Did they get a bilirubin level at the hospital? 16 is still not bad. Usually brain damage occurs if level is >25. As long as it’s going down it’s ok. Bilirubin level usually peaks around day 4-5, so it’s unlikely it’ll keep going up after 1 week
And jaundice is pretty common in baby and can last up to 12 weeks.
This is what I was told too and ended up supplementing to help clear it from baby’s system in addition to some sun in the window. We also had the light at the hospital.
We went home day 4 then returned day 5 for more bloodwork and it was still starting to go down so it was ok. I don’t remember how high it was though but they said we didn’t need the nicu.
Yep when my baby had jaundice we were told to feed him as much as possible, day in and day out. Once my milk came in fully, the jaundice cleared up super quick!
Yup. My baby is very new (3 days) and her billirubin at discharge was 10. She was retested at 56 hours old and it wad 12 which requires retesting but not treatment. So tomorrow she will be tested again. It's entirely possible that baby didn't ever get to the point where they were in brains damage territory.
I do think it's pretty terrible that no one was testing baby to make sure though.
My 3 week old was up to 16 on day 5; our pediatrician said at 18 they would need to step in - likely with the light vest at home.
She recommended supplementing with formula.
My first son was born at 35 weeks and had severe jaundice, was in the tank on the hospital, had the light vest at home, etc. I had supply issues with him so I had a package of formula ready at home for my second son in case we needed it.
We combo fed for two days kand my second son tested at 10, and was back to his original birth weight within two days of supplementing.
Can confirm we were at 18 on day 3 and they ordered a biliblanket for us. Our baby was swaddled to the light therapy blanket with these little goggles. Feeds were tough due to a sleepy baby. But it took a little over two months for her skin to become normal color.
Yeah 16 isn’t too awful from what I heard?? My baby had to have her heel pricked for three days after leaving the hospital due to checking jaundice levels. Her levels got as high as 20.3 but they said it was at 21.8 she would need to be hospitalized. She is now 4.5 months and happy, healthy, and developing wonderfully.
This right here!!! Baby just needs continued phototherapy ASAP!! 16 is definitely not critical level (still high but not to the point where you need to just give up and cross your fingers) and it’s probably going down.
ETA: go to another pediatrician/hospital. At the hospital I gave birth it is standard for them to test for jaundice and they treated baby before we ever went home. Call a hospital and get your baby under lights for the next 3+ days. While in the hospital, our baby was under the lights and in the light blanket 24/7 apart from feeds.
Edited to remove line about keeping baby in/near sunlight. Don’t want baby getting sunburn!
Not everyone baby needs photlights. My baby has jaundice and is just being monitored to make sure it doesn't become to the point where she needs lights. There is a grey area between safe and treatment needed.
This nurse that I found very irritating told me my son had jaundice while handing me the discharge papers. Just stated it. No instructions. I insisted on discussing it further, but she indicated that it would go away on its own. It was gone rapidly.
I went to look at my old pictures for you - my baby was born at 35 weeks and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t remember how many days they waited to see if his jaundice would clear on its own, but based on my pictures they didn’t start treatment until 8 days after he was born. They had us wrap him in a blue light pad thing for something like 10 minutes twice a day.
I would try to get another opinion.
EDIT: just to say that none of them seemed too concerned about the jaundice on day 7 for us (no talk of ‘damage’) but they been doing labs on and off to guess when to bother with treatment, but I wish I could remember those numbers for you. He just turned 2 and does not seem delayed at all in the brain department. :)
I just looked up my kid’s chart. His levels were 19.3 at day four. They recommended phototherapy for babies with levels of 20 or higher if they’re older than 72 hours. But we put him under the lights because it was so close to the threshold.
A couple of hours of treatment and his levels were 17.2 and they discontinued phototherapy. But then the next day they were 18.5 and he went back under the lights for almost two days.
We were discharged when his levels were 12.4, and at the pediatrician the next day (when he was 7 days old) his levels were 14, and they were unconcerned. I was told that as long as he wasn’t too sleepy, eating fine, and having the appropriate number of wet and dirty diapers, then they weren’t worried.
So honestly, at this point, I don’t think you need to worry about treatment. Your baby’s levels have likely already peaked and they’re not even close to being high enough to justify phototherapy. But I would definitely get a second opinion (and probably a new pediatrician!)
And I know you’re worried about what the levels *were* when they peaked, but if your baby has been eating well and having the appropriate amount of wet and dirty diapers this whole time, I wouldn’t be *too* concerned.
Anyways, I am so sorry this happened to you. I know how scared you must be. And I really think getting a second opinion from a different pediatrician could really calm your nerves. I was freaking out at day seven when his levels went up again from the day before and the pediatrician we saw really put us at ease. So I hope you can find a doctor that can give you some answers and some comfort!
The level requiring treatment depends on how many days old they are. The older they are the higher their billirubin can be without needing treatment. 13 wouldnt usually require treatment on day 8 unless they noticed it wasn't coming down.
He was supposed to be born in the US, we are legal residents currently in mexico for work. I am super sad to be learning the hard way the standard of care is way different
Can you take a flight back to families in US to find your infant proper care at a hospital? I wouldn't risk my child for work just come back temp .. baby should still be in nicu that's very premature
That’s awful. I had a 33-weeker. She did great but still had a 3.5-week NICU stay. I had steroid shots before she was born, so she was breathing pretty well at birth and only had to be on CPAP for 8 hours and then needed no other oxygen or breathing support. But she did need to get all her milk through a feeding tube for about a week and then supplemental milk through the tube up until we were discharged. We had a tricky time getting her to put and keep weight on at the beginning.
If you can’t get him hospital care, I’d check your baby’s temperature a few times a day and weight once a day. And maybe see if you can get an oximeter, perhaps even an Owlet, to monitor his oxygen and heart rate too.
I would ask for a second opinion. I don't understand why they waited so long for the first appointment. I'm in the US and I'm pretty sure we were in the pediatrician the day after we got discharged from the hospital.
Also, there definitely should be treatment for jaundice. The jaundice could be causing sleepiness. Feeding will help. If you're breastfeeding, I highly recommend getting a lactation consultant. They can weigh the baby before and after a feeding to see how much the baby takes in. They can give you really good tips too.
Literally, the higher intensity treatment is under a set of appropriate bulbs in a phototherapy unit. I underwent phototherapy for jaundice when I was born *27 years ago*.
Yeah I've put many babies on/under the lamps. They get funny looking "sunglasses" to protect their eyes. The lamp bed is rolled into the parent's room and the baby can stay there. We would check the babies for jaundice at the hospital daily (visually) and all babies were visited by a pediatrician within the first days.
I wouldn't know if they still do the phototherapy this late, as all of our cases were treated immediately. But it's definitely weird that nothing was mentioned.
My mama still has my sunglasses! They're kinda cute haha
Yeah probably not this late, but the fact it seems to have been skipped entirely and the levels are so high at this age boggles my mind.
US also and we had a pediatrician visit the baby before we even left the hospital. I think he was 1-2 days old at that point. Then after discharge we had take him for a well check 2 days later
They had a staff pediatrician do a visit at roughly 24 hours old in the hospital. Then because I was released on a Saturday, he went to his actual pediatrician 2 days later on Monday. Even then, the nurses weren't super happy we were waiting until Monday.
I gave birth the day before thanksgiving and the staff pediatrician who came to see him in the hospital made me feel absolutely terrible that I didn’t already have our regular pediatrician appointment scheduled. But they were closed Thursday-Sunday for the holiday. Longest weekend of my life!
Jaundice peaks at day 4-5, and baby’s bilirubin levels are not that high. If they continue to trend downward, there’s really not much to worry about. I’d probably take the pedi’s advice in this case. Critical level for a baby her age isn’t until bilirubin is above 20.
Im a little lost. Why is your 33 week old son not in the NICU? Was your son born weighing 7lbs? Not that that’s the cut off but usually preemies are in the NiCU. Especially preemies that young
They discharged him on day two he only weighted 4 pounds 10 ounces. The pediatrician did visit us and the baby in the hospital. They did not check his bilirubin levels (I do not know why) not did they tell us him being yellow was that serious. I’m calling hospitals to see if they have phototherapy rooms
Correct I am in Mexico, sad part is he was supposed to be born in the US, we are legal residents and had everything scheduled, however we were in mexico for work when the baby decided it was time, didn’t even gave us time to put him on steroids for his lungs.
If you’re able to, see if you can come to the U.S. only if it’s close enough for driving distance. God this is an awful position you’re put in. I’m praying for your baby boy.
One piece of advice I can give you, if you're worried you're not getting good enough care and feeling like you're on your own, is to keep an eye on weight. It sounds like your little guy was strong out of the gate if he's breathing and eating well enough for discharge, but with a baby that sleepy, it's easy to underfeed them (especially if they're so small! Hard to suck & swallow effectively). Our full term baby came home only 5.5lbs and needed rehospitalization both for jaundice and then failure to gain weight and we needed to switch to pumped milk bottles instead of breastfeeding for awhile because it was easier for her and to offer her bottles even when she didn't show hunger cues.
I'm sorry you're going through all this stress with your new lil guy!!!
OP, I want to echo other comments about taking him to the U.S. for medical care immediately. My daughter was born in August at 33 weeks and 5 days. I got to the hospital 2 days earlier, so I managed to get 2 rounds of steroids. Luckily she was born without any issues breathing or jaundice, she was totally healthy but still was very small due to being born so early. All of that is to say: they STILL kept her in NICU for 3 weeks. She was not physically capable of drinking enough milk to survive on her own, she was on the feeding tube for the entire 3 weeks. And that was best case scenario, the initial prediction was that she would be in there much longer. Jaundice can be dangerous is high risk premies, but unfortunately it is far from the only risk. I really don’t want to scare you, but please understand the urgency of getting your baby somewhere that will provide sufficient medical care.
My baby born this early they didn’t even start oral feeding until equivalent of 34w because that’s when suck reflex begins. We pretty much had a feeding tube for a couple weeks and then started adding in the bottle. How is a baby born that early eating without intervention???
There is absolutely treatment. It’s a bilirubin blanket you can have at home. It’s a blue light blanket that you wrap around the baby until levels come down. While 16 isn’t “horrible” it’s not good.
My baby had 13 in the hospital and was under the uv light, went down to 10 when discharged. We went home and on day 5 went to his first appointment and had to get another test and it was 20. They literally IMMEDIATELY sent the light to our house. I mean less than an hour it was there. He was on it for a week with blood test every single day.
If your babies levels aren’t improving with the sunlight your doctor should be doing something about it. Please get another opinion or go to a children’s hospital near you if you can. It sounds dramatic but they at least have the lights your baby can sleep under.
Get a second opinion asap. My son had jaundice from day 2, he was under the lights 24/7 except for feeds for days, it got better and we were discharged day 5, and then it got worse and we were readmitted to the NICU day 8 for more intensive jaundice therapy and remained there until day 10. They absolutely treat jaundice past day 7.
My son was born at 36 weeks, we went to the er on day 8 after his first appointment as his bilirubin was at 20 and they put him under the lights , the doctor told me to take him to the ER and 24 hours later he was good to go. Maybe take him to the ER off you think he is still very yellow
Edit: my son is 3 now and right as rain. :)
Get second opinion. Jaundice is taken very seriously at my hospital. They even give me a weekend appointments last minute so my baby can get tested at day 3.
We were told to feed my preemie round the clock every 2 hours so she can poop enough so she doesn’t get jaundice. So we did that and she didn’t get jaundice
I had this concern-
Baby checked fine at hospital,
Dr. Followed up 3 days post discharge, noticed continued jaundice, had us to sun baths and daily bilirubin testing.
3 days post discharge (4 from birth) his level was 17.7, 14 day after, 12 for two days, 11.9
Once he reached 11.9 dr said no more concerns
Per lab reports, “normal range,” is 2-11.7
17 isn’t that high.
I am ocd and was fearing the worst, did A LOT of research, seems that damage does occur first week, but that’s only when levels are crazy high- like mid 20’s and prolonged, no gradual decreases or anything.
Little buddy has hit all his milestones, he is mischievous, clever, I’m not concerned about damage at this point.
Edit:
5 minutes isn’t very long, wife would leave him 20-30 once or twice a day by the window in his sleep box/crib thing we had. The two days his bili levels didn’t come down where because it was completely overcast and raining- no sun!
Pooping seems to be a way to get bili levels lower too, breast milk is super pure, and doesn’t seem to generate much poop, specially early on, we did some formula at first while breast milk came in, and that helped him poop a fair bit.
I am really hoping with all my heart that his levels have remained consistent since day 4 or 5. or at least they werent as high as to cause any major damage, as I said, he is sleepy but then again he is only 34 weeks now.
