About this topic
Your baby has an illness called jaundice. Your babys skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow. A buildup of bilirubin causes this yellow color. The liver helps break down bilirubin. The body removes bilirubin through the stool. ‚
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What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do to care for your child.
- Your doctor may send your baby home with light treatment. Your doctor will talk with you about how to do this.
- Breastfeed your baby 10 to 12 times a day to support regular bowel movements. If you are using formula, talk to your doctor.
What follow-up care is needed?
The doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your childs progress. Be sure to keep these visits. ‚
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher
- Signs of fluid loss. These include soft spot on a babys head looks sunken, few or no tears when crying, dark-colored urine or only a small amount of urine for more than 6 to 8 hours, dry mouth, cracked lips, dry skin, sunken eyes, lack of energy, feeling very sleepy.
- Problems breastfeeding or taking a bottle
- Weight loss
- Pale skin
- Yellow color in the skin or eyes that gets worse or goes away and comes back
- Very irritable
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you about your child. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my childs condition.
- I can tell you how often my baby needs to eat.
- I can tell you what I will do if my baby has problems breastfeeding, taking a bottle, or has a yellow color to the skin or eyes that gets worse or goes away and comes back.
Where can I learn more?
American Academy of Pediatrics ‚
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Jaundice.aspx ‚
NHS Choices ‚
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Jaundice-newborn/Pages/Introduction.aspx ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