Warm greetings to all content writers and consumers on hive. I have been away for too long I am begin to wonder whether I still remember the way things are done on this platform. Please be gentle with me dear reader if I don't dot all the i's and cross all the t's . I trust I will get it right by and by.
Starting from today, I will be sharing some of my experiences on the journey of parenthood on this platform. Who knows, it my resonate with someone out there and give them hope or enlighten them.
Today, as the title of the post already revealed, I will be writing about how jaundice threatened our bundle of Joy.
We were still in the celebration mood for the successful delivery of our newborn baby after the discharge of my wife from a private hospital, the government hospital where my wife registered for ante-natal being on strike on the day we needed them most- the day of her delivery (a story that we have to wait for another time lest I bore my reader), when a doctor friend of our family visited to rejoice with us.
On carrying the baby, she examined him closely and informed us that the baby is jaundiced. My wife who was more observant than myself had suspected the same at the hospital and informed the nurse who was attending to her but she dismissed her fear saying it is nothing to worry about. she said exposure to early morning sun will correct it and the baby will be fine.
But when our doctor friend hinted that we may have to take the baby back to the hospital, we were disturbed in no little measure partly because of the financial implication and partly because of uncertainty relating to the hospital where the baby was to be treated.
On getting to the hospital, the doctor in the neonatal ward explained to us that three out of every five newborn babies suffers from jaundice. He went further to explain to us that there were two types of jaundice- physiological and pathological jaundice.
According to this doctor, physiological jaundice is nothing to worry about. He explained that a newborn liver is not yet mature enough to break down bilirubin therefore the bilirubin level of a baby may be high resulting in the yellowing of the eyes and the skin. But as the baby grows, the liver mature and therefore breakdown the bilirubin.
If a baby however suffers from pathological jaundice, it is an indication that there are underlying problems that require urgent and serious medical attention.
After the brief explanation, we were asked to pay for a test that was to determine the bilirubin level of the baby. I eventually lost count of the number of times we had to conduct this test before our baby was finally given a clean bill of health.
The first result showed that the baby bilirubin level to be 221. The doctor said it was in the borderline between physiological and pathological jaundice. He therefore recommended aggressive breastfeeding. This was after verifying that we do not use menthol, camphor and a few other chemical products mainly as bathing soap or scent.
We took the baby home and returned to the hospital the next day as required by the doctor for another bilirubin test. By this time the baby was about 5 days old if my memory serve me well.
The result showed an increase in the bilirubin level. Therefore the doctor on duty recommended phototherapy. The baby's face was covered with plaster and his clothing was removed except for his diaper.
The light will assist the baby in breaking down the bilirubin in his body to a low level pending the time the liver mature enough to handle the job.
At this point, I cannot but mention the divergent opinions among the doctors that attended to the baby and between orthodox medicine and traditional medicine practitioners.
Among the medical doctors that attended to the baby, there appear to be those who felt the baby was just being stressed because there was no cause for alarm as the bilirubin level vis-à-vis his age is still within acceptable level. The other school of thought to which our doctor friend and some other doctors attending to the baby belong warn of serious health implication if preventive measures are not taken immediately.
While shuttling between the hospital and home, I met with traditional medicine practitioners who boasted to me that if my wife would take water in which unripe pawpaw have been soaked, it will cure the jaundice without any further ado.
When I asked a doctor about the claim of the traditional medicine practitioners he explained to me that as far as medical science is concerned, those claimed have been refuted.
In summary, we spent a week in the hospital, it was like a month for the stress we went through even to pay for money, perform a test to mention a few instances. Eventually, the baby was discharge though still under monitoring as we were given appointment to bring the baby to the hospital for check up. In all, we have reasons to rejoice again because the baby is doing well.
Thank you for stopping by
References
Bilirubin Lowering Potential of Aqueous Carica Papaya Extract in Induced Jaundice in Rats