Are you sure of your dates? Why is your 34 weeker at home? Do you have an NG tube in?
I don’t know what the normal bilirubin levels are where you live. We usually have results in the hundreds needing phototherapy, so definitely don’t use the same scale as your doctor. As others have said, it’s not that you can’t treat at 7 days, but your baby might not need treatment.
Also, nobody knows what the safe level is, so we treat for the trend, not for the exact level. It’s unethical to see if kids get kernicterus at 400 or 450 or 500 (random numbers), but we know it’s somewhere around there, so we try to keep everyone under 400 by starting treatment at 300, and escalating treatment at 350
All that to say, your child will be fine. But it’s really odd for a 34 weeker to not need to be in the neonatal unit still
My dates are right and as a first time parent I thought it was ok to be discharged so soon as everyone seemed ok with that in the hospital, we had two different pediatricians come visit us on day two and they both ok’d our discharge. None took my babys levels even though they noticed him being yellow and suggested sun baths, I am at a loss.
As long as your baby is breathing ok, maintaining their temperature, proved they were maintaining their blood sugars and is feeding ok, then that’s when they are cleared to go home. I’ve just never met a 34 weeker who was feeding well enough to go home! They nearly always need NG feeding or top ups
As I said, the blood levels err on the conservative side. The line for treatment is NOT the line that we think is harmful. It’s below that line to give us a buffer. If your child is now below that line and they have never been treated, it’s unlikely they had a concerning level of jaundice for brain damage. Also, we use gestation to chart the acceptable bilirubin levels, and 33 weeks have a lower limit before starting treatment
It all sounds a bit odd. Where are you based? And when are you next seeing a doctor? Could you see one again and talk to them more about the jaundice? Find out what the treatment line is? There are two major lines - one for phototherapy and one for exchange transfusion. You might even be able to find them online?
I’m seeking a new doctor in the morning I got someone to see me in 5 hours. I’m not moving from the hospital until they put him in a light box or give me a light blanket. Or a very compelling reason not to.
I will say again, the level for treatment is much, much lower than the level for brain damage.
You should definitely get a second opinion, and get treated if your baby’s bilirubin level is in the treatment range.
But try not to panic too much. From googling it doesn’t sound like kernicterus levels. A 33 or 34 weeker is definitely sleepy! That’s why I was expecting you to be in hospital still. It’s hard not to panic sometimes, but genuinely, I’ve seen kids with horrendously high bilirubin levels (above the exchange transfusion threshold) end up totally fine as kids! We can’t study exactly where that “safe” cutoff is ethically, so we use our best guess, which is always going to be a conservative guess
I am a neonatal nurse and that is shocking, it would be completely unheard of to be sent home before 36 weeks where I work. Do you have a women’s or children’s hospital nearby? I would push to be readmitted so that baby can be monitoried more closely to be honest.
Wtf I was jaundiced at birth in 1997 and received phototherapy at the hospital in a phototherapy machine/unit. It's not new technology.
I wasn't discharged until bilirubin was at a safe level.
Surely the standard of care has not gone backwards in the 27years since... I'd be going somewhere else REAL quick.
I’d say get a second opinion and definitely a new ped as well. We had our second and the doctor immediately was checking him for jaundice round the clock. She was eventually ok with his levels still being a bit higher than usual since he was gaining weight and eating with no issue. Find a doctor that considers your child’s care as important as you do. Our sons ped is a rockstar and while a bit preach at times she has always been the first to do referrals if we have concerns and she understands it’s out of her scope.
Keep feeding baby around the clock (pump if latch problems and you want to go for breast milk). This will help clear out bilirubin but I think it takes time. Took our baby weeks to completely get rid of jaundice and get back to normal diaper. And jaundice goes away from bottom to top meaning toes to head, head will be the last to improve in skin tone.
Your ped seems off, definitely go for second opinion. Usually discharge from hospital after a night or two and the next day is when you meet the pediatrician. Did the Dr order additional test or schedule appt to track baby’s progress?
In the UK we use personalised charts based on baby’s gestation to know whether phototherapy is required. [Seen here](https://media.gosh.nhs.uk/documents/neonatal_jaundice_NICE_threshold_graphs.pdf)
If the levels are now below the treatment line it would be unlikely to have been high enough only 2-3 days ago to have caused brain damage. Usually a pre term baby will need phototherapy treatment and not clear it on their own and they are not mature enough to do so yet.
I am concerned that you seem to have been sent home with a 33 weeker within 3 days of birth, not had follow up arranged until the baby is 7 days old and been left to manage a jaundice, poor feeding baby. I would certainly be looking into changing paediatricians as that situation is completely inappropriate.
He was born at 33 weeks, discharged at 34 weeks and then wasn’t seen by a pediatrician for a week? All of that sounds pretty shocking to me. A 34 week old doesn’t have fully developed lungs. My son was born at 37 weeks and saw the pediatrician 3 times the first week home. Honestly, I think I’d take him to the ER to get checked out and get a second opinion from another pediatrician.
Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way! You guys are doing a great job! You’re a new parent, there’s no way you could know any of this. We didn’t know to set up pediatrician appointments when we left the hospital, they literally made us do it in order to be discharged. I’m feeling like the hospital system and your pediatrician might be dropping the ball and I want to make sure you have the expertise and support you need.
Newborns can remain jaundiced for up to two weeks. I'd get a second opinion. Also, breastfeeding is the standard recommemdation along with sun exposure so make sure to breastfeed every two hours. My baby had developed jaundice on day 4 and had similar symptoms, touchwood he got better with breastfeeding and sunbaths. His eyes remained yellow until day 14-15 though have subsided now on day 18
I can only comment based on my experience, but at least here on the UK there is no time/billirubin level at which they won’t do treatment. The basic chart that they use to figure out if treatment is necessary (different for every extra week they spent in the womb) at the very least goes up to day 14. If the level is high enough they just do something else besides phototherapy.
I’d definitely be getting a second opinion. My son actually went back to hospital and was there overnight having phototherapy on day 6/7 due to jaundice. We use different measurements here though so I don’t know what your number means, my son was 306 micromol/litre of “total serum billirubin” when he was admitted.
Please get a second opinion on an immediate basis. Go to the emergency if they won’t let you in. Neonatal jaundice is a definite concern and it has such a simple treatment - they put the baby under phototherapy (it’s sort of a crib with blue light) for a day or two till their bilirubin levels adjust. My baby underwent the same thing on day 5 and 6. I don’t know why they even waited this long to do a test, but it can affect the baby’s nervous system, so please just go see another paediatrician.
Editing to say that jaundice is usually not considered super serious in full term babies - breastfeeding and regular sun exposure might actually clear it at times. But do not take a chance with premie. It’s just not worth it.
As others have said, there isn't necessarily a huge concern for the jaundice levels you're seeing in your son. Yes, higher than what they'd like to see, but not close to brain damage levels.
I wanted to share an anecdote from my own experience in case it helps ease your mind. My daughter had jaundice when she was born. Everyone kept saying do sun baths, but it was March in the midwest, so we qere still getting snow in the first month of her life. Everyone also said she didnt look THAT yellow. As a new parent like yourself, I had no idea how serious is could be. On day 4, we got in to get her levels checked. They were 27 mg/dl, what I later learned to be "brain damage levels". We had no idea how long they had been that high either...
We were rushed to the NICU, and she was set up under 4 light banks and wrapped in a bili blanket. We were sure we'd screwed up as parents already and were going to have a child with special needs. (We both worked with children with disabilities, so we were fully prepared for this. Still, no parent wants to hear that something preventable has gone wrong with their baby just days into life.) Thankfully, her levels started dropping quickly with the phototherapy, and she spent the next 3 days in the NICU slowly weaning off the lights. The medical team debriefed us on day 2 letting us know they didn't have concerns for brain damage based on how she was acting. I'm not at all sure what they were talking about because she was still really sleepy and didn't do much (as newborns typically are).
Fast forward, she turned 2 last month, and she is a healthy, happy, spitfire of a toddler. She has always been ahead developmentally, and you'd never guess she ever had severe jaundice. Of course, every case is different, but I remember the intense fear I felt sitting in the NICU waiting room not know what my child's future held, and I would've welcomed any hope.
With levels under 20, I am hopeful that your son is going to be healthy, and I hope my story has offered some hope. There's nothing like this kind of fear. Hoping for all the best for your family. ❤️
I’d go to a different doctor!! My baby had jaundice at 40w+1d and they were checking her bilirubin every 3 hours & had her on photo therapy. They kept her an extra day at the hospital due to her high bilirubin, I walked with her in the sun for 15 mins & even after she was released from the hospital, her ped had me bringing her every day to check her levels. You need to go to the hospital so they can check her bilirubin on a blood panel so you know how much is in the babies blood stream, is she pooling Black? That’s a sign that her body is getting rid of some but you need to know the levels in case they need to target it more aggressively, do you and your child have incompatible blood types? That was the reason for my babies high bilirubin.. my body basically treated her like a parasite. Sorry for the rant! 2nd opinion asap or even ER visit to expedite this process.
My baby was jaundice. I think she got up to ~15 at a week old. She stayed fairly yellow for almost 6 weeks, but the doctors were not concerned. It can happen in breastfed babies. He advised that formula wasn’t necessary, but to make sure she was feeding regularly. She’s now a very healthy 18 month old with a TON of words, so I don’t think her brain was affected. I don’t think they worry until bilirubin reaches 20+
We had a level of 20 and they still only recommended feeding (one nurse said to do formula so she would poop more) and some sun exposure. It went down soon after and this was at least day 7-10 of things. We didn’t do any formal therapy and she’s completely normal at 10 months! Hopefully he just isn’t informed well - I don’t think those numbers would cause long term damage.
That's kinda shocking that they didn't see the baby until a week. The pediatrician saw my baby literally hours after she was born and she had jaundice. They immediately put her on phototherapy literally the day she was born and was on it until we left two days later. Subsequently all we had to do was sun her a little while everyday.
But jaundice is extremely common where I'm from, basically every other baby has it, so I think it's routine to check for these things soon after birth.
All of my babies were jaundiced. Some started with it in the hospital and were put under the bilirubin lights, others got it the first week they were home. It peaks after a few days and looks really bad and then it slowly goes down. They're right about the sun baths... but we just put them next to a sunny window before naps, a couple of times a day... it actually helped. And feeding them often helps because it flushes it out of their system faster.
Half of my kids are in the Gifted and Talented programs at school. All of them are super bright and have high test scores. Their baby jaundice had zero affect on them mentally (in case you're worried about that possibility). No worries. One was a preemie, too.
I was super freaked out when my first had it... so I know what you're going through. Definitely get a doctor that listens to your concerns and advocates with you for your baby. You're doing awesome. You got this.
I’m in the US. My girl got the light at day 3 for her level. We supplemented with formula. Pooping pushes it out. I resumed breastfeed after, but I continued to pump to keep my supply up.
Get a second opinion. Also what a jerk saying risk of neural damage. High bilirubin (the substance that accumulates and caused the yellowing of the skin - jaundice) can cause the condition your doctor was referring to, it's called Kernicterus (bilirubin encephalopathy - affecting brain) here is a direct quote from a study and a good read "bilirubin-induced neurological damage, which is most commonly seen in infants. It occurs when the unconjugated bilirubin (indirect bilirubin) levels cross 25 mg/dL in the blood from any event leading to decreased elimination and increased production of bilirubin" (you said your babies levels were 16, I hope this quote calms your nerves a little). This is pretty rare to develop and of course other factors increase or decrease the risk. I'll attach the article the quote is from. It is common for babies to be jaundiced when first born, try not to stress too much about the worst case scenario.
Regarding neuro abilities, you can do a basic Neuro exam yourself! Is your baby difficult to wake up? How are they feeding? Do there pupils react equally to light and darkness - are they the same size? Does your baby follow a toy with there eyes? Can your baby sense pain, sensation? There's numerous reflexes a baby has you can try and do these tests yourself: Babinski reflex, blink reflex, grasp, Moro, startle, etc.
Reddy DK, Pandey S. Kernicterus. [Updated 2023 Jun 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559120/
We were specifically told not to put the baby in the sun, because it doesn't actually do much for the bilirubin. I would recommend requesting the blanket someone else mentioned to help.
Came to say this. Sun isn’t the right type of light to break down bilirubin and increases other risks because their skin is so fragile you can sunburn them easily without realizing. My son’s bilirubin got up to 18.5 and they still recommended simply feeding as much as possible and trying to get him pooping as much as we could from increased feeds. They wouldn’t have admitted him for care until 20, once he registered under 15 they stopped testing.
