Patient's question:
My little baby was born not long ago, and when I was hospitalized at the hospital, everything was normal. When I came home, I noticed that the baby's skin was yellow, so I consulted online and was told it was physiological jaundice in newborns. Hello doctor, are there any aspects that need attention?Expected help: What are the precautions for physiological jaundice in newborns?
Doctor's answer:
Neonatal physiological jaundice is the condition where newborns must independently resolve the decomposition metabolites of hemoglobin—unconjugated bilirubin—after birth. However, glucuronidation transferase takes 3 to 5 days to mature in full-term infants and 5 to 7 days in premature infants. Adding to the various characteristics of neonatal bilirubin decomposition metabolism already mentioned, this can lead to the recurrence of neonatal physiological jaundice. Most cases of neonatal physiological jaundice appear again 2 to 3 days after birth, peak between 4 to 6 days, and naturally fade away within 10 to 14 days. A smaller portion may persist for 3 to 4 weeks, with premature infants being more commonly affected.