By Ewoenam Kpodo
Ho, June 11, GNA- A paediatrician has asked mothers to find the cause of jaundice in their newborns or risk their health, warning the yellow skin is just the alarm, the danger is not knowing what is causing it.
Many 2babies develop the condition in their first few days of life as a result of the buildup of bilirubin (a chemical the human body makes when it breaks down old red blood cells), resulting in the yellowing of baby’s skin and whites of its eyes.
Dr Efua Yankah, a Paediatrician and Clinical Care Coordinator at Ho Municipal Hospital in an interview with Ghana News Agency said “Jaundice is common – about six in 10 term babies get it but the reason behind it changes everything. If you sit at home, you won’t know what’s causing your baby’s jaundice. Only hospital tests can tell us.”
She explained that while an immature liver is the usual reason, other hidden causes kill or have adverse effects on babies when missed: infections from mother to child, Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency and biliary atresia, among others.
Dr Yankah noted that G6PD deficiency makes red blood cells break down rapidly and for affected babies, common home practices like adding camphor or naphthalene balls to water or clothes can trigger a crisis and push bilirubin to dangerous levels.
She stressed the urgency of biliary atresia explaining, “It’s when the bile ducts are blocked or do not form properly” and urged parents to watch for chalk-like (white) stool – a sign the bile system is blocked.
“Those babies need surgery within the first three months of life. After that, outcomes are poor. They develop chronic liver disease and they die.
Without lab tests, mothers can’t tell if jaundice in their newborns is from liver immaturity, a serious infection or biliary atresia needing immediate surgery. That’s why every yellow baby must be tested,” Dr. Yankah insisted.
The paediatrician said for treating jaundice, a blood sample shows if the baby needs phototherapy under blue light or exchange blood transfusion for extreme cases while indicating that the test also identifies the cause so health professionals treat the source, not just the condition.
“You can’t tell by looking if jaundice is high or low, or if it’s about to reach the brain,” she warned. “Visible symptoms don’t match the danger.”
Dr Yankah urged new mothers to skip the sunlight, glucose water, and breast milk in babies’ eyes (methods some attempt to treat neonatal jaundice at home) and rather bring the baby to hospital immediately, underscoring the need to test early and treat right to protect newborns from the consequences of delayed treatment of the condition.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Audrey Dekalu
Reporter: Ewoenam Kpodo, GNA