Infant Jaundice - Definition of Hyperbilirubinemia

My first child was born without complication. But, the day of discharge from the hospital, it was mentioned to us that his bilirubin levels were a bit high, but not high enough to be concerned about at that point. So, we were discharged, with instructions to return to the hospital lab the next morning to have the level tested again. Turns out that it had not decreased as it should & we were re-admitted to the hospital for treatment. Being a first time mom, I was scared to death, but once I was able to get a grip on things again, I realized it wasn't as quite a big of a deal as I had once thought (though this is not always the case, it can cause permanent damage or even be fatal).

Some symptoms of increased bilirubin levels may include (but are not limited to): a yellow-orange tint of the skin and/or eyes, irritability, sluggishness, poor sucking ability, seizures, and period of not breathing (apnea).

There are different types of jaundice:
1. Physiologic jaundice, which all babies actually experience simply because their organ systems are not quite capable of excreting the buildup of excess bilirubin in the body (this is usually expelled via urine or fecal matter). While it is not noticable in most babies, it usually begins around 24 hours after birth & subsides by the 5th day after birth.
2. Breastfeeding jaundice can cause or intensify physicologic jaundice, is caused by mild dehydration. Again, because the bilirubin is excreted through urine or feces, with dehydration, this becomes more difficult as these functions are not occuring as frequently as they should.
3. An underlying cause can also be the source of jaundice in newborns, and in this case, symptoms begin to appear before the child has been outside the womb for 24 hours. In such cases, the baby should be closely evaluated for deeper issues.

Treatment is usually not invasive for hyperbilirubinemia. If breastfeeding, simply begin to feed more often, which will in turn cause more frequent excretement from the baby's body. In some cases (such as my son's), phototherapy is needed. This simply means the baby is placed in an isolet in only a diaper and has special florescent lights shining on them at all times. They generally get a special "cool" pair of styrofoam sunshades to wear to protect their sensitive little eyes from the bright lights.