Question
My child was born with neonatal jaundice. Can you give me some information about neonatal jaundice, its causes, and is it normal?
Answer
Neonatal jaundice refers to a condition in the neonatal period where elevated bilirubin levels in the blood cause jaundice to appear on the skin, mucous membranes, and sclera, characterized by hyperbilirubinemia. Physiological jaundice usually appears 2 to 3 days after birth, reaches its peak at 4 to 6 days, and resolves between 7 to 10 days. Premature infants may have a longer duration, with only mild loss of appetite as other clinical symptoms. Neonatal jaundice is actually a normal phenomenon. It is a common occurrence after newborns are born. The reason for neonatal jaundice is that newborns, when they are just born, their liver function is not yet perfect and cannot eliminate some substances from the body, resulting in this normal phenomenon.