Patient's question:
My son is almost a month old. When he was born on the fourth day, his jaundice was a bit high. The doctor asked me to expose him to sunlight every day. By the seventh day, it was still high, and the doctor said he needed to be under blue light. After three days of treatment, it returned to normal. Now that he is almost a month old, I feel that he is a bit yellow again.What kind of help do I need: What should I do if the jaundice index is high?
Doctor's answer:
The baby's liver function has not yet developed well. Within the first week of birth, 60% of full-term babies will develop jaundice, while 80% of premature babies will. The reasons for jaundice in normal babies are as follows: The baby's body produces an excessive amount of bilirubin, but the liver function is not yet mature enough to break down and excrete this bilirubin. Additionally, some bilirubin that has normally been excreted into the intestines via the bile duct is reabsorbed by the baby's intestines and returned to the bloodstream. These factors combined can make newborns particularly prone to developing jaundice.