Medical advice: Don’t confine newborns to the room…bring them out once daily

Mothers have been cautioned against the practice of keeping newborns indoor for about seven days, as some customs and tradition demand.

It has been recommended that instead of keeping neonates in the room until it is time for their christening or naming ceremony, babies should be brought out at least once a day for “general observation,” including signs of Neonatal Jaundice.

This, according to Paediatrician, Dr Okine Brako, is necessary because Neonatal Jaundice remains the leading cause of illness (morbidity) at Intensive Care Units (ICU), especially within the first two weeks of birth.

Speaking to The Spectator about the condition, he said although the number of deaths recorded as a result of neonatal jaundice (mortality) in babies was low, the side effects of the condition which includes cerebral palsy were increasing.

Although statistics were not readily available, he said Neonatal Jaundice was “bound to occur in about 60 per cent of new born babies.”

Neonatal Jaundice is explained as the “yellow discoloration of a newborn baby’s skin and eyes, which occurs because the baby’s blood contains an excess of bilirubin” (a yellow pigment of red blood cells).

It is a common condition, particularly in babies born before 38 weeks gestation (preterm babies) and some breast-fed babies. Doctors say it may occur because a baby’s liver “is not matured enough to get rid of bilirubin in the bloodstream.”

Dr. Okine explained two types of the condition as physiologic jaundice (which occurs within 48 to 72 hours after birth) and pathologic jaundice (which occurs with 24 hours) and said parents should pay serious attention to the latter (pathologic jaundice).

He said severe jaundice in babies (if not attended to promptly) could cause permanent brain damage leading to cerebral palsy.

He stated blood incompatibility between mother and baby, infections, enzyme deficiency, and improper breast feeding as some of the causes of (physiologic) neonatal jaundice.

Dr. Okine, also the Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, said treatment for babies with the condition included phototherapy (where babies are placed under artificial lights) while in other instances treatment may require “blood exchange transfusion.”

“Blood exchange transfusion is where we gradually change the whole baby’s blood and it takes about four hours to do that,” he noted.

He said, for this reason, there was the need to draw more attention to neonatal jaundice, encourage parents to be vigilant and seek early treatment because “early identification can save lives.”

“Mothers must pay keen attention to yellowing of the skin and take the child to hospital. They should not sit and wait. Don’t keep newborns in the dark. Bring the baby out every day and look out for signs of jaundice,” he stressed.

The month of May each year is dedicated worldwide to creating awareness on Neonatal Jaundice and this year’s theme is “Survive and Thrive from Yellow to Hero.”

By Ernest Nutsugah