Question
My baby was born 5 days ago, and the doctor measured the bilirubin level today at 13, which is higher than the normal value of 12. How can I lower my baby’s jaundice?
Answer
Newborn jaundice primarily occurs in two situations. The first is physiological jaundice, which happens because the fetus needs to obtain a larger number of red blood cells from the mother to complete respiration. After birth, an excess of red blood cells are broken down. When the breakdown produces biliverdin that exceeds the liver’s excretion capacity, jaundice occurs. For this condition, you can use probiotics or Yen Chi Huang to promote defecation and bilirubin excretion. In severe cases, blue light therapy can be used to reduce the severity of jaundice. The other situation is pathological jaundice, mainly caused by incompatibility between the mother’s and the fetus’s blood types, leading to hemolytic jaundice. This condition requires blood transfusion treatment.