The word jaundice is used to refer to the yellow coloration of the skin and sclera as a result of excessive bilirubin in the skin and the other mucous membranes among infants less than 28days old. The identified article is ‘The prevalence of neonatal jaundice and risk factors in healthy term neonates at National, District Hospital in Bloemfontein’ (Brits, Adendorff, Huisamen, Beukes, Botha, Herbst, & Joubert, 2018) Neonatal jaundice affects many infants globally and can result in a weak body, affect the babies’ capability to feed among other body complications (De Regnier, 2017). The aim of the study was to establish the prevalence of neonatal jaundice and later identify the risk factors that are contributing to infants developing neonatal jaundice. The study was set in a maternity ward of a national district hospital in South Africa (Brits et al, 2018). The study established that more than half of the participants had neonatal jaundice making the condition a significant infants condition to look out for before mothers and infants are discharged.
One of the main signs and symptoms of jaundice is yellowing of the skin. This sign is hard to diagnose for the children from the black race. This is because the skin pigmentation makes it hard to see the yellow coloration brought about by jaundice. The study made recommendations that the bilirubin levels need to be checked before discharge to ensure that the black babies don’t suffer from neonatal jaundice. The paper is important because it will inform and improve practice in neonatal health in the developing countries which carry the most burdens for neonatal jaundice that contributes significantly to neonatal mortality (Ullah, Rahman, & Hedayati, 2016). The paper also creates a unique angle in the management of neonatal jaundice through recommending non-invasive techniques to diagnose the condition saving the child unnecessary pain and using minimal hospital resources (Simkiss & Martin, 2012). The study is up to date and relevant in the prevention of neonatal mortality, which is prevalent in developing countries (Adoba et al., 2018).
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References
Adoba, P., Ephraim, R. K. D., Kontor, K. A., Bentsil, J-J., Adu, P., Anderson, M., Sakyi, S. A., & Nsiah, P. (2018). Knowledge Level and Determinants of Neonatal Jaundice: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. International Journal of Pediatrics 2018 (2):1-9
Brits, H., Adendorff, J., Huisamen, D., Beukes, D., Botha, K., Herbst, H., & Joubert, G. (2018). The prevalence of neonatal jaundice and risk factors in healthy term neonates at National District Hospital in Bloemfontein. African journal of primary health care & family medicine , 10(1), e1-e6. doi:10.4102/phcfm.v10i1.1582
De Regnier, R. (2017). Neonatal jaundice: more than a number. Journal of pediatrics, 183 , 2–3.
Simkiss, D., & Martin, R. (2012). Neonatal Jaