New-born jaundice is a condition in which the skin, sclera (white of the eyes) and mucous membranes turn yellow due to the increase of bilirubin, a yellow pigment of red blood cells, in a baby’s blood, within the first 28 days of life. 

According to Dr Takyi, babies could die if the jaundice was persistent and left untreated for a long time.

She said, in some cases jaundice moved from the bloodstream into the developing brain, leaving it permanently damaged and can hinder the baby’s development. 

“The babies, when they grow up would show signs of difficulty with walking, feeding, learning, hearing challenges and sometimes they have a convulsion,” she added.

In an interview with the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Monday, Dr Takyienumerated some of the causes of new-born jaundice as liver malfunction, an incompatibility between the mother’s blood and the baby’s blood, viral or bacterial infection, inherited abnormalities in the blood of the baby, dehydration due to irregular or no breastfeeding.

She implied that the condition could be treated through phototherapy, exchange transfusion (blood in the infant is replaced with jaundice free blood) and in some rare instances surgery.  

Dr Takyi revealed that the jaundice condition was slowly on the decline for the past three years. The data showed that in 2019 about 451 babies had the ailment, in 2020, about 814 babies were found with the condition and in 2021, about 536 babies had the condition.   

Dr Takyi appealed to mothers to always be on the lookout for any changes in their babies, especially if the mother had had a baby with jaundice saying “lookout for another baby being jaundiced because depending on the cause for that first baby, there can be similar circumstances that can make another baby of yours jaundiced.”

The paediatrician further charged mothers not to hesitate in visiting the hospital when they find something wrong with their babies. 

“If you find something that doesn’t sit well with you, don’t hold back, quickly visit the nearest health facility for medical attention, where the baby can be checked, tested, and treated,” she bemoaned. 

Dr Takyi said that the treatment for jaundice using sunlight had not been scientifically proven as effective for the treatment of new-born jaundice, saying “you cannot rely on that sunlight so you have to come to the hospital for treatment.”  

She added that as part of steps to ramp up the education on jaundice, the Paediatric Society of Ghana dedicated the month of May to conduct more education on jaundice. 

Dr Takyisaid the project started about five years ago, “but we still have to do more,” as far as education is concerned. 

She said that parents needed to be educated that the phototherapy, in some instances, needed to be repeated to monitor and be sure that the bilirubin levels were reducing to a level that was safe for the baby.

Dr Takyi emphasised that the condition was common and could be treated effectively if detected early, whilst explaining that “there are types of jaundice that can clear by themselves but babies with such type still undergo phototherapy to make sure it is still not rising because it is difficult to tell till we’ve tested and are sure.” 

She added that Hepatitis could be a form of jaundice because hepatitis was an inflammation of the liver and different things cause inflammation of the liver.

“It can be a cause of jaundice especially in older people,” she said.

BY PHILOMINA OPPONG & JESSEL LARTEY THERSON-COFIE