Jaundice

On the day we were meant to leave the hospital with Codi-Beth the Paediatrician says we need to have some blood tests, as it looks like Baby Codi is very yellow and may have Jaundice. We have to have blood taken and if some blood count (blank stare as I have no idea what blood count) is too high, she will have to have Phototherapy (more blank stares).

We have blood taken, and wait for the results which confirm that THE blood count is high. We have 2 options, treat the Jaundice with phototherapy in hospital, or hire UV lights and do the treatment at home. We opt for the “at home” treatment and off we go to our clinic who also happen to be our midwives and get lights and are explained how to treat the Jaundice.

Basically Codi had to lie under the UV lights with only a nappy, a beanie over her eyes (Not because the lights are harmful to her eyes, but because they are bright and would cause her not to sleep) and socks to keep some body heat in, as she has zero body fat and would be lying practically nude. We were also told to put a heater on in the room to help with the body heat issue. Luckily after a day of light treatment and new blood tests, THE blood count was down and she didn’t need the treatment anymore.

Honestly, I had no clue what they were talking about, so I decided to educate myself a little bit.

Jaundice or Yellow Jaundice is a condition that causes a baby’s skin and white part of their eye’s to look yellow. This is caused when baby has too much bilirubin (THE blood count thing) in their blood. The doctor has a chart by which he determines if the bilirubin count is too high and would need treatment or if it can be left to go away on its own (based on weight of baby and the blood test results). In most cases Jaundice will go away on its own, but sometimes the phototherapy is needed. The phototherapy breaks down the bilirubin and allows it to be passed through the system more easily.

Jaundice is not usually a problem, but in some cases too much bilirubin can cause brain damage. That’s why the doctors are so cautious when treating it.

 

 

Cheers vir Eers

 

-          Toppie se Vrou