Question
A newborn is 5 days old and has highly elevated jaundice, yellow nose with white spots, yellow eyes, and facial jaundice. Is there a big problem?
Answer
Newborn jaundice is mainly caused by a disorder in bilirubin metabolism. In most cases, this is a normal physiological phenomenon known as physiological jaundice. Some breastfed newborns have higher levels of jaundice, known as breastfeeding jaundice, which can usually resolve on its own within about 14 days. Even if the jaundice is highly elevated, as long as the baby’s mental state is good and feeding is normal, there is generally no big problem. For severe cases, blue light therapy can be considered.