|  | Family Health | Babies Health

Treatment for Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, or newborn jaundice, is a condition caused by too much bilirubin in an infant's blood, which causes yellow skin. The body creates bilirubin when old red blood cells are recycled and the liver then removes them. The placenta performs this function for an unborn baby. It takes a while for the newborn's liver to take over the job; therefore, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is fairly common and is usually not serious.

  1. Frequent Feedings

    • Bilirubin is removed from the body through the bowels after the liver has processed it. Giving a newborn frequent feedings stimulates the bowels, which helps remove bilirubin.

    Blue Lights

    • Blue lights are used to treat neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. These lights break down bilirubin in the infant's skin. The newborn is placed under these lights while inside of an isolette. As much skin as possible needs to be exposed so the infant is usually naked or wearing only a diaper. Being inside of an isolette keeps the infant warm in a controlled environment with a steady temperature. The newborn will wear an eye mask for protection from the lights.

      In cases where the light therapy needs to be maximized, the infant will be placed in an open bassinette so the blue lights can be brought much closer to the skin. The infant is usually placed on top of a bili-blanket also. This is a small, flexible source of blue light that resembles a small blanket that can be used for home treatment of hyperbilirubinemia if need be.

      According to the Stanford School of Medicine, determining when to discontinue blue light therapy depends upon blood levels of bilirubin and is not based upon skin color since the blue lights have a bleaching effect upon the infant's skin. Treatment may last anywhere from one to seven days.

    Transfusion

    • If the jaundice is severe, a transfusion might be necessary. For this, the baby's blood that is high in bilirubin is replaced with fresh blood that has normal levels of bilirubin.

    Prognosis

    • These forms of treatment for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia are usually very effective and the newborn suffers no ill effects from the jaundice. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, most newborns with jaundice do not even need treatment as the bilirubin will normalize by itself within one to two weeks. However, if extremely high levels of bilirubin are left untreated, brain damage might occur.

Babies Health - Related Articles