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Newborn Jaundice
What is newborn jaundice? Jaundice is seen as a yellow coloring of the skin or the whites of the eyes. It is noted in about half of new babies. It usually becomes more distinct until the baby is about five days old and then begins to fade. It is unlikely to cause any problems or harm. It is caused by the essential breakdown of excess blood cells the baby needs to carry out but finds difficult because the newborn liver is immature. Is it dangerous? Sometimes there are complicating factors such as prematurity or illness which slows down the baby's capacity to deal with the jaundice causing it to be more pronounced. The midwife or pediatrician may need to check the jaundice level from a small blood sample. If it is higher than the baby can cope with there may be a need for a simple treatment, phototherapy. The baby is placed under a lamp, which looks like a sun lamp but uses a different type of light. The baby may need treatment for a day or two. There are some more rare problems, which cause jaundice levels to be more serious and need specialist treatment. Very few babies need this level of intervention. Most have the earlier type called 'Physiological Jaundice'. Group B Strep infection What is it? Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a type of bacteria that is found in the lower intestine of 10-35% of all healthy adults. These people have no symptoms. Newborns can acquire the bacteria during childbirth but a very small number of them will become unwell. Is it dangerous? There are some babies who are more susceptible - premature babies or when the mother's membranes have been ruptured (waters have broken) for a prolonged period. Most babies who become ill do so in the first week and start having symptoms a few hours after the birth. A very small number develop late onset GBS disease which is commonly meningitis. If untreated, early or late onset GBS disease can be life threatening. Can pregnant women be tested? Some hospitals test routinely and others test in high-risk situations only. Risk factors are: • the mother has a positive GBS swab or urine culture • a previous positive culture in another pregnancy or a baby who has had GBS infection • pre-labor rupture of membranes or premature labor • the mother's temperature rises during labor. Treatment Some units give the mother antibiotics in labor if they have any of the risk factors. They may then test the baby for signs of GBS colonization or disease. Some units routinely give the babies intravenous antibiotics for a few days until the test results are available. The mother is less likely to become ill.
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