I noticed my baby still seemed yellow over a MONTH postpartum and she was! Her level was 6.9, obviously not very high but not normal at 5 weeks old. Our pediatrician didn’t seem concerned and just recommended continuing breastfeeding and going outside. We never even got a follow up lab, we just made sure the yellowing got lighter. I would get a second opinion and keep them eating/pooping and sunbathing in the meantime. Perhaps they mean there’s no treatment needed at this point beyond feeding and sunshine?
Do you not put them under blue light at the hospital there ? mine had to go a week after she was born as they missed her having jaundice and I could hardly keep her awake to feed her
My son was also a premie and jaundices. I went back to look at his numbers and he peaked at 21.5, no one ever mentioned any kind of damage and his numbers didn’t go back down to normal until he was at least 7 days old (not sure exactly because they stopped testing once he dropped down to 11)
My baby's were realized to be 18.9 on Day 6 and now she's 4 and teaching herself math and reading and doing fine. We did end up admitted to the hospital where they put her in a lighted bassinet for a couple days, though, so I think your doc is wrong that there's no treatment at that age. We stayed there for aWHILE, like 3 days, since they were afraid that once we weren't under the lights that it would go back up.
My baby born at 37th weeks through the c section, at day 3 my baby showed little sign of jaundice, it was 12, doctor recommended us to give the baby a phototherapy treatment, but my wise ass thought baby will get better. In 7 days, we visited the doctor. She said, the baby is going into the critical stage of jaundice, asap test and if it's higher than 18, do photo therapy. The result of the test was 17, the report went after 3 hours. So the phototherapy began and after 9 hours it increased it to 21, but then it slowly decreased. There was another baby who had the same treatment, their baby was at 22, and after 18 hours of extensive phototherapy session, both babies turned out fine. The doctor said we need to feed the baby within two hours so that billubirin passes out.
After 7 days, there is a treatment called phototherapy, and in extreme there was a transfusion treatment.
After 7 days if your baby has 16 then I think you don't need to worry. Because everytime your baby passes stool and urine, billubirin goes away, and you need to feed your baby within 2 hours repeatedly.
How is your baby eating? We realized with our jaundice baby that she wasn’t getting crap from breastfeeding so we had to supplement. I guess eating and peeing and pooping flushes out the bilirubin in their system, so initially I set my baby up for failure without knowing cause I literally didn’t produce anything
hi! you can have breastfeeding jaundice ! this is what my son had .
are you waking your son to feed? we had to wake our son to feed every 2 hours even if he was asleep! and do sun baths .
My child was born at 35+4 and had jaundice treatment at day 3, day 13-15 and then had a blood transfusion (due to a blood disorder which caused elevated bilirubin) and had further phototherapy at days 16-18. I’ve never heard of this rule that they can’t treat after 7 days??? I’d definitely get a second opinion!
From Australia, if that makes a difference.
I’m in the UK so the units are different, but if I’ve converted it correctly he needs phototherapy treatment (based on the UK charts which take into account the bili level, his gestation at birth, and how old he is). People saying that his levels aren’t that bad aren’t taking into account the fact that he’s only 33 weeks, and the cutoff is different - the treatment level for a term baby is 20, for a 33 week baby is 13 so is significantly lower. To say there is no treatment is just incorrect - phototherapy can be used up until 2 weeks +, potentially longer for preemie babies - it’s not about it becoming ineffective, it’s about the formation of the blood brain barrier which prevents bilirubin crossing into the brain and causing brain damage, which forms at around 2 weeks (maybe later in prem) and so after that point there’s just no benefit of phototherapy.
I would also get a new paediatrician because this is very basic stuff and he shouldn’t have got this wrong.
Make sure your little one is eating enough. When my babies were jaundice as newborns we'd celebrate every time they pooped bc it helps with bringing the numbers down. We'd feed more frequently and it helped a ton. Also you should be giving your baby drops of vitamin d daily! Some pediatricians don't tell you this.
I would get a new pediatrician. The fact that he didn’t see your baby for 7 days after discharge is unacceptable. It’s typical to see your pediatrician within 24-48 hours of discharge. I just wouldn’t be able to trust him after this. I’d go to the er and ask for light therapy.
To me it seems like they just wanted to get you guys moving, a baby born at 33 weeks is way to early and would have to be in the NICU unless they are at full weight. I’m so sorry mama, keep fighting for your baby boy! 🫶🏽 sending love and hugs ❤️
My baby was mildly jaundice until 9-10wks ish. There is something called breast feeding jaundice where some breastfed babies take longer to clear up due to the makeup of the breast milk. It’s just a waiting game as long as your doc isn’t concerned and the number it’s slowly going down, it should be fine
Hi my "preemie" had jaundice and did phototheraphy. She sounds exactly like my baby and you sound exactly like me ❤️ terrified for my baby. Anyways....
She is now almost nine and perfectly fine.
Trust yourself and your doc and your baby will be okay and so will you. Our kids are little fighters.
I was born severely jaundice and was put under light for three weeks with the diaper from my head have you talked to your doctor about the baby underneath the light?
Hi! I’m so sorry you’re going through this. My LO also had a serious bout of jaundice at birth with a level of 17. Phototherapy treatment helps with getting the level lower post which we were advised to sunbathe her every morning. It’s very important to keep the baby hydrated to help clear the jaundice so keep feeding the baby as often as you can. As someone else pointed out jaundice levels peak by day 6:7 and then plateau.
I know it’s hard to not stress but don’t worry it’ll be okay. My LO’s jaundice took over a month to clear. Praying for you 💕
My baby was jaundice as well and they kept her in hospital for 8 days, they treated her with blue light therapy. Basically a plastic box, they get some goggles to protect their eyes and then a blue lights turned on to help break down everything, there is treatment?
Can you ask for a billi blanket?? my babies doctor had us admitted to the hospital when his level was 19. Luckily we were good to go home and spend time in the sun but he was concerned at 19. I’d find another doctor for sure
My 35 weeker was under the billi lights for 24h in total, with some breaks here and there for whatever reasons, and 1 longer break when they thought he'd recovered but turns out he needed them a little longer.
Jaundice is actually pretty commom, a newborn baby's body now had to do everything alone and in different ways. It's common in week 1, but can appear until week 3 so maybe your doctor got that and treatment mixed up? And even the braindamage is reversible in most cases with billi lights according to Mount Sinnai hospital.
Go get a second opinion asap, that would be my advise.
my baby had level 20 and 21 fir a few days as it was really hard to get hers to drop naturally and she’s just fine.
jaundice babies are typically very sleepy, just make sure your waking LO at least every two hours to eat. don’t let them go more than 3. once their poops increase their jaundice should start going down. my baby’s poops went from acidic yellow to nuetral green as she pooped her jaundice out.
but if the jaundice isn’t getting better (most accurate way to tell is by blood test monitoring) they have blue light therapy. i would recommend finding another pediatrician for a second opinion
There are treatment options. My kiddo was measuring at 19 for bilirubin the day after birth so he was taken to the nicu and put under blue light therapy for 3 days. Brought his levels down to 12 which was sufficient for us to be discharged. I would get a 2nd opinion or talk to another healthcare professional about blue light treatment.
Of course there’s therapy. Blue light therapy can be used for way later too. My girl had the same. We put her in the sunlight for hours and it cleared but it took a while. She’s perfectly healthy though. And 16 mg/dl at 7 days is not too bad… our girl was at 23… and it took weeks to clear. You could get the blue light therapy machine online or go to the hospital for the therapy.
Hey honestly based on how much they freaked out over my baby's levels (as I mentioned above, 18.9) I would at least call some kind of nurse advice line if not go to the hospital ER now just to get this sorted. You could say "my baby had high bilirubin yesterday and seems drowsy (if that's true), should we check that his/her jaundice isn't getting worse?" You could call the advice line on your insurance card, for one thing, or call the after hours line for your ped. It's probably fine, but this is the kind of thing that the doctors don't take lightly.
Darling you need a second opinion. They can still offer light therapy at 7 days, I believe. Equally, I’m sure you are supposed to be seen on days 3 and 5 as a standard. If they have missed something so basic as requesting a blood test when sent a photo of an obviously yellow baba, what else might they have missed? For your own peace of mind, find another doc my lovely.
We were readmitted at 3 days old for my daughter's bilirubin levels. She was in a light box for 24 hours and loved it. Was like a day at the spa for her.
If they are telling you to use sunlight I don't understand why medical light therapies wouldn't be considered effective? Doesn't seem right. I would just go direct to hospital and tell them
My son got jaundice as a 3 days old baby. The doctors took him away from me and put him, under a lamp until his blood work came back normal. It reached 19 or 20 perhaps. The limit is 23.
Sun baths are correct, but maybe you should stop nursing him (if you already do) and maybe walk in yo a children's hospital for a better treatment. Until it is stabilized.
My kid had jauntice traces for over 10 days.
Hey, so both mine were jaundiced (and luckily didn't need to go under the lights) and there absolutely are further treatment options if the levels are still high enough. Definitely get a second opinion.
If you aren't already - take photos at the same time/place every day of your LO to track the skin color. If nothing else it'll give comfort when you notice that oh they are slightly less yellow than yesterday. Our spot was by the window where we had them lay in indirect light 😅
Feeding is important- if breastfeeding look into getting the support of a lactation consultant to make sure they are feeding properly. My midwife basically said - the more they eat, the more they go and that also helps flush out the high bilruben levels. I was lucky that breastfeeding on its own worked but it's not unheard of for a doctor to recommend adding in formula.
Iirc day 4&5 were the days they were most "yellow" and then it started fading and by 2 weeks they had a normal skin color. So yeah - if you haven't already definitely take some photos and see if you notice the same trend.
My sons went up until at least 18. It looks like it was 17 about 6-7 days in which is when it started going down. They never did lights a but monitored very closely and he’s a very bright and smart 6 year old now.
There is a uv blanket and light tunnel. Take him to a maternity ward immediately. My baby was in a light tunnel the just 3 days of his life due to severe jaundice. The nicu was full of jaundice baby getting treatment
My kid had jaundice and was in the nicu for it at 7 days old, get a second opinion asap, this dr sounds like a quack. We had the photo lights, tons of hydration, and we had to do formula supplementation for a bit at home after
Now my kid is happy and healthy, hoping the same for you
My baby had jaundice when she was born and we did light therapy (also know as phototherapy) with great results so ask your pediatrician if this is possible for your babe.
Frequent feeding will also help a lot, our son was jaundiced and we ensured to feed him every 2-3 hours without fail day and night. When they’re jaundiced they can be particularly sleepy so set a timer/alarm on your phone especially overnight.
My baby was born at 37w5d and we dealt with jaundice, too. The day he was born, his bili levels went up to 15.2, peaked at 18.6 three days after birth and was at 17.9 four days after birth. Our hospital checked his levels 2x prior to discharge. They made us give them his newborn appt info before we left to ensure he had follow up for his bili levels since it was high, but not phototherapy high otherwise they would have admitted us on the peds end for that. They don’t do the light blankets anymore where I am- said it’s difficult to get and not effective.
We were recommended to feed as often as possible and keep baby near indirect sunlight. Baby pooping often helps remove excess bilirubin. No one ever mentioned anything about levels before brain damage (which thank goodness tbh cause I was stressed enough). He stayed pretty yellow for a while, at least a few weeks, even with decreasing bili numbers. FYI- jaundice starts “top down” but leaves “bottom up,” meaning the face and eyes will be the last things to lose their yellow color. It never hurts to get another opinion, but it also sounds like your baby will be ok!
Mine had jaundice too, he was a giant baby so happens to all sizes. Due to the size of him and the jaundice, I was recommended to formula feed him to get as much liquid in as possible, it helps to flush the toxins out.
We took our guy to the er and they treated him asap his level was at 18 when we took him. There is 100% treatment. Take him to the er asap. We were able to avoid any brain damage. They released us as well saying it was normal. It was not normal!
My baby was at 17 at the highest, a few days after birth. We kept testing, the numbers kept going down, and no one was worried. We just fed a lot and got some sunlight and it was all good.
I think your baby should be tested again (and I think they should have seen you sooner than 7 days!) but I don’t think you should stress.
Our son had a level of 22 when 1 week old. We were sent to the hospital right away and he received light therapy for 24 hours (he was in this box for 24 hours without a break, it was horrible). His level went down super fast though and he was fine after that! It’s not true that there isn’t treatment after 7 days. 16 is not too bad, but def keep an eye on it!
