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Original poster

Jaundice in brown baby

10 replies

Talkhe · 08/12/2023 00:25

Hi, my baby is Indian and has prolonged jaundice. His levels are very slowly dropping and he is now 3 weeks old. His HV said he clearly is still jaundice and people have asked me if he is before me telling them. He’s been referred to hospital but received no treatment.

I was just wondering, anyone with an Indian or brown baby. Did you baby looked more tanned than yellow? I am trying to see the yellow in him so I can see what everyone else is seeing so obviously but to me he just looks tanned. He was a lot lighter when born and the day after. His hands and feet and legs are still the same colour as he was born. His body and his face look like a holiday tan.

Any one else experienced this with jaundice or can i just not see the yellow and the tanning is a normal darking of his skin since birth?

OP posts:
nocoolnamesleft · 08/12/2023 00:31

It is harder to see jaundice in brown babies, but if you're used to working with lots of brown babies then it gets rather easier to spot it. At 3 weeks I wouldn't expect any treatment, as it's in the first few days that the brain is vulnerable to it, but it would be usual to do some blood tests to make sure it is just the normal neonatal jaundice.

Original poster
Talkhe · 08/12/2023 00:43

@nocoolnamesleft
thank you for your reply. He’s had bloods done at day 5 which were 275 and at day 18 were 198. We are now on day 20. Can brown babies took tanned/darker from it or is it just a yellow colour? How can I spot it in him? Is he supposed to be the same colour as his legs, feet and hands?

OP posts:
PrincessTilly · 08/12/2023 00:44

It's much easier to see when you look in eyes (the white bits). My two had treatment - UV light. They were much younger.
Put him by the sun if you have a sunny spot indoors.
I hope he gets better soon.

nocoolnamesleft · 08/12/2023 00:52

Agree looking at the whites of eyes can be useful. Also, for some bizarre reason, jaundice tends to be more visible in the face than further down the body. If I'm trying to decide whether a baby is still jaundiced or not, I find pressing briefly and lightly on the tip of the nose can make it a bit more visible. Also easier to tell in natural light than in artificial. But if he had bloods done at 18 days that was a prolonged jaundice screen? So that checks for worrying causes of jaundice, and if that was reassuring then it's usually just a case of a bit more time for it to naturally fade as the liver matures up a bit.

dottypencilcase · 08/12/2023 01:08

Mine did @Talkhe. Much darker than DC1- her skin was mottled but she was a month premature so it took time before her eyelashes, eyebrows came in and skin complexion settled. I'd follow medical advice in your case but share your concerns with them and ask them if they think baby is making progress. As an aside, has anyone made any comments about his darker complexion which is what is really worrying you? Because if they have, the answer to that would be to tell them to eff off.

aurynne · 08/12/2023 01:20

Midwife here. The best way to see jaundice on the skin (not only in babies with darker skin, but in every baby) is to blanch the skin beforehand.

You can do this easily on the tip of the baby's nose by pressing it and looking at the color in the first 1-2 seconds before the skin returns to its original colour. Same thing can be done on the baby's chest: press the skin and draw a line with your finger. The jaundice is best seen on the blanched area.

aurynne · 08/12/2023 01:22

nocoolnamesleft · 08/12/2023 00:52

Agree looking at the whites of eyes can be useful. Also, for some bizarre reason, jaundice tends to be more visible in the face than further down the body. If I'm trying to decide whether a baby is still jaundiced or not, I find pressing briefly and lightly on the tip of the nose can make it a bit more visible. Also easier to tell in natural light than in artificial. But if he had bloods done at 18 days that was a prolonged jaundice screen? So that checks for worrying causes of jaundice, and if that was reassuring then it's usually just a case of a bit more time for it to naturally fade as the liver matures up a bit.

Jaudice follows a pattern. It shows first on head and face, and if it extends it goes downwards: chest first, and extremities last. Chest and face is quite common in newborn babies, but if it goes further than that, or if it is very intense, health professionals prefer to do a blood test to get an exact number. We have charts that show the normal ranges for newborn babies depending on their age and prematurity.

MagnoliatheMagnificent · 08/12/2023 01:28

What colour is his poo? There are multiple causes of jaundice. There is a small chance that prolonged jaundice could be a sign of liver problems. Is his poo white? pale? Is he feeding well and putting on weight appropriately?

Mihijita · 08/12/2023 01:32

I thought DD just looked tanned, it was the whites of her eyes that were obviously yellow

Popcorn23 · 08/12/2023 04:25

My baby is of Asian origin and had prolonged jaundice which was identified by the HV - I couldn't see a thing! The eyes had a grayish tinge rather than yellow but they tested his bloods and checked his skin by pressing lightly on it. We went to hospital for check ups and thankfully it cleared up on its own after about 3 - 4 weeks.

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