My newborn is yellow — should I be worried?

मेरा नवजात पीला है — क्या चिंता की बात है?

Your baby is two days old and you notice their skin looks yellow — and perhaps their eyes too. The nurses have mentioned “jaundice.” You are tired, anxious, and someone just used a medical word you have never had to think about before.

Here is a plain explanation of what is happening, what it means, and when it becomes something to act on.

हिन्दी में पढ़ें: नीचे इस पूरे लेख का हिंदी अनुवाद है।

What is newborn jaundice?

Jaundice is a yellow colouring of the skin and the whites of the eyes. In newborns, it happens because of a substance called bilirubin — a yellow pigment that is produced when the body breaks down old red blood cells.

Every human being produces bilirubin. In adults, the liver processes it efficiently. In a newborn, the liver is still maturing — so bilirubin builds up faster than the liver can clear it, and the skin turns yellow.

This is called physiological jaundice — it is a normal part of being a newborn. It usually appears on day 2 or 3 of life, peaks around day 4–5, and fades by about 2 weeks in full-term babies.

When is it harmless?

Most jaundice in healthy, full-term babies requires nothing more than monitoring. The main thing we watch is the level of bilirubin in the blood, measured with a simple blood test.

Mild jaundice, appearing after 24 hours of life in a healthy full-term baby, with a level well below the treatment threshold — this is usually fine. Feeding well, passing urine and stools, and otherwise behaving normally are all reassuring signs.

When does it need treatment?

Treatment is needed when the bilirubin level rises too high. The concern is that very high bilirubin can cross into the brain and cause a condition called kernicterus — a form of brain damage that is entirely preventable if jaundice is caught and treated in time.

We treat jaundice with phototherapy — special blue-spectrum lights that break down bilirubin in the skin. Your baby lies under the lights, usually in a bassinet, with their eyes protected. It is painless, effective, and in most cases works within 24–48 hours.

Very occasionally, if levels are extremely high, an exchange transfusion is needed — but this is rare when jaundice is monitored properly from the start.

Warning signs — call us immediately if:

• Jaundice appears in the first 24 hours of life (this is never normal)
• The yellow colour is spreading to the arms, legs or palms
• Your baby is very sleepy, limp, or difficult to wake for feeds
• Your baby is not feeding, or has had very few wet nappies
• The jaundice is still present at 3 weeks in a full-term baby
• Your baby’s stools are pale or white, or urine is very dark (this suggests a liver problem, not simple jaundice)

Causes that need extra attention

Most jaundice is physiological. But some causes push bilirubin higher and faster:

• Blood group mismatch between mother and baby (ABO or Rh incompatibility)
• Infection (neonatal sepsis)
• Prematurity — premature babies have more immature livers and need lower treatment thresholds
• Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency — a common inherited enzyme deficiency, especially in boys, that can cause sudden severe jaundice
• Breastfeeding jaundice — jaundice that persists beyond 2 weeks in a breastfed baby is usually harmless, but needs to be evaluated to rule out serious causes

What you should do

If your newborn looks yellow, do not wait and watch at home. Get the bilirubin level checked. It is a quick blood test, often done with a heel-prick. The level tells us exactly where we are and whether treatment is needed.

Do not stop breastfeeding unless specifically told to. Frequent feeding actually helps clear bilirubin.

At Aria Healthcare, we check bilirubin levels, provide phototherapy in our NICU, and follow up until the jaundice has fully resolved. If there is an underlying cause, we investigate it.

हिन्दी में — नवजात पीलिया क्या है और क्या करें

नवजात पीलिया क्या है?

जन्म के बाद शिशु की त्वचा और आँखों का सफ़ेद हिस्सा पीला हो जाना — इसे पीलिया कहते हैं। यह बिलीरुबिन नामक एक पीले रंग के पदार्थ के जमा होने से होता है। नवजात का कलेजा (लिवर) अभी पूरी तरह विकसित नहीं होता, इसलिए बिलीरुबिन जमा हो जाता है।

अधिकांश पीलिया सामान्य है और अपने-आप ठीक हो जाता है — आमतौर पर 2 सप्ताह में।

कब चिंता करें — तुरंत डॉक्टर के पास जाएं यदि:

• जन्म के पहले 24 घंटे में ही पीलापन हो
• पीलापन हाथों-पैरों की हथेलियों तक फैल रहा हो
• शिशु बहुत सुस्त हो, दूध न पी रहा हो
• पेशाब बहुत कम हो, या मल सफ़ेद/पीला हो
• 3 सप्ताह बाद भी पीलिया बना रहे

इलाज: बिलीरुबिन का स्तर अधिक होने पर फोटोथेरेपी (नीली रोशनी) दी जाती है। यह दर्दरहित और प्रभावी इलाज है।

स्तनपान बंद न करें — जब तक डॉक्टर न कहें।

आरिया हेल्थकेयर में — हम बिलीरुबिन जाँच, NICU में फोटोथेरेपी एवं पूर्ण ठीक होने तक देखभाल करते हैं।

Dr. Raman Kumar is a Paediatrician with over 40 years of experience in Deoghar, and Director of Aria Healthcare.