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Home › Articles › Newborn Care › Why Is My Baby Yellow?

Why Is My Baby Yellow?

Breaking Down Newborn Jaundice

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

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The Why
A common trend of the last decade or so is that of "rapid release" from the hospital or birthing center after childbirth and delivery. What once was a minimum four-day stay in the late 1950s is now a 36-hour layover. This may be directly related to a rise in the number of infants who have jaundice. Without the extra time to monitor or treat the initial onset of jaundice, the condition can develop into something more dangerous.

"One of the main reasons for the presence of jaundice in newborns is the practice of sending babies home earlier," says Dr. Goldsmith. "Babies who go home after only 48 to 72 hours may not have the proper blood group compatibility tests done, or they may be done too early to be accurate. If there is a blood incompatibility issue and Mom breastfeeds, the baby may come back to the hospital with severe jaundice, even brain damage. The most common reason for a baby to be readmitted is for jaundice."

"All three of my children had jaundice," says Sandra Ray, a mother of two from Midland, Texas. "My second baby had jaundice bad enough that she became dehydrated after we were discharged from the hospital and had to be readmitted."

Ray's pediatrician explained that her daughter's jaundice was caused by their incompatible blood types. "Because I'm Rh negative and she was Rh positive, our blood was incompatible. To make mtters worse, she wouldn't nurse very well and had to be under the "bili lights" for three days," she says.


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