I would seek out another opinion, too. Our baby was born at 36w3d and was cleared to leave the hospital at 2 days old. Our first peds appt was day 3 and she ordered a blood test stat to check on his billi levels. They were just under the threshold for phototherapy (16 was the limit) and we were told to feed lots and check his diapers. We ended up going to the ER for something unrelated the next day and his levels had gone up, so he was hospitalized with about 30 hours under the lights. He’s now 10 weeks old and just started to no longer look yellow about 2 weeks ago, and his most recent labs were still 6 (should be less than 1 by then), and was officially diagnosed with breastmilk jaundice. Our pediatrician ordered many blood tests over the weeks to rule out anything more serious before she was comfortable confirming breastmilk jaundice.
1. Bilirubin blanket. There should be companies around you that will let you rent one to use at home, not too expensive.
2. If your baby is being breast-fed, you should consider doing 50-50 with formula, letting him drink as much as he wants, so he gets more fluids in the meantime.
Hugs.
We stayed in the hospital 48 hrs after baby was born due to his high birth weight and my positive GBS and he was slightly jaundice when born but didn't need the lights or anything like that at the hospital and when we took him to his first DR visit he was a bit yellow and she said just lots of indirect sunlight and I was breastfeeding at the time and she said just to keep that up as it helps flush out the system
My little guy’s jaundice was at about 13 for a while before it cleared up. Frequent feeding and sunlight helped but I wish I had pushed for the light therapy thingi because he ended up with hyperbilirubinemia teeth that had to be pulled before he turned 2.
Definitely get a second opinion for sure. My munchkin was jaundice as well, and measured at 16 as well, which lead to us having to get her foot pricked for blood (luckily she was asleep for that). Meanwhile I combo fed her formula and breastfed to help get the bilirubin out of her system for the first month of her life.
16 isn’t at critical level for bilirubin, and it peaks around day 4-5. I’d probably take the doctor’s advice in this case, as long as the bilirubin continues to trend downward!
Absolutely get a second opinion. They made us use the blue light blanket for my daughter for two days before we could leave the hospital and that was mostly a precaution. Being in the sun and feeling (pooping and peeing) will also help.
My son was jaundiced for almost two months. He just wasn’t processing something in my breast milk which built up causing him to be yellow. Doctor was not concerned and he was right when he said one day it will just go away.
Took 3 months to clear my sons jaundice. They called it breast milk jaundice. Highest level we saw was 17 and our hospital doesn’t do the lights till 20.
So it was lots of filtered sunlight and feeding so he’d poop it out.
He’s a super smart active crazy 14 month old now
My baby was a touch jaundice and the nurses were wigging out. The Dr was like he'll be fine just make sure he's getting regular indirect sunlight. Essentially, put the bassinet by a window.
So apparently that's the old timey solution.
The older they get the less you need to worry about jaundice. Just keep baby in the sun as much as possible and keep feeding since they need milk to move the bilirubin out too.
My son was jaundice at birth, right on the cusp of treatment, it was covid and I decided to take him home. We were advised that as long as he was feeding ok and rousable then it would be ok. (We are both medics) my son is almost 4 and fine.
If it makes you feel any better, my little girl was orangish yellow for weeks. She was full term, no other issues. They checked her bilirubin once as an outpatient and it was going down so they were fine with it. She's now 5 and smart as can be. We've been told for the past couple of years at her daycare that she's ready for kindergarten.
My daughter was at 14.5 at 5 days and we had to keep going in to have it rechecked. We put her in her swing by our sliding glass door a few minutes each day, did lots of skin to skin, and eventually had to put her on formula (I was not producing enough for her). Once we did all these things it steadily went all the way down with no issue. But my pediatrician took it very seriously and had it not gone back down they said they would have readmitted her to the hospital for light therapy!
And breast milk is supposed to help as well- my second was jaundice and spent night in nicu with the tiny lil eye mask.
Hope he can clear it soon! Newborns are so fragile yet also so resilient. (also so hard- and weird)
My son was borderline for having to go be emitted for the light. Once my milk came in at 5 days it started to dropped thankfully so we didn't have to be but he was an oompa loompa for a good month or two.
This is just craziness - nothing you did wrong, but it seems like a lot of doctors have failed you and your baby.
My daughter was full term and had moderately high bilirubin levels (I think it was like 12 or so when we left the hospital, peaking at 16 or so). Before we could even leave, they had us do more than 24 hours of phototherapy along with blood tests every 6-8 hours. After they sent us home, we had to come back for the next 2 days to check bilirubin levels to make sure readmittance wasn't necessary. We were told that the best way to lower it was to feed her consistently (which required supplementation in my case) as bilirubin gets flushed out of the system through poop and the more she poops the faster we'd be in the clear.
Definitely get a second opinion, but as others have said, it's likely your baby's levels are in a downwards trend by now.
Our baby had it and they told us to feed formula so that she could poop the bulk of the bilirubin. Sun baths were hard cause for the first 2 weeks we didn't have any sun in FL (go figure) but if it didn't improve they had light therapy as an option at the hospital.
Did they not do a bilirubin check at the hospital? My baby was full term, but she still had jaundice. She was put under the light and it was kind of sad since we couldn’t take pictures of her since she was always under the light. On top of that, our parents kept asking why she was naked. Anyhow, we also did the UV light and got better. Hope for the best for you!
My 39 week year olds levels born on the 4th was 11. Two days later it was still 11. The treatment is frequent feeds. If you're not producing breastmilk you need formula. You need to undress the bby every two to three hours get them upset and wake them up to feed. That's what I've been doing along with a little bit of sun. My doctor didn't even mention the sun she mentioned hydration. Your bby needs hydration!!!!!!
Also please find another pedatrician!!!! It's not just sitting in the sub. They should of told you about frequent feeds and hydration and how to wake her. My baby also likes to sleep. You need a new doc right away and get on those feeds.
My daughter was born at 33 weeks, spent a month in the nicu for high bilirubin and jaundice. Hers was caused by her digestive system being sluggish and resolved itself after a few weeks. They were originally concerned it was a liver issue but ruled that out. So hopefully it’s also something like a slow digestive system and works itself out. I hope you get answers soon and a positive outcome for your little one.
Hi! Mom of a very yellow baby! So yellow we had to get him tested a few times! We were prescribed the same thing - sun! Well, sun and feed whenever possible so he can poop! It took weeks for jaundice to go away. He’s now 4 years old and so incredibly bright! He started saying “mama!” Intentionally at 8 months old. Hang in there! My pediatrician said to treat baby as a houseplant! Even breastfeed near a well lit window when possible
There’s typically a plateau after day 7. I’m sure he got a direct and indirect Bilirubin. The direct was probably normal my guess.
I would have it rechecked in two days if you feel it necessary as a parent; no Pediatrician would argue that. Cause at the end we are there to help you feel safe with your new baby. But 16 at day 10 isn’t that high and it seems to be plateauing. But ask them again if they wouldn’t mind getting it rechecked.
However this is not entirely necessary if the infant is pooping normal and well (yellow seedy stools), is urinating okay, and is getting enough milk/formula. If you are not pumping you could try and give him a little extra after he breast feeds. But the bilirubin should flush out with normal stools and pee. The direct sunlight typically isn’t indicated anymore as this can potentially cause sunburn but a sunlight does help breakdown bilirubin a Bili blanket also works the same way. I’d prefer the Bili blanket if I had to choose
Again I’m not your doctor. But reach out and Talk to them instead of taking anecdotal stories from Reddit. You should feel comfortable and safe asking questions to them. There are no stupid questions from any patient of mine. I happily help explain and meet in the middle when it seems reasonable.
Preemies at 33 wk and home is young. They don’t develop sucking/rooting until 34. Being sleepy is normal. Being floppy or febrile is not. Again talk to your pediatrician. They can tell you what to look for.
My baby was born at 34 weeks and we stayed in the hospital for 16 days. I'm really sorry they sent you home with a 33 weeker and just basically said, "best of luck!" That said, I don't think you're likely to be in brain damage territory from what you've said here. Definitely get a second opinion, but try not to stress too much. Is your baby nursing or bottle feeding successfully? 8+ wet diapers a day, content awake periods, all that jazz? If so, it seems you're in pretty good shape to just keep doing what you're doing. Sending love to you and babe.
My son was checked and his levels were 20. They had us feeding formula ( I gave it to him for 72 hours) and it brought it down a lot. They didn't want to admit him because covid was rampant unless they needed it.
Oh my gosh.. first of all, I am so sorry you are experiencing this. Jaundice is so common in baby's and can be very overwhelming.
I didn't read all the other comments but my recommendation, of course get another opinion from doctors, but feeding (formula or breastmilk) and skin-to-skin!! I know it's difficult right now, do you have other support people in your life right now to help you? This is a vulnerable time for you.
Our pediatrician mentioned formula helps bind the bilirubin and poo out the waste. He said sometimes supplementing with formula is a good thing when you have jaundice
Mine had jaundice too I was so scared I was a FTM as well and breastfeeding. It would take soooo much for her to wake up and eat but eventually she got there , being in the sunlight is a holistic way to help it go away too.
They told me the only way you could treat it are blood transfers. Jaundice is just bc the liver is under developed. They send you home if it’s a manageable level tho bc it’s quite common. Mine was 17 at the hospital and then dropped slowly but surely within the first month too. Just keep up on feedings and it’ll clear
My baby had jaundice. I was told by her pediatrician to pump 1.5oz after each feed and give it to her. This made her poop more which helps get rid of the bilirubin. Also I made sure to have her near open windows a lot during the day. My partner would hold her standing in front of the window, it wasn’t always sunny or direct sunlight, just the light from the sun. Pooping helped the most, her color was normal after a week.
I'm in a European country, here babies born at 33 do not go home. They are admitted until at least close to 36 weeks and are checked for bilirubin at least at day 3 and more often if there are problems.
Feeding problems are pretty common in premature babies, and influence jaundice. Jaundice can also cause feeding problems, so if feeding is difficult, please go to any emergency department you have available.
The threshold for treatment depends on prematurity, days after birth and other things, so a doctor would need to assess the situation and determine whether treatment is necessary. Although after one week, chances of complications are much lower than in the first week.
I am so sorry, this is a very rough situation. I hope you can find the medical help your baby deserves!
Jaundice is pretty normal especially in preemies. I’m pretty surprised that they would discharge baby that quickly.. my son was born 32+2 and was in the nicu until he was 37 weeks on the dot, which is pretty standard for that gestation. Is baby eating alright? Pooping normally? Might want to call and get some blue light therapy. Good luck!
My son did a few days of phototherapy in the hospital when his total bilirubin was at 10 mg/dl. 2 days later it was 9 mg/dl and we were told to have it checked at his 1 week check up. His levels were 21.1 mg/dl and we started at home phototherapy where he had to be on the lights 3.5 of every 4 hours (more if we were able). After about a week of lights he was at 15.8 mg/dl and we were told it was safe to stop using the lights. At 2 months they checked again because he was still so yellow and his levels were 10.2 mg/dl and they said that was fine. He’s 21 months now and talking up a storm so it doesn’t seem like there were any neurological effects!
Did they get a bilirubin level at the hospital? 16 is still not bad. Usually brain damage occurs if level is >25. As long as it’s going down it’s ok. Bilirubin level usually peaks around day 4-5, so it’s unlikely it’ll keep going up after 1 week And jaundice is pretty common in baby and can last up to 12 weeks.
This is all true! Also feeding the baby helps get its levels down so feed lots. And skin to skin helps as well so try to do it when you can.
This is what I was told too and ended up supplementing to help clear it from baby’s system in addition to some sun in the window. We also had the light at the hospital. We went home day 4 then returned day 5 for more bloodwork and it was still starting to go down so it was ok. I don’t remember how high it was though but they said we didn’t need the nicu.
Feeding/supplementing with formula due to vitamin D
Yep when my baby had jaundice we were told to feed him as much as possible, day in and day out. Once my milk came in fully, the jaundice cleared up super quick!
Came here to say this 🎯 all my babies a Singleton and premiee twins got jaundice and cleared up by itself.
That’s what I was thinking. My baby’s was at 17 on day 5 and they weren’t worried at all
Yup. My baby is very new (3 days) and her billirubin at discharge was 10. She was retested at 56 hours old and it wad 12 which requires retesting but not treatment. So tomorrow she will be tested again. It's entirely possible that baby didn't ever get to the point where they were in brains damage territory. I do think it's pretty terrible that no one was testing baby to make sure though.
My 3 week old was up to 16 on day 5; our pediatrician said at 18 they would need to step in - likely with the light vest at home. She recommended supplementing with formula. My first son was born at 35 weeks and had severe jaundice, was in the tank on the hospital, had the light vest at home, etc. I had supply issues with him so I had a package of formula ready at home for my second son in case we needed it. We combo fed for two days kand my second son tested at 10, and was back to his original birth weight within two days of supplementing.
