What is the normal range of neonatal jaundice?

Many babies will get jaundice after birth, which is a common disease in newborns. But neonatal jaundice is not terrible. Today, I will tell you about the two types of neonatal jaundice.

The difference between the two types of jaundice in newborns

1. There are too many red blood cells in the newborn's body. After the red blood cells are destroyed, too much bilirubin is produced. Bilirubin is the direct cause of jaundice, so the newborn will have high jaundice.

2. The metabolism of bilirubin requires the participation of liver enzymes in the liver. The liver function of newborns is not very perfect, which leads to insufficient secretion of liver enzymes, resulting in untimely excretion of bilirubin and high jaundice.

3. The excretion of bilirubin requires the participation of the bile duct. The bile duct function of newborns is not yet perfect, so bilirubin accumulates in the body and cannot be excreted in time, causing excessive bilirubin and high jaundice.

4. Bilirubin can also be excreted from the feces, but the meconium of newborns is relatively viscous, which makes the excretion of bilirubin not very smooth, resulting in excessive bilirubin in the newborn's body, leading to high jaundice.

5. In addition, the incompatibility of blood types between mother and child can also cause bilirubin to accumulate in the newborn's body and cannot be excreted. In addition, pathological jaundice may be caused by neonatal diseases, such as neonatal asphyxia, premature birth, infection and other factors. Bacteria can cause excessive neonatal jaundice.

6. Breastfeeding can also cause bilirubin to accumulate in the body of newborns, resulting in high levels of jaundice in newborns.

Characteristics of physiological jaundice

(1) Jaundice appears 2-3 days after birth and gradually worsens, reaching its peak on the 4-6th day. Jaundice gradually subsides starting from the 2nd week.

(2) Jaundice has a certain limit and its color will not be golden yellow. Jaundice is mainly distributed on the face and trunk, while the calves, forearms, hands and soles of the feet are often not obviously jaundiced. If blood is drawn to measure bilirubin, it will not exceed 12 mg/dL in full-term infants during the peak period of jaundice, and 15 mg/dL in premature infants.

(3) Physiological jaundice in full-term infants basically disappears by the end of the second week, while jaundice in premature infants generally disappears within the third week.

(4) The child's body temperature is normal, his appetite is good, his weight is gradually increasing, and his stool and urine color are normal.

Neonatal jaundice should be considered pathological jaundice if it has any of the following characteristics:

1. Jaundice occurs too early: Full-term infants develop jaundice within 24 hours after birth, and premature infants develop jaundice within 48 hours after birth

2. Severe jaundice: serum bilirubin exceeds the average value of normal children of the same age, or rises by more than 85.5 μmol/L (5 mg/dl) per day

3. Jaundice progresses rapidly, i.e. deepens a lot within a day;

4. Jaundice lasts for a long time (more than 2 weeks in full-term infants and more than 3 weeks in premature infants) or reappears after jaundice subsides;

5. Jaundice accompanied by other clinical symptoms, or serum conjugated bilirubin greater than 25.7 μmol/L (1.5 mg/dl).

Normal value of neonatal jaundice

The normal value of jaundice in full-term babies is different from that in premature babies. Usually, the normal value of jaundice in full-term newborns is 12.9 mg/100 ml, which means that the bilirubin level in 100 ml of blood is less than 12.9 mg. The normal value of jaundice in premature babies is 15 mg/100 ml of blood, which means that the bilirubin level in 100 ml of blood is less than 15 mg.

When the baby's jaundice value exceeds 12.9mg/dl or the neonatal jaundice index rises too fast (rising by more than 5mh/dl per day), or the jaundice lasts longer than the 14 days for full-term infants and the 4 weeks for premature infants, or the jaundice disappears and reappears, it means that the neonatal jaundice is unhealthy and may be suffering from pathological jaundice.