Jaundice

[zephyrcat]

I'm a bit confused by mixed advice on this one!
DD is 5 days old. The day before we loeft hospital my Mum said she was looking a bit jaundiced so I asked when she was checked over if she looked ok, and was told that she looked ok and that the majority of babies get some jaundice around days 3-5 so not to worry.
Yesterday I had the home visit from 2 very young and snotty midwives who mentioned her looking jaundiced and said to increase her milk and not let her sleep over 4 hours. Today she does look quite 'tangoed'!! I'm just wondering whether it is worth ringing the midwife number (I don't really want to see the two I saw yesterday,which is probably who I'd get) or do they all get quite yellow before they get it out of their system?

Ring the midwife zephyrcat. Both my nieces were jaundiced and needed to be readmitted to hospital. (Don't want to worry you but it is better to be safe than sorry :))

My DS lwys had a bit of jaundice 'tan' & one midwife said he would need a heel test to check. However the midwife who visited the next day said he was perfectly fine. I then became totlly paranoid & took him to the Drs (had to go about sthing else) & she sid he was fine. I would ring to put your own mind at rest. Hope she is ok.

definitely ring the midwife.... my dd had to go back into hospital to have her jaundice treated.... and if in any doubt or if she gets v sleepy/listless, take her straight back in. Can be fine, but if her bilirubin levels get too high, it can be serious. DD definitely had a bit of a jaffa cake look to her before we took her in and we had a hairy few days in SCBU, but she is just fine and dandy now!

Thanks- am going to give them a ring. She's just woken up so i've changed her and had a look and she's definately looking rather orange!!

Keep us updated Zephyrcat, and good luck!

Dd's jaundice has only just gone. She is 3 weeks old.

The general advice is to feed often. I was told to feed dd at least every 3 hours. The MW also kept a close eye on dd and visited at least every couple of days.

Dd had a bit of a relapse and was refusing to feed so she had a number of blood tests, including her billirubin levels. Luckily the results were good.

Goodluck, Zephyr.

They said she sounds ok to hold out until the midwife comes back tomorrow but to ring them back if she gets sleepy or refuses food - although all she does is sleep!! Thanks for all your help :)

DD was jaundice when she first came out, the midwifes said to me not to worry, she was not to bad but she had a nice tan!

I would call them its better to be safe than sorry, goodluck let us know how you get on

Sorry X posts.

I remember being told to get DS out in the sunshine as much as possible as this helps jaundice. Hope its sunny where you live!

zephyrcat, how did it go with the midwife?

in the meantime find the sunniest window in your house, ramp up the heating and put her in the sun in just a nappy for as much time as possible during the day.

ds was v jaundiced for nearly 3 weeks after birth and we did this, and it cleared by itself....the light therapy they use in hospital is just fake sunlight.

She had a good look at her and said she thought she was ok as she is feeding well and isn't lethargic, so that's good!

She said that now is the time that it generally peaks so from now on should start to go. It doesn't actually look so bad today as it did the last couple of days so hopefully it's going.

Her belly button is the next issue - Had forgotten all these newborn worries!!

Glad to hear she's doing ok :)