’t avoid having our little man based on blood type!
I know, it’s quite a lame prevention tactic, but I had to throw it in there. 🙂
Glad to hear your boy is well. He’s seems to be practically a man with all that measuring up next to you.
And your right, Eoin. Jaundice is hardly a cause for worry most of the time, and those little ones recover just fine. Every little bit helps. Thanks for your comment!
The funny thing is – a short time after I posted this comment my son came to where I was working and we had a chat about this. He knew about the jaundice and all that, but never knew about the blood type thing and the fact that I’m O Rhesus Neg. He thought this was awesome and had to go on the net to research it all. Do you have any idea what you’ve started? Lol
I know exactly what I’ve started…a moment of learning and enlightenment. Unless you mean your boy was anxious about it all in a fearful way, which I hope not. 🙂
Well, actually, you started it too–you took the time to teach your son about something that can help your family’s health. It’s wonderful that he wants to learn more.
Send him over to the Articles and Studies area here in the Research section and he’ll learn a lot more he probably thought possible.
Thanks for the follow up Eoin. It’s fun to hear about other families’ experiences. Thanks!
Very well written article that opened my eyes to things I did not know! The website looks great I can tell you have put a lot of time in.
Thanks Anthony. I want to help those moms that are looking for what they need to get through every step of pregnancy and to be able to reach a goal of having a natural birth. But any and all mothers wanting to do better for their children always.
I would like to leave a brief comment… The information that you have provided was very helpful to me and my wife!
Thanks again,
Maurice
You’re welcome, Maurice. Do you and your wife have any children? Let me know any time if you have any questions or need help with anything. Best!
Hi Sarah!
Great article! You have an awesome website with some very beneficial information for new Moms. To be honest, I’m not planning to have a baby anytime soon ……. but I have some friends who are starting to plan their families. I will certainly tell them to take a peek at your site. Thanks for providing such great information!
You’re the best Brittni! Let them know that I am here to help them with anything and I look forward to hearing from them.
By the way, 🙂 I really like how you spell your name! Best.
This is great information for when I become a father.
Being involved with your children’s births and being there through it all for your wife is wonderful, Todd. I’m glad you look forward to that. Best of luck!
Great article! I really love the voice in your article, it’s personal, clever, and funny 🙂 I always wondered what jaundice was and if it was diet or lifestyle based (from the mom). Great info!
You’re such a dear, Nicole. I’m glad you were able to understand more fully after reading. Let me know if I can ever help you with anything. Have a nice day!
I doubt I’ll be dealing with babies for quite some time yet, but this was a quality post which should help a lot of people in this situation. Keep it up!
Sometimes those babies come when we least expect it. 🙂 Thanks for your comment, James.
Wow, you gave such in depth info! I guess if someone is REALLY worried about their baby having jaundice, they should start off the first date with “what is your blood type?” 🙂
Totally! That’s why I reiterate that it’s really nothing to worry about. Just do what you can and you’re baby will be fine. Thanks, Thomas!
You have very lifesaving information on your Website that should be valuable to any parent that visits your Site. Nice Job!
Thank you Michael. Feel free to share with anyone you think may find it helpful. Best!