Under the patronage of the President of Future University, Professor Dr. Hassan Shaker Magdy, the respected Department of Anesthesia Techniques, held an awareness campaign entitled “Jaundice.”Jaundice is a yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes of a newborn. Infant jaundice occurs because the baby's blood contains an excess of bilirubin, a yellow pigment from red blood cells. Infant jaundice is a common condition, especially in infants born at 38 weeks of pregnancy (preterm) and some who are breastfed. Infant jaundice usually occurs because the baby's liver is not mature enough to eliminate bilirubin from the bloodstream. In some children, an underlying disease may cause jaundice.
Most babies born between 35 weeks of pregnancy and full term do not need treatment for jaundice. Rarely, an abnormally high level of bilirubin in the blood puts a newborn at risk for brain damage, especially in the presence of certain risk factors for severe jaundice.
Symptoms: Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, the main sign of infant jaundice, usually appears between the second and fourth days after birth. Most hospitals have a policy of screening infants for jaundice before they are discharged from the hospital. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that newborns be screened for jaundice during routine medical exams and at least once every 8 to 12 hours while they are in the hospital.
The baby should be examined for jaundice between the third and seventh days after birth, when bilirubin levels usually reach their peak.