How jaundice is treated
Phototherapy
Phototherapy means “treatment with light”. The light changes the bilirubin to a form that can be passed out of the body more easily.
- Your baby will be placed naked in an isolette (baby incubator), and an eye patch will be placed over their eyes to protect them from the phototherapy lights. The isolette will keep your baby warm while they are undressed.
- A light will be placed over and sometimes beside the isolette.
- Your baby’s skin and blood will absorb the light waves and convert the bilirubin to a form that can be passed out of the body more easily.
Some hospitals also use a “biliblanket”—a blanket placed under the baby’s back—as a way to treat a baby’s jaundice with light.
Phototherapy is completely safe, but it does mean less time for skin-to-skin contact with your newborn. The health-care team may also ask you to limit your feeds to 30 minutes to give your baby as much time under the light as possible.
A repeat blood test is collected after a newborn has been treated with phototherapy to ensure that the bilirubin level is dropping with treatment.
Feeding
An increase in your baby’s milk intake will also help to treat the jaundice. The health-care team may recommend that you give your baby expressed breast milk or formula in addition to normal breastfeeding. If the jaundice is severe, your baby may need an intravenous (IV) line to give fluids into their vein.