Why is my baby's skin a little yellow?

I believe that anyone who has given birth has a simple understanding of why the baby's skin is a little yellow. Because when preparing to give birth, you will hear friendly reminders from relatives and friends that you must prepare glucose when giving birth to prevent the baby from developing jaundice. Therefore, many parents will feed their babies glucose as soon as they are born to prevent their baby's skin from turning yellow.

When working in the neonatal outpatient clinic or emergency department, we often see parents of newborn babies coming to see a doctor with their children because their skin is yellow. So what is the reason for the yellowing of the newborn's skin? Under what circumstances should we seek medical treatment? How should we care for them?

The yellowing of the skin of a newborn is medically called "jaundice", which means that the bilirubin in the blood exceeds the normal value and penetrates the skin, resulting in yellowing of the skin. Generally, the higher the bilirubin value, the more obvious the yellowing of the skin.

Where does jaundice come from?

Why do newborns develop jaundice? That's because when the baby is in the mother's body, it relies on the umbilical cord for blood supply, which is a low-oxygen environment. It needs more red blood cells in the blood to carry oxygen. After birth, it breathes with its lungs and obtains a large amount of oxygen from the outside world. At this time, the excessive red blood cells will be destroyed, and after the decomposition, they will produce bilirubin, which will form jaundice through the skin.

What is physiological jaundice?

The so-called physiological jaundice is jaundice that appears 2-3 days after birth and reaches its peak at 5-7 days. It usually disappears within 2 weeks in full-term infants and up to 4 weeks after birth in premature infants. Jaundice beyond this time range is pathological jaundice and you should consult a doctor.

Most babies will have jaundice when they are born, but some babies do not have jaundice. Why does the baby's skin look a little yellow? In fact, this is caused by jaundice. As long as mothers do more preparation before giving birth and feed the baby glucose, they can effectively prevent the occurrence of jaundice in the baby. If the baby is found to have jaundice, seek medical attention in time.