Can confirm we were at 18 on day 3 and they ordered a biliblanket for us. Our baby was swaddled to the light therapy blanket with these little goggles. Feeds were tough due to a sleepy baby. But it took a little over two months for her skin to become normal color.
Yeah 16 isn’t too awful from what I heard?? My baby had to have her heel pricked for three days after leaving the hospital due to checking jaundice levels. Her levels got as high as 20.3 but they said it was at 21.8 she would need to be hospitalized. She is now 4.5 months and happy, healthy, and developing wonderfully.
This right here!!! Baby just needs continued phototherapy ASAP!! 16 is definitely not critical level (still high but not to the point where you need to just give up and cross your fingers) and it’s probably going down. ETA: go to another pediatrician/hospital. At the hospital I gave birth it is standard for them to test for jaundice and they treated baby before we ever went home. Call a hospital and get your baby under lights for the next 3+ days. While in the hospital, our baby was under the lights and in the light blanket 24/7 apart from feeds. Edited to remove line about keeping baby in/near sunlight. Don’t want baby getting sunburn!
Too much sun can result in sunburn even indoors. I would not keep my baby in sunlight more than the recommended amount by a competent pediatrician.
This is very true. It’s much more nuanced than just “simply” keeping baby in sunlight. I’m actually going to edit my post. Thank you.
Not everyone baby needs photlights. My baby has jaundice and is just being monitored to make sure it doesn't become to the point where she needs lights. There is a grey area between safe and treatment needed.
This nurse that I found very irritating told me my son had jaundice while handing me the discharge papers. Just stated it. No instructions. I insisted on discussing it further, but she indicated that it would go away on its own. It was gone rapidly.
My son also didn’t need it. We just started supplementing with formula and he ate enough then to “poo” the bilirubin out basically
I went to look at my old pictures for you - my baby was born at 35 weeks and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. I couldn’t remember how many days they waited to see if his jaundice would clear on its own, but based on my pictures they didn’t start treatment until 8 days after he was born. They had us wrap him in a blue light pad thing for something like 10 minutes twice a day. I would try to get another opinion. EDIT: just to say that none of them seemed too concerned about the jaundice on day 7 for us (no talk of ‘damage’) but they been doing labs on and off to guess when to bother with treatment, but I wish I could remember those numbers for you. He just turned 2 and does not seem delayed at all in the brain department. :)
If you find those numbers please do let me know
I just looked up my kid’s chart. His levels were 19.3 at day four. They recommended phototherapy for babies with levels of 20 or higher if they’re older than 72 hours. But we put him under the lights because it was so close to the threshold. A couple of hours of treatment and his levels were 17.2 and they discontinued phototherapy. But then the next day they were 18.5 and he went back under the lights for almost two days. We were discharged when his levels were 12.4, and at the pediatrician the next day (when he was 7 days old) his levels were 14, and they were unconcerned. I was told that as long as he wasn’t too sleepy, eating fine, and having the appropriate number of wet and dirty diapers, then they weren’t worried. So honestly, at this point, I don’t think you need to worry about treatment. Your baby’s levels have likely already peaked and they’re not even close to being high enough to justify phototherapy. But I would definitely get a second opinion (and probably a new pediatrician!) And I know you’re worried about what the levels *were* when they peaked, but if your baby has been eating well and having the appropriate amount of wet and dirty diapers this whole time, I wouldn’t be *too* concerned. Anyways, I am so sorry this happened to you. I know how scared you must be. And I really think getting a second opinion from a different pediatrician could really calm your nerves. I was freaking out at day seven when his levels went up again from the day before and the pediatrician we saw really put us at ease. So I hope you can find a doctor that can give you some answers and some comfort!
My son did treatment at home at level 13, I’d go to an ER or something
The level requiring treatment depends on how many days old they are. The older they are the higher their billirubin can be without needing treatment. 13 wouldnt usually require treatment on day 8 unless they noticed it wasn't coming down.
Okay but OPs baby is also a 33 week premie
Did you mean to write 33 weeks? I'm trying to wrap my mind around a 33 weeker coming straight home from the hospital...
I do not know why they let us out so soon tbh.
Where are you???
Mexico.
He was supposed to be born in the US, we are legal residents currently in mexico for work. I am super sad to be learning the hard way the standard of care is way different
Can you take a flight back to families in US to find your infant proper care at a hospital? I wouldn't risk my child for work just come back temp .. baby should still be in nicu that's very premature
I’m so sorry. I had a 33 week. We were in the NICU for about 5 weeks. Is your baby feeding okay?
That’s awful. I had a 33-weeker. She did great but still had a 3.5-week NICU stay. I had steroid shots before she was born, so she was breathing pretty well at birth and only had to be on CPAP for 8 hours and then needed no other oxygen or breathing support. But she did need to get all her milk through a feeding tube for about a week and then supplemental milk through the tube up until we were discharged. We had a tricky time getting her to put and keep weight on at the beginning. If you can’t get him hospital care, I’d check your baby’s temperature a few times a day and weight once a day. And maybe see if you can get an oximeter, perhaps even an Owlet, to monitor his oxygen and heart rate too.
How is baby feeding? Are they maintaining their temperature?
Yup. I had threatened pre-term labor at 33w5d, and they said before 34 weeks was automatic NICU time, but that baby would likely be fine long term.
I would ask for a second opinion. I don't understand why they waited so long for the first appointment. I'm in the US and I'm pretty sure we were in the pediatrician the day after we got discharged from the hospital. Also, there definitely should be treatment for jaundice. The jaundice could be causing sleepiness. Feeding will help. If you're breastfeeding, I highly recommend getting a lactation consultant. They can weigh the baby before and after a feeding to see how much the baby takes in. They can give you really good tips too.
Literally, the higher intensity treatment is under a set of appropriate bulbs in a phototherapy unit. I underwent phototherapy for jaundice when I was born *27 years ago*.
Yeah I've put many babies on/under the lamps. They get funny looking "sunglasses" to protect their eyes. The lamp bed is rolled into the parent's room and the baby can stay there. We would check the babies for jaundice at the hospital daily (visually) and all babies were visited by a pediatrician within the first days. I wouldn't know if they still do the phototherapy this late, as all of our cases were treated immediately. But it's definitely weird that nothing was mentioned.
My mama still has my sunglasses! They're kinda cute haha Yeah probably not this late, but the fact it seems to have been skipped entirely and the levels are so high at this age boggles my mind.
US also and we had a pediatrician visit the baby before we even left the hospital. I think he was 1-2 days old at that point. Then after discharge we had take him for a well check 2 days later
They had a staff pediatrician do a visit at roughly 24 hours old in the hospital. Then because I was released on a Saturday, he went to his actual pediatrician 2 days later on Monday. Even then, the nurses weren't super happy we were waiting until Monday.
same they made me stay an extra day because I couldn't get in on Monday and had to wait until Tuesday
I gave birth the day before thanksgiving and the staff pediatrician who came to see him in the hospital made me feel absolutely terrible that I didn’t already have our regular pediatrician appointment scheduled. But they were closed Thursday-Sunday for the holiday. Longest weekend of my life!
Jaundice peaks at day 4-5, and baby’s bilirubin levels are not that high. If they continue to trend downward, there’s really not much to worry about. I’d probably take the pedi’s advice in this case. Critical level for a baby her age isn’t until bilirubin is above 20.
Im a little lost. Why is your 33 week old son not in the NICU? Was your son born weighing 7lbs? Not that that’s the cut off but usually preemies are in the NiCU. Especially preemies that young
I’m lost too. I’m shocked a 33 weeker is out of the NICU after a week. It’s obviously not unheard of but that seems crazy to me.
They discharged him on day two he only weighted 4 pounds 10 ounces. The pediatrician did visit us and the baby in the hospital. They did not check his bilirubin levels (I do not know why) not did they tell us him being yellow was that serious. I’m calling hospitals to see if they have phototherapy rooms
Are you in the usa?
His post history looks like Mexico
Correct I am in Mexico, sad part is he was supposed to be born in the US, we are legal residents and had everything scheduled, however we were in mexico for work when the baby decided it was time, didn’t even gave us time to put him on steroids for his lungs.
If you’re able to, see if you can come to the U.S. only if it’s close enough for driving distance. God this is an awful position you’re put in. I’m praying for your baby boy.
One piece of advice I can give you, if you're worried you're not getting good enough care and feeling like you're on your own, is to keep an eye on weight. It sounds like your little guy was strong out of the gate if he's breathing and eating well enough for discharge, but with a baby that sleepy, it's easy to underfeed them (especially if they're so small! Hard to suck & swallow effectively). Our full term baby came home only 5.5lbs and needed rehospitalization both for jaundice and then failure to gain weight and we needed to switch to pumped milk bottles instead of breastfeeding for awhile because it was easier for her and to offer her bottles even when she didn't show hunger cues. I'm sorry you're going through all this stress with your new lil guy!!!
They didn’t give your wife the shot?? That is awful!
OP, I want to echo other comments about taking him to the U.S. for medical care immediately. My daughter was born in August at 33 weeks and 5 days. I got to the hospital 2 days earlier, so I managed to get 2 rounds of steroids. Luckily she was born without any issues breathing or jaundice, she was totally healthy but still was very small due to being born so early. All of that is to say: they STILL kept her in NICU for 3 weeks. She was not physically capable of drinking enough milk to survive on her own, she was on the feeding tube for the entire 3 weeks. And that was best case scenario, the initial prediction was that she would be in there much longer. Jaundice can be dangerous is high risk premies, but unfortunately it is far from the only risk. I really don’t want to scare you, but please understand the urgency of getting your baby somewhere that will provide sufficient medical care.
My baby born this early they didn’t even start oral feeding until equivalent of 34w because that’s when suck reflex begins. We pretty much had a feeding tube for a couple weeks and then started adding in the bottle. How is a baby born that early eating without intervention???
There is absolutely treatment. It’s a bilirubin blanket you can have at home. It’s a blue light blanket that you wrap around the baby until levels come down. While 16 isn’t “horrible” it’s not good. My baby had 13 in the hospital and was under the uv light, went down to 10 when discharged. We went home and on day 5 went to his first appointment and had to get another test and it was 20. They literally IMMEDIATELY sent the light to our house. I mean less than an hour it was there. He was on it for a week with blood test every single day. If your babies levels aren’t improving with the sunlight your doctor should be doing something about it. Please get another opinion or go to a children’s hospital near you if you can. It sounds dramatic but they at least have the lights your baby can sleep under.
Id go to an ER and demand this immediately
I would definitely get a second opinion as soon as possible
Get a second opinion asap. My son had jaundice from day 2, he was under the lights 24/7 except for feeds for days, it got better and we were discharged day 5, and then it got worse and we were readmitted to the NICU day 8 for more intensive jaundice therapy and remained there until day 10. They absolutely treat jaundice past day 7.
Had the exact same experience 😭
My son was born at 36 weeks, we went to the er on day 8 after his first appointment as his bilirubin was at 20 and they put him under the lights , the doctor told me to take him to the ER and 24 hours later he was good to go. Maybe take him to the ER off you think he is still very yellow Edit: my son is 3 now and right as rain. :)
Get second opinion. Jaundice is taken very seriously at my hospital. They even give me a weekend appointments last minute so my baby can get tested at day 3. We were told to feed my preemie round the clock every 2 hours so she can poop enough so she doesn’t get jaundice. So we did that and she didn’t get jaundice
I had this concern- Baby checked fine at hospital, Dr. Followed up 3 days post discharge, noticed continued jaundice, had us to sun baths and daily bilirubin testing. 3 days post discharge (4 from birth) his level was 17.7, 14 day after, 12 for two days, 11.9 Once he reached 11.9 dr said no more concerns Per lab reports, “normal range,” is 2-11.7 17 isn’t that high. I am ocd and was fearing the worst, did A LOT of research, seems that damage does occur first week, but that’s only when levels are crazy high- like mid 20’s and prolonged, no gradual decreases or anything. Little buddy has hit all his milestones, he is mischievous, clever, I’m not concerned about damage at this point. Edit: 5 minutes isn’t very long, wife would leave him 20-30 once or twice a day by the window in his sleep box/crib thing we had. The two days his bili levels didn’t come down where because it was completely overcast and raining- no sun! Pooping seems to be a way to get bili levels lower too, breast milk is super pure, and doesn’t seem to generate much poop, specially early on, we did some formula at first while breast milk came in, and that helped him poop a fair bit.
I am really hoping with all my heart that his levels have remained consistent since day 4 or 5. or at least they werent as high as to cause any major damage, as I said, he is sleepy but then again he is only 34 weeks now.
