Jaundice: The nightmare for the newborn babies.

Salam,

According to Wikipedia:
Neonatal jaundice or Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a yellowing of the skin and other tissues of a newborn infant. A bilirubin level of more than 85 umol/l (5 mg/dL) manifests clinical jaundice in neonates whereas in adults a level of 34 umol/l (2 mg/dL) would look icteric. In newborns jaundice is detected by blanching the skin with digital pressure so that it reveals underlying skin and subcutaneous tissue. Jaundice newborns have an apparent icteric sclera, and yellowing of the face, extending down onto the chest.

I reckon most of you are familiar with this condition. In my own family, we had a bad experience dealing with Jaundice as my younger brother (just one year younger than me) was infected with serious jaundice when he was small. His brain had been infected when he was brought to the hospital. The doctors predicted that he wouldn't be able to walk, talk or even perform any physical activities. However he defied all the odds and now he can work, ride a motorbike and doesn't depend on anybody to survive. He only has the flaws in his speech and maybe he's quite slow in learning.

Both of my elder daughters also had jaundice but they were never admitted. We were asked to observe and repeatedly asked to bring them to the nearest clinic to check the birilubin level. So, last Friday (another weekend in the same hospital), we had to bring Husna to be warded. She was put under the phototherapy  treatment. I had to be with her in the ward since she only drinks breast milk. She couldn't sleep well under the bright light. Her eyes were covered with the eye pads and she could only wear the diaper. At night, she woke up every hour and by morning, I felt so exhausted and sleepy. We spent 2 days and 2 nights in the Neonatal Ward before Husna was discharged due to the huge drop of birilubin level.

In the ward, I met another mom who was there few hours before we arrived. Her baby had jaundice since she was born and they never really had the chance to go back home after the delivery. Her baby's condition was more severe and she had another issue with her blood. I was thankful that Husna's condition was still bearable and she only had the phototherapy treatment. The other baby had to be given some other treatments and she had to stay in the hospital a bit longer than Husna.

In the hospital, Phototherapy is the treatment that they always use to help reduce the severity of Jaundice. In the traditional treatments, there are several ways that people use to reduce it. Some use Chinese Medicine, Goat's or Horse's milk, Aloe Vera or Coconut's Water. But the most effective (but it takes longer) way is just to keep breastfeeding the baby every 2 hours or so. I believe Allah has given us the most effective tool for us to nurse our own flesh and blood.

Here are 2 photos of Husna:

On Friday 15th June (before we went to the clinic and found out that she had a high level of jaundice)

On 17th June (taken before she was discharged and also right after they switch off the phototherapy)

P/S: I spent 3 consecutive weekends in the hospital. I'm praying hard that this weekends I can spend it at home with the others. Plus this Friday is Hafizah's birthday. So, we might do something special at home.