Jaundice

Kylie looked yellowish on Sunday and was taken to the doctors. She was sent to Tarzana Regional Medical Center where she was admitted to the PICU unit. Bethany has been staying with her at the hospital. Nearly all infants are jaundiced to some degree. Jaundice occurs when a yellow pigment called “bilirubin” accumulates in the tissue, especially the skin, where you can see it as a yellowish or orangish tint. Before babies are born, they need high levels of red blood cells in order to get oxygen from their mother’s blood. Immediately after birth, when they begin breathing high-oxygen blood outside the womb, they no longer need their fetal hemoglobin. The red blood cells containing fetal hemoglobin now need to be broken down and eliminated from their bodies. Bilirubin is a by-product of the breakdown of these extra blood cells, and is removed from the bloodstream by the liver and excreted in the stool. It usually takes the newborn’s liver a week or two to mature enough to handle the build-up of bilirubin in the blood. Kylie's bilirubin count was 14.5 when admitted and is now down to around 9 and still going down. Bethany said her color looks great and will hopefully be going home soon. Lets all say a prayer for her.