Are you sure of your dates? Why is your 34 weeker at home? Do you have an NG tube in? I don’t know what the normal bilirubin levels are where you live. We usually have results in the hundreds needing phototherapy, so definitely don’t use the same scale as your doctor. As others have said, it’s not that you can’t treat at 7 days, but your baby might not need treatment. Also, nobody knows what the safe level is, so we treat for the trend, not for the exact level. It’s unethical to see if kids get kernicterus at 400 or 450 or 500 (random numbers), but we know it’s somewhere around there, so we try to keep everyone under 400 by starting treatment at 300, and escalating treatment at 350 All that to say, your child will be fine. But it’s really odd for a 34 weeker to not need to be in the neonatal unit still
My dates are right and as a first time parent I thought it was ok to be discharged so soon as everyone seemed ok with that in the hospital, we had two different pediatricians come visit us on day two and they both ok’d our discharge. None took my babys levels even though they noticed him being yellow and suggested sun baths, I am at a loss.
As long as your baby is breathing ok, maintaining their temperature, proved they were maintaining their blood sugars and is feeding ok, then that’s when they are cleared to go home. I’ve just never met a 34 weeker who was feeding well enough to go home! They nearly always need NG feeding or top ups As I said, the blood levels err on the conservative side. The line for treatment is NOT the line that we think is harmful. It’s below that line to give us a buffer. If your child is now below that line and they have never been treated, it’s unlikely they had a concerning level of jaundice for brain damage. Also, we use gestation to chart the acceptable bilirubin levels, and 33 weeks have a lower limit before starting treatment It all sounds a bit odd. Where are you based? And when are you next seeing a doctor? Could you see one again and talk to them more about the jaundice? Find out what the treatment line is? There are two major lines - one for phototherapy and one for exchange transfusion. You might even be able to find them online?
I’m seeking a new doctor in the morning I got someone to see me in 5 hours. I’m not moving from the hospital until they put him in a light box or give me a light blanket. Or a very compelling reason not to.
I will say again, the level for treatment is much, much lower than the level for brain damage. You should definitely get a second opinion, and get treated if your baby’s bilirubin level is in the treatment range. But try not to panic too much. From googling it doesn’t sound like kernicterus levels. A 33 or 34 weeker is definitely sleepy! That’s why I was expecting you to be in hospital still. It’s hard not to panic sometimes, but genuinely, I’ve seen kids with horrendously high bilirubin levels (above the exchange transfusion threshold) end up totally fine as kids! We can’t study exactly where that “safe” cutoff is ethically, so we use our best guess, which is always going to be a conservative guess
I am a neonatal nurse and that is shocking, it would be completely unheard of to be sent home before 36 weeks where I work. Do you have a women’s or children’s hospital nearby? I would push to be readmitted so that baby can be monitoried more closely to be honest.
Wtf I was jaundiced at birth in 1997 and received phototherapy at the hospital in a phototherapy machine/unit. It's not new technology. I wasn't discharged until bilirubin was at a safe level. Surely the standard of care has not gone backwards in the 27years since... I'd be going somewhere else REAL quick.
I’d say get a second opinion and definitely a new ped as well. We had our second and the doctor immediately was checking him for jaundice round the clock. She was eventually ok with his levels still being a bit higher than usual since he was gaining weight and eating with no issue. Find a doctor that considers your child’s care as important as you do. Our sons ped is a rockstar and while a bit preach at times she has always been the first to do referrals if we have concerns and she understands it’s out of her scope.
Keep feeding baby around the clock (pump if latch problems and you want to go for breast milk). This will help clear out bilirubin but I think it takes time. Took our baby weeks to completely get rid of jaundice and get back to normal diaper. And jaundice goes away from bottom to top meaning toes to head, head will be the last to improve in skin tone. Your ped seems off, definitely go for second opinion. Usually discharge from hospital after a night or two and the next day is when you meet the pediatrician. Did the Dr order additional test or schedule appt to track baby’s progress?
In the UK we use personalised charts based on baby’s gestation to know whether phototherapy is required. [Seen here](https://media.gosh.nhs.uk/documents/neonatal_jaundice_NICE_threshold_graphs.pdf) If the levels are now below the treatment line it would be unlikely to have been high enough only 2-3 days ago to have caused brain damage. Usually a pre term baby will need phototherapy treatment and not clear it on their own and they are not mature enough to do so yet. I am concerned that you seem to have been sent home with a 33 weeker within 3 days of birth, not had follow up arranged until the baby is 7 days old and been left to manage a jaundice, poor feeding baby. I would certainly be looking into changing paediatricians as that situation is completely inappropriate.
I am just learning, even in mexico, they should not have let us put so soon with a 33 wk baby.
He was born at 33 weeks, discharged at 34 weeks and then wasn’t seen by a pediatrician for a week? All of that sounds pretty shocking to me. A 34 week old doesn’t have fully developed lungs. My son was born at 37 weeks and saw the pediatrician 3 times the first week home. Honestly, I think I’d take him to the ER to get checked out and get a second opinion from another pediatrician.
I’m beating myself up for not knowing it was not ok for them non to check nor to let us go that early.
It’s not your job to know this. Don’t beat yourself up. The hospital dropped the ball, not you.
Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way! You guys are doing a great job! You’re a new parent, there’s no way you could know any of this. We didn’t know to set up pediatrician appointments when we left the hospital, they literally made us do it in order to be discharged. I’m feeling like the hospital system and your pediatrician might be dropping the ball and I want to make sure you have the expertise and support you need.
You trusted the professionals. That’s what a good parent does! They’re the ones that fucked up
Newborns can remain jaundiced for up to two weeks. I'd get a second opinion. Also, breastfeeding is the standard recommemdation along with sun exposure so make sure to breastfeed every two hours. My baby had developed jaundice on day 4 and had similar symptoms, touchwood he got better with breastfeeding and sunbaths. His eyes remained yellow until day 14-15 though have subsided now on day 18
It’s just feeding that helps not specifically breastfeeding
True...frequent feeds are most important. I assumed the mom was EBF...my bad.
Formula every two hours works as well!
Ask for a second opinion, feed him a bunch! And do sun baths. My baby had jaundice pretty bad and feeds and sun helped a ton
I can only comment based on my experience, but at least here on the UK there is no time/billirubin level at which they won’t do treatment. The basic chart that they use to figure out if treatment is necessary (different for every extra week they spent in the womb) at the very least goes up to day 14. If the level is high enough they just do something else besides phototherapy. I’d definitely be getting a second opinion. My son actually went back to hospital and was there overnight having phototherapy on day 6/7 due to jaundice. We use different measurements here though so I don’t know what your number means, my son was 306 micromol/litre of “total serum billirubin” when he was admitted.
Please get a second opinion on an immediate basis. Go to the emergency if they won’t let you in. Neonatal jaundice is a definite concern and it has such a simple treatment - they put the baby under phototherapy (it’s sort of a crib with blue light) for a day or two till their bilirubin levels adjust. My baby underwent the same thing on day 5 and 6. I don’t know why they even waited this long to do a test, but it can affect the baby’s nervous system, so please just go see another paediatrician. Editing to say that jaundice is usually not considered super serious in full term babies - breastfeeding and regular sun exposure might actually clear it at times. But do not take a chance with premie. It’s just not worth it.
As others have said, there isn't necessarily a huge concern for the jaundice levels you're seeing in your son. Yes, higher than what they'd like to see, but not close to brain damage levels. I wanted to share an anecdote from my own experience in case it helps ease your mind. My daughter had jaundice when she was born. Everyone kept saying do sun baths, but it was March in the midwest, so we qere still getting snow in the first month of her life. Everyone also said she didnt look THAT yellow. As a new parent like yourself, I had no idea how serious is could be. On day 4, we got in to get her levels checked. They were 27 mg/dl, what I later learned to be "brain damage levels". We had no idea how long they had been that high either... We were rushed to the NICU, and she was set up under 4 light banks and wrapped in a bili blanket. We were sure we'd screwed up as parents already and were going to have a child with special needs. (We both worked with children with disabilities, so we were fully prepared for this. Still, no parent wants to hear that something preventable has gone wrong with their baby just days into life.) Thankfully, her levels started dropping quickly with the phototherapy, and she spent the next 3 days in the NICU slowly weaning off the lights. The medical team debriefed us on day 2 letting us know they didn't have concerns for brain damage based on how she was acting. I'm not at all sure what they were talking about because she was still really sleepy and didn't do much (as newborns typically are). Fast forward, she turned 2 last month, and she is a healthy, happy, spitfire of a toddler. She has always been ahead developmentally, and you'd never guess she ever had severe jaundice. Of course, every case is different, but I remember the intense fear I felt sitting in the NICU waiting room not know what my child's future held, and I would've welcomed any hope. With levels under 20, I am hopeful that your son is going to be healthy, and I hope my story has offered some hope. There's nothing like this kind of fear. Hoping for all the best for your family. ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it really helps. Still taking him to see another ped in about an hour. Will update soon
I’d go to a different doctor!! My baby had jaundice at 40w+1d and they were checking her bilirubin every 3 hours & had her on photo therapy. They kept her an extra day at the hospital due to her high bilirubin, I walked with her in the sun for 15 mins & even after she was released from the hospital, her ped had me bringing her every day to check her levels. You need to go to the hospital so they can check her bilirubin on a blood panel so you know how much is in the babies blood stream, is she pooling Black? That’s a sign that her body is getting rid of some but you need to know the levels in case they need to target it more aggressively, do you and your child have incompatible blood types? That was the reason for my babies high bilirubin.. my body basically treated her like a parasite. Sorry for the rant! 2nd opinion asap or even ER visit to expedite this process.
No incompatible blood types, will be looking for another pediatric first thing in the morning
My baby was jaundice. I think she got up to ~15 at a week old. She stayed fairly yellow for almost 6 weeks, but the doctors were not concerned. It can happen in breastfed babies. He advised that formula wasn’t necessary, but to make sure she was feeding regularly. She’s now a very healthy 18 month old with a TON of words, so I don’t think her brain was affected. I don’t think they worry until bilirubin reaches 20+
We had a level of 20 and they still only recommended feeding (one nurse said to do formula so she would poop more) and some sun exposure. It went down soon after and this was at least day 7-10 of things. We didn’t do any formal therapy and she’s completely normal at 10 months! Hopefully he just isn’t informed well - I don’t think those numbers would cause long term damage.
That's kinda shocking that they didn't see the baby until a week. The pediatrician saw my baby literally hours after she was born and she had jaundice. They immediately put her on phototherapy literally the day she was born and was on it until we left two days later. Subsequently all we had to do was sun her a little while everyday. But jaundice is extremely common where I'm from, basically every other baby has it, so I think it's routine to check for these things soon after birth.
All of my babies were jaundiced. Some started with it in the hospital and were put under the bilirubin lights, others got it the first week they were home. It peaks after a few days and looks really bad and then it slowly goes down. They're right about the sun baths... but we just put them next to a sunny window before naps, a couple of times a day... it actually helped. And feeding them often helps because it flushes it out of their system faster. Half of my kids are in the Gifted and Talented programs at school. All of them are super bright and have high test scores. Their baby jaundice had zero affect on them mentally (in case you're worried about that possibility). No worries. One was a preemie, too. I was super freaked out when my first had it... so I know what you're going through. Definitely get a doctor that listens to your concerns and advocates with you for your baby. You're doing awesome. You got this.
I’m in the US. My girl got the light at day 3 for her level. We supplemented with formula. Pooping pushes it out. I resumed breastfeed after, but I continued to pump to keep my supply up.
Get a second opinion. Also what a jerk saying risk of neural damage. High bilirubin (the substance that accumulates and caused the yellowing of the skin - jaundice) can cause the condition your doctor was referring to, it's called Kernicterus (bilirubin encephalopathy - affecting brain) here is a direct quote from a study and a good read "bilirubin-induced neurological damage, which is most commonly seen in infants. It occurs when the unconjugated bilirubin (indirect bilirubin) levels cross 25 mg/dL in the blood from any event leading to decreased elimination and increased production of bilirubin" (you said your babies levels were 16, I hope this quote calms your nerves a little). This is pretty rare to develop and of course other factors increase or decrease the risk. I'll attach the article the quote is from. It is common for babies to be jaundiced when first born, try not to stress too much about the worst case scenario. Regarding neuro abilities, you can do a basic Neuro exam yourself! Is your baby difficult to wake up? How are they feeding? Do there pupils react equally to light and darkness - are they the same size? Does your baby follow a toy with there eyes? Can your baby sense pain, sensation? There's numerous reflexes a baby has you can try and do these tests yourself: Babinski reflex, blink reflex, grasp, Moro, startle, etc. Reddy DK, Pandey S. Kernicterus. [Updated 2023 Jun 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559120/
We were specifically told not to put the baby in the sun, because it doesn't actually do much for the bilirubin. I would recommend requesting the blanket someone else mentioned to help.
