Question
I gave birth to a boy last week, and he quickly developed a lot of jaundice. I want to know how to determine if my baby’s jaundice is pathological? Is a jaundice level of 12 in the baby considered pathological jaundice?
Answer
Physiological jaundice is a temporary jaundice caused by bilirubin metabolism. It usually begins 2 to 3 days after birth, reaches its peak between 4 to 6 days, and starts to diminish between 7 to 10 days. Premature infants may have a longer duration, but typically, there are no other clinical symptoms besides mild loss of appetite. If the baby develops jaundice within 24 hours after birth, with daily bilirubin levels rising over 5mg/dL or more than 0.5mg/dL, or if the jaundice persists for a longer period, such as over 2 weeks in full-term infants or over 4 weeks in premature infants, it may be considered pathological jaundice.