A few days after birth, it is normal for your baby's skin to turn yellow. Do not panic, they have not changed it for an oriental. It's about the Very common physiological jaundice in newborns.
It is called the yellowing of the skin and the white part of the eyes caused by the increase of bilirubin in the blood, a yellow pigment that must be metabolized by the liver that in the case of many babies, is still immature and lazy . It usually appears on the second or third day of life and disappears spontaneously around the week.
It does not require treatment if the bilirubin level does not exceed a level of safety that depends on the child's weight and the days of life. When it exceeds that level, it requires phototherapy, a treatment in which the baby is exposed to ultraviolet light. By acting on the skin, the light rays accelerate the bilirubin removal process until it returns to normal safety levels. It is a safe and effective method, in addition to being harmless to the baby. The most severe cases of intense hyperbilirubin may need an exchange transfusion, a treatment in which part of the body's blood is replaced by another from donors.
In a small group of babies, jaundice is really due to a disease, for example in cases of blood incompatibility between the mother and the baby. In these cases it appears before, in general the first day of life, and requires treatment. It can also appear in newborns because of liver malformations or biliary abnormalities. In older children, jaundice can be a sign of hepatitis or a disease that is destroying red blood cells.