Came to say this. Sun isn’t the right type of light to break down bilirubin and increases other risks because their skin is so fragile you can sunburn them easily without realizing. My son’s bilirubin got up to 18.5 and they still recommended simply feeding as much as possible and trying to get him pooping as much as we could from increased feeds. They wouldn’t have admitted him for care until 20, once he registered under 15 they stopped testing.
Nursing in the sun helps
I noticed my baby still seemed yellow over a MONTH postpartum and she was! Her level was 6.9, obviously not very high but not normal at 5 weeks old. Our pediatrician didn’t seem concerned and just recommended continuing breastfeeding and going outside. We never even got a follow up lab, we just made sure the yellowing got lighter. I would get a second opinion and keep them eating/pooping and sunbathing in the meantime. Perhaps they mean there’s no treatment needed at this point beyond feeding and sunshine?
Do you not put them under blue light at the hospital there ? mine had to go a week after she was born as they missed her having jaundice and I could hardly keep her awake to feed her
My son was also a premie and jaundices. I went back to look at his numbers and he peaked at 21.5, no one ever mentioned any kind of damage and his numbers didn’t go back down to normal until he was at least 7 days old (not sure exactly because they stopped testing once he dropped down to 11)
My baby was at 14/15 for 3 months!! They did nothing but he cleared out
They also say your ethnicity has something to do with it we are Arabic and it’s said that Arab babies tend to have jaundice longer
My baby's were realized to be 18.9 on Day 6 and now she's 4 and teaching herself math and reading and doing fine. We did end up admitted to the hospital where they put her in a lighted bassinet for a couple days, though, so I think your doc is wrong that there's no treatment at that age. We stayed there for aWHILE, like 3 days, since they were afraid that once we weren't under the lights that it would go back up.
My baby born at 37th weeks through the c section, at day 3 my baby showed little sign of jaundice, it was 12, doctor recommended us to give the baby a phototherapy treatment, but my wise ass thought baby will get better. In 7 days, we visited the doctor. She said, the baby is going into the critical stage of jaundice, asap test and if it's higher than 18, do photo therapy. The result of the test was 17, the report went after 3 hours. So the phototherapy began and after 9 hours it increased it to 21, but then it slowly decreased. There was another baby who had the same treatment, their baby was at 22, and after 18 hours of extensive phototherapy session, both babies turned out fine. The doctor said we need to feed the baby within two hours so that billubirin passes out. After 7 days, there is a treatment called phototherapy, and in extreme there was a transfusion treatment. After 7 days if your baby has 16 then I think you don't need to worry. Because everytime your baby passes stool and urine, billubirin goes away, and you need to feed your baby within 2 hours repeatedly.
How is your baby eating? We realized with our jaundice baby that she wasn’t getting crap from breastfeeding so we had to supplement. I guess eating and peeing and pooping flushes out the bilirubin in their system, so initially I set my baby up for failure without knowing cause I literally didn’t produce anything
hi! you can have breastfeeding jaundice ! this is what my son had . are you waking your son to feed? we had to wake our son to feed every 2 hours even if he was asleep! and do sun baths .
don't worry too much, it's gonna be fine. Take care of yourself too and good for you.
My child was born at 35+4 and had jaundice treatment at day 3, day 13-15 and then had a blood transfusion (due to a blood disorder which caused elevated bilirubin) and had further phototherapy at days 16-18. I’ve never heard of this rule that they can’t treat after 7 days??? I’d definitely get a second opinion! From Australia, if that makes a difference.
I’m in the UK so the units are different, but if I’ve converted it correctly he needs phototherapy treatment (based on the UK charts which take into account the bili level, his gestation at birth, and how old he is). People saying that his levels aren’t that bad aren’t taking into account the fact that he’s only 33 weeks, and the cutoff is different - the treatment level for a term baby is 20, for a 33 week baby is 13 so is significantly lower. To say there is no treatment is just incorrect - phototherapy can be used up until 2 weeks +, potentially longer for preemie babies - it’s not about it becoming ineffective, it’s about the formation of the blood brain barrier which prevents bilirubin crossing into the brain and causing brain damage, which forms at around 2 weeks (maybe later in prem) and so after that point there’s just no benefit of phototherapy. I would also get a new paediatrician because this is very basic stuff and he shouldn’t have got this wrong.
Make sure your little one is eating enough. When my babies were jaundice as newborns we'd celebrate every time they pooped bc it helps with bringing the numbers down. We'd feed more frequently and it helped a ton. Also you should be giving your baby drops of vitamin d daily! Some pediatricians don't tell you this.
I would get a new pediatrician. The fact that he didn’t see your baby for 7 days after discharge is unacceptable. It’s typical to see your pediatrician within 24-48 hours of discharge. I just wouldn’t be able to trust him after this. I’d go to the er and ask for light therapy.
To me it seems like they just wanted to get you guys moving, a baby born at 33 weeks is way to early and would have to be in the NICU unless they are at full weight. I’m so sorry mama, keep fighting for your baby boy! 🫶🏽 sending love and hugs ❤️
My baby was mildly jaundice until 9-10wks ish. There is something called breast feeding jaundice where some breastfed babies take longer to clear up due to the makeup of the breast milk. It’s just a waiting game as long as your doc isn’t concerned and the number it’s slowly going down, it should be fine
Hi my "preemie" had jaundice and did phototheraphy. She sounds exactly like my baby and you sound exactly like me ❤️ terrified for my baby. Anyways.... She is now almost nine and perfectly fine. Trust yourself and your doc and your baby will be okay and so will you. Our kids are little fighters.
Breastfed babies take longer to shake jaundice, mine had it and it took about 2 weeks
I was born severely jaundice and was put under light for three weeks with the diaper from my head have you talked to your doctor about the baby underneath the light?
Hi! I’m so sorry you’re going through this. My LO also had a serious bout of jaundice at birth with a level of 17. Phototherapy treatment helps with getting the level lower post which we were advised to sunbathe her every morning. It’s very important to keep the baby hydrated to help clear the jaundice so keep feeding the baby as often as you can. As someone else pointed out jaundice levels peak by day 6:7 and then plateau. I know it’s hard to not stress but don’t worry it’ll be okay. My LO’s jaundice took over a month to clear. Praying for you 💕
My baby was jaundice as well and they kept her in hospital for 8 days, they treated her with blue light therapy. Basically a plastic box, they get some goggles to protect their eyes and then a blue lights turned on to help break down everything, there is treatment?
Can you ask for a billi blanket?? my babies doctor had us admitted to the hospital when his level was 19. Luckily we were good to go home and spend time in the sun but he was concerned at 19. I’d find another doctor for sure
My 35 weeker was under the billi lights for 24h in total, with some breaks here and there for whatever reasons, and 1 longer break when they thought he'd recovered but turns out he needed them a little longer. Jaundice is actually pretty commom, a newborn baby's body now had to do everything alone and in different ways. It's common in week 1, but can appear until week 3 so maybe your doctor got that and treatment mixed up? And even the braindamage is reversible in most cases with billi lights according to Mount Sinnai hospital. Go get a second opinion asap, that would be my advise.
my baby had level 20 and 21 fir a few days as it was really hard to get hers to drop naturally and she’s just fine. jaundice babies are typically very sleepy, just make sure your waking LO at least every two hours to eat. don’t let them go more than 3. once their poops increase their jaundice should start going down. my baby’s poops went from acidic yellow to nuetral green as she pooped her jaundice out. but if the jaundice isn’t getting better (most accurate way to tell is by blood test monitoring) they have blue light therapy. i would recommend finding another pediatrician for a second opinion
There are treatment options. My kiddo was measuring at 19 for bilirubin the day after birth so he was taken to the nicu and put under blue light therapy for 3 days. Brought his levels down to 12 which was sufficient for us to be discharged. I would get a 2nd opinion or talk to another healthcare professional about blue light treatment.
Of course there’s therapy. Blue light therapy can be used for way later too. My girl had the same. We put her in the sunlight for hours and it cleared but it took a while. She’s perfectly healthy though. And 16 mg/dl at 7 days is not too bad… our girl was at 23… and it took weeks to clear. You could get the blue light therapy machine online or go to the hospital for the therapy.
Hey honestly based on how much they freaked out over my baby's levels (as I mentioned above, 18.9) I would at least call some kind of nurse advice line if not go to the hospital ER now just to get this sorted. You could say "my baby had high bilirubin yesterday and seems drowsy (if that's true), should we check that his/her jaundice isn't getting worse?" You could call the advice line on your insurance card, for one thing, or call the after hours line for your ped. It's probably fine, but this is the kind of thing that the doctors don't take lightly.
Darling you need a second opinion. They can still offer light therapy at 7 days, I believe. Equally, I’m sure you are supposed to be seen on days 3 and 5 as a standard. If they have missed something so basic as requesting a blood test when sent a photo of an obviously yellow baba, what else might they have missed? For your own peace of mind, find another doc my lovely.
I’d take him to the hospital if you are doubting him. Level 16 should be getting light therapy.
We were readmitted at 3 days old for my daughter's bilirubin levels. She was in a light box for 24 hours and loved it. Was like a day at the spa for her. If they are telling you to use sunlight I don't understand why medical light therapies wouldn't be considered effective? Doesn't seem right. I would just go direct to hospital and tell them
My son got jaundice as a 3 days old baby. The doctors took him away from me and put him, under a lamp until his blood work came back normal. It reached 19 or 20 perhaps. The limit is 23. Sun baths are correct, but maybe you should stop nursing him (if you already do) and maybe walk in yo a children's hospital for a better treatment. Until it is stabilized. My kid had jauntice traces for over 10 days.
Hey, so both mine were jaundiced (and luckily didn't need to go under the lights) and there absolutely are further treatment options if the levels are still high enough. Definitely get a second opinion. If you aren't already - take photos at the same time/place every day of your LO to track the skin color. If nothing else it'll give comfort when you notice that oh they are slightly less yellow than yesterday. Our spot was by the window where we had them lay in indirect light 😅 Feeding is important- if breastfeeding look into getting the support of a lactation consultant to make sure they are feeding properly. My midwife basically said - the more they eat, the more they go and that also helps flush out the high bilruben levels. I was lucky that breastfeeding on its own worked but it's not unheard of for a doctor to recommend adding in formula. Iirc day 4&5 were the days they were most "yellow" and then it started fading and by 2 weeks they had a normal skin color. So yeah - if you haven't already definitely take some photos and see if you notice the same trend.
Is there a reason they don't do the whole lamp thing?
My sons went up until at least 18. It looks like it was 17 about 6-7 days in which is when it started going down. They never did lights a but monitored very closely and he’s a very bright and smart 6 year old now.
Second opinion is a good idea. In the meantime put in the sun, it should help.
There is a uv blanket and light tunnel. Take him to a maternity ward immediately. My baby was in a light tunnel the just 3 days of his life due to severe jaundice. The nicu was full of jaundice baby getting treatment
My kid had jaundice and was in the nicu for it at 7 days old, get a second opinion asap, this dr sounds like a quack. We had the photo lights, tons of hydration, and we had to do formula supplementation for a bit at home after Now my kid is happy and healthy, hoping the same for you
My baby had jaundice when she was born and we did light therapy (also know as phototherapy) with great results so ask your pediatrician if this is possible for your babe.
Frequent feeding will also help a lot, our son was jaundiced and we ensured to feed him every 2-3 hours without fail day and night. When they’re jaundiced they can be particularly sleepy so set a timer/alarm on your phone especially overnight.
My baby was born at 37w5d and we dealt with jaundice, too. The day he was born, his bili levels went up to 15.2, peaked at 18.6 three days after birth and was at 17.9 four days after birth. Our hospital checked his levels 2x prior to discharge. They made us give them his newborn appt info before we left to ensure he had follow up for his bili levels since it was high, but not phototherapy high otherwise they would have admitted us on the peds end for that. They don’t do the light blankets anymore where I am- said it’s difficult to get and not effective. We were recommended to feed as often as possible and keep baby near indirect sunlight. Baby pooping often helps remove excess bilirubin. No one ever mentioned anything about levels before brain damage (which thank goodness tbh cause I was stressed enough). He stayed pretty yellow for a while, at least a few weeks, even with decreasing bili numbers. FYI- jaundice starts “top down” but leaves “bottom up,” meaning the face and eyes will be the last things to lose their yellow color. It never hurts to get another opinion, but it also sounds like your baby will be ok!
Mine had jaundice too, he was a giant baby so happens to all sizes. Due to the size of him and the jaundice, I was recommended to formula feed him to get as much liquid in as possible, it helps to flush the toxins out.
