Patient's question:
My child just turned one month old. Today, when we went for a vaccination, the doctor said that the child has a bit of jaundice. I didn't quite understand, so I had it checked. Could you please tell me what the normal index for jaundice in newborns is?Doctor's answer:
The normal jaundice values for full-term infants differ from those of premature infants. The normal jaundice level for full-term newborns is generally 12.9 mg/100 ml, meaning the bilirubin level in 100 ml of blood is below 12.9 mg. The normal jaundice value for premature infants is 15 mg/100 ml of blood, meaning the bilirubin level in 100 ml of blood is below 15 mg. When an infant's jaundice level exceeds 12.9 mg/dL or the jaundice index rises too quickly (more than 5 mg/dL per day) or the jaundice duration lasts longer than 14 days for full-term infants, 4 weeks for premature infants, or if jaundice recurs after it has subsided. This indicates that the newborn's jaundice is unhealthy and may have pathological jaundice.