Dr Audrey Frimpong-Barfi, Paediatrician at the Tema General Hospital, has cautioned parents and caregivers against treating jaundice in babies at home, as it can have detrimental effects on them.

Dr Frimpong-Barfi disclosed that putting the baby in the sun, as done locally to treat jaundice, was not a solution to the issue, as the jaundice could have underlying sicknesses that need to be medically treated.

Speaking to mothers and caregivers during the launch of the 2025 African Vaccination and Child Health Promotion Week by the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, she said delaying seeking medical attention could affect the infant's brain and lead to some defects, such as cerebral palsy.

"In the past, when the children's eyes turned yellow, they put them in the sun, but that is not enough because sometimes other things contribute to the jaundice. Send the child to the hospital to prevent them from developing some defects," she stressed.

She explained that some of the babies are born with jaundice, while others show it between two and three days after birth, indicating that when it is reported early to the health facilities, clinicians would investigate to find the cause and treat."

"At the hospital, the child will be put under a blue light which will do the work of the lever to correct the jaundice,” she said.
Dr Frimpong-Barfi explained that in the womb, babies have more blood, which gives them the energy to draw food from the mother through the umbilical cord.

She added that after birth, the excess blood is shed through their waste, adding, however, that because the livers of the infants were not well developed, the bilirubin, which is a yellow pigment produced during the typical breakdown of red blood cells, remains in the body, causing the jaundice.