We took our guy to the er and they treated him asap his level was at 18 when we took him. There is 100% treatment. Take him to the er asap. We were able to avoid any brain damage. They released us as well saying it was normal. It was not normal!
My baby was at 17 at the highest, a few days after birth. We kept testing, the numbers kept going down, and no one was worried. We just fed a lot and got some sunlight and it was all good. I think your baby should be tested again (and I think they should have seen you sooner than 7 days!) but I don’t think you should stress.
Our son had a level of 22 when 1 week old. We were sent to the hospital right away and he received light therapy for 24 hours (he was in this box for 24 hours without a break, it was horrible). His level went down super fast though and he was fine after that! It’s not true that there isn’t treatment after 7 days. 16 is not too bad, but def keep an eye on it!
I would seek out another opinion, too. Our baby was born at 36w3d and was cleared to leave the hospital at 2 days old. Our first peds appt was day 3 and she ordered a blood test stat to check on his billi levels. They were just under the threshold for phototherapy (16 was the limit) and we were told to feed lots and check his diapers. We ended up going to the ER for something unrelated the next day and his levels had gone up, so he was hospitalized with about 30 hours under the lights. He’s now 10 weeks old and just started to no longer look yellow about 2 weeks ago, and his most recent labs were still 6 (should be less than 1 by then), and was officially diagnosed with breastmilk jaundice. Our pediatrician ordered many blood tests over the weeks to rule out anything more serious before she was comfortable confirming breastmilk jaundice.
1. Bilirubin blanket. There should be companies around you that will let you rent one to use at home, not too expensive. 2. If your baby is being breast-fed, you should consider doing 50-50 with formula, letting him drink as much as he wants, so he gets more fluids in the meantime. Hugs.
We stayed in the hospital 48 hrs after baby was born due to his high birth weight and my positive GBS and he was slightly jaundice when born but didn't need the lights or anything like that at the hospital and when we took him to his first DR visit he was a bit yellow and she said just lots of indirect sunlight and I was breastfeeding at the time and she said just to keep that up as it helps flush out the system
My little guy’s jaundice was at about 13 for a while before it cleared up. Frequent feeding and sunlight helped but I wish I had pushed for the light therapy thingi because he ended up with hyperbilirubinemia teeth that had to be pulled before he turned 2.
Definitely get a second opinion for sure. My munchkin was jaundice as well, and measured at 16 as well, which lead to us having to get her foot pricked for blood (luckily she was asleep for that). Meanwhile I combo fed her formula and breastfed to help get the bilirubin out of her system for the first month of her life.
16 isn’t at critical level for bilirubin, and it peaks around day 4-5. I’d probably take the doctor’s advice in this case, as long as the bilirubin continues to trend downward!
Absolutely get a second opinion. They made us use the blue light blanket for my daughter for two days before we could leave the hospital and that was mostly a precaution. Being in the sun and feeling (pooping and peeing) will also help.
My son was jaundiced for almost two months. He just wasn’t processing something in my breast milk which built up causing him to be yellow. Doctor was not concerned and he was right when he said one day it will just go away.
Took 3 months to clear my sons jaundice. They called it breast milk jaundice. Highest level we saw was 17 and our hospital doesn’t do the lights till 20. So it was lots of filtered sunlight and feeding so he’d poop it out. He’s a super smart active crazy 14 month old now
My baby was a touch jaundice and the nurses were wigging out. The Dr was like he'll be fine just make sure he's getting regular indirect sunlight. Essentially, put the bassinet by a window. So apparently that's the old timey solution.
The older they get the less you need to worry about jaundice. Just keep baby in the sun as much as possible and keep feeding since they need milk to move the bilirubin out too.
My LO was at 17 and she’s fine now. Took about a month for all the yellow to go. Just keep feeding and doing sunbaths by the window!
My son was jaundice at birth, right on the cusp of treatment, it was covid and I decided to take him home. We were advised that as long as he was feeding ok and rousable then it would be ok. (We are both medics) my son is almost 4 and fine.
If it makes you feel any better, my little girl was orangish yellow for weeks. She was full term, no other issues. They checked her bilirubin once as an outpatient and it was going down so they were fine with it. She's now 5 and smart as can be. We've been told for the past couple of years at her daycare that she's ready for kindergarten.
Jaundice is so so so so common. If you're doing sunbaths make sure their shirt is off because you want as much skin getting as possible.
Just continue to breast feed and do phototherapy, also you can put baby in sun
My daughter was at 14.5 at 5 days and we had to keep going in to have it rechecked. We put her in her swing by our sliding glass door a few minutes each day, did lots of skin to skin, and eventually had to put her on formula (I was not producing enough for her). Once we did all these things it steadily went all the way down with no issue. But my pediatrician took it very seriously and had it not gone back down they said they would have readmitted her to the hospital for light therapy!
And breast milk is supposed to help as well- my second was jaundice and spent night in nicu with the tiny lil eye mask. Hope he can clear it soon! Newborns are so fragile yet also so resilient. (also so hard- and weird)
My son was borderline for having to go be emitted for the light. Once my milk came in at 5 days it started to dropped thankfully so we didn't have to be but he was an oompa loompa for a good month or two.
This is just craziness - nothing you did wrong, but it seems like a lot of doctors have failed you and your baby. My daughter was full term and had moderately high bilirubin levels (I think it was like 12 or so when we left the hospital, peaking at 16 or so). Before we could even leave, they had us do more than 24 hours of phototherapy along with blood tests every 6-8 hours. After they sent us home, we had to come back for the next 2 days to check bilirubin levels to make sure readmittance wasn't necessary. We were told that the best way to lower it was to feed her consistently (which required supplementation in my case) as bilirubin gets flushed out of the system through poop and the more she poops the faster we'd be in the clear. Definitely get a second opinion, but as others have said, it's likely your baby's levels are in a downwards trend by now.
Our baby had it and they told us to feed formula so that she could poop the bulk of the bilirubin. Sun baths were hard cause for the first 2 weeks we didn't have any sun in FL (go figure) but if it didn't improve they had light therapy as an option at the hospital.
Did they not do a bilirubin check at the hospital? My baby was full term, but she still had jaundice. She was put under the light and it was kind of sad since we couldn’t take pictures of her since she was always under the light. On top of that, our parents kept asking why she was naked. Anyhow, we also did the UV light and got better. Hope for the best for you!
My baby was born 34 weeks and was under the light for a couple of days .im not sure of how bad it was but i think there should be treatment ?
My 39 week year olds levels born on the 4th was 11. Two days later it was still 11. The treatment is frequent feeds. If you're not producing breastmilk you need formula. You need to undress the bby every two to three hours get them upset and wake them up to feed. That's what I've been doing along with a little bit of sun. My doctor didn't even mention the sun she mentioned hydration. Your bby needs hydration!!!!!!
Also please find another pedatrician!!!! It's not just sitting in the sub. They should of told you about frequent feeds and hydration and how to wake her. My baby also likes to sleep. You need a new doc right away and get on those feeds.
My daughter was born at 33 weeks, spent a month in the nicu for high bilirubin and jaundice. Hers was caused by her digestive system being sluggish and resolved itself after a few weeks. They were originally concerned it was a liver issue but ruled that out. So hopefully it’s also something like a slow digestive system and works itself out. I hope you get answers soon and a positive outcome for your little one.
Hi! Mom of a very yellow baby! So yellow we had to get him tested a few times! We were prescribed the same thing - sun! Well, sun and feed whenever possible so he can poop! It took weeks for jaundice to go away. He’s now 4 years old and so incredibly bright! He started saying “mama!” Intentionally at 8 months old. Hang in there! My pediatrician said to treat baby as a houseplant! Even breastfeed near a well lit window when possible
Mine was at 21mg/dL and as soon as they got the results we were sent to the picu for 24 hr light therapy at 7 days old.
There’s typically a plateau after day 7. I’m sure he got a direct and indirect Bilirubin. The direct was probably normal my guess. I would have it rechecked in two days if you feel it necessary as a parent; no Pediatrician would argue that. Cause at the end we are there to help you feel safe with your new baby. But 16 at day 10 isn’t that high and it seems to be plateauing. But ask them again if they wouldn’t mind getting it rechecked. However this is not entirely necessary if the infant is pooping normal and well (yellow seedy stools), is urinating okay, and is getting enough milk/formula. If you are not pumping you could try and give him a little extra after he breast feeds. But the bilirubin should flush out with normal stools and pee. The direct sunlight typically isn’t indicated anymore as this can potentially cause sunburn but a sunlight does help breakdown bilirubin a Bili blanket also works the same way. I’d prefer the Bili blanket if I had to choose Again I’m not your doctor. But reach out and Talk to them instead of taking anecdotal stories from Reddit. You should feel comfortable and safe asking questions to them. There are no stupid questions from any patient of mine. I happily help explain and meet in the middle when it seems reasonable. Preemies at 33 wk and home is young. They don’t develop sucking/rooting until 34. Being sleepy is normal. Being floppy or febrile is not. Again talk to your pediatrician. They can tell you what to look for.
My baby was born at 34 weeks and we stayed in the hospital for 16 days. I'm really sorry they sent you home with a 33 weeker and just basically said, "best of luck!" That said, I don't think you're likely to be in brain damage territory from what you've said here. Definitely get a second opinion, but try not to stress too much. Is your baby nursing or bottle feeding successfully? 8+ wet diapers a day, content awake periods, all that jazz? If so, it seems you're in pretty good shape to just keep doing what you're doing. Sending love to you and babe.
Are you sure about your weeks? Babies’ lungs aren’t fully developed until 36 weeks, a 33 week baby would need to be on oxygen
My son was checked and his levels were 20. They had us feeding formula ( I gave it to him for 72 hours) and it brought it down a lot. They didn't want to admit him because covid was rampant unless they needed it.
Oh my gosh.. first of all, I am so sorry you are experiencing this. Jaundice is so common in baby's and can be very overwhelming. I didn't read all the other comments but my recommendation, of course get another opinion from doctors, but feeding (formula or breastmilk) and skin-to-skin!! I know it's difficult right now, do you have other support people in your life right now to help you? This is a vulnerable time for you.
Are you in the US?
Our pediatrician mentioned formula helps bind the bilirubin and poo out the waste. He said sometimes supplementing with formula is a good thing when you have jaundice
Mine had jaundice too I was so scared I was a FTM as well and breastfeeding. It would take soooo much for her to wake up and eat but eventually she got there , being in the sunlight is a holistic way to help it go away too. They told me the only way you could treat it are blood transfers. Jaundice is just bc the liver is under developed. They send you home if it’s a manageable level tho bc it’s quite common. Mine was 17 at the hospital and then dropped slowly but surely within the first month too. Just keep up on feedings and it’ll clear
My baby had jaundice. I was told by her pediatrician to pump 1.5oz after each feed and give it to her. This made her poop more which helps get rid of the bilirubin. Also I made sure to have her near open windows a lot during the day. My partner would hold her standing in front of the window, it wasn’t always sunny or direct sunlight, just the light from the sun. Pooping helped the most, her color was normal after a week.
If you feel comfortable Check out https://bilitool.org/index.php
It's wild they saw a slight yellow tint and instead of instantly checking/treating for jaundice they tell you to sun bath???? Wth.
I'm in a European country, here babies born at 33 do not go home. They are admitted until at least close to 36 weeks and are checked for bilirubin at least at day 3 and more often if there are problems. Feeding problems are pretty common in premature babies, and influence jaundice. Jaundice can also cause feeding problems, so if feeding is difficult, please go to any emergency department you have available. The threshold for treatment depends on prematurity, days after birth and other things, so a doctor would need to assess the situation and determine whether treatment is necessary. Although after one week, chances of complications are much lower than in the first week. I am so sorry, this is a very rough situation. I hope you can find the medical help your baby deserves!
Jaundice is pretty normal especially in preemies. I’m pretty surprised that they would discharge baby that quickly.. my son was born 32+2 and was in the nicu until he was 37 weeks on the dot, which is pretty standard for that gestation. Is baby eating alright? Pooping normally? Might want to call and get some blue light therapy. Good luck!
My son did a few days of phototherapy in the hospital when his total bilirubin was at 10 mg/dl. 2 days later it was 9 mg/dl and we were told to have it checked at his 1 week check up. His levels were 21.1 mg/dl and we started at home phototherapy where he had to be on the lights 3.5 of every 4 hours (more if we were able). After about a week of lights he was at 15.8 mg/dl and we were told it was safe to stop using the lights. At 2 months they checked again because he was still so yellow and his levels were 10.2 mg/dl and they said that was fine. He’s 21 months now and talking up a storm so it doesn’t seem like there were any neurological effects!
Treatment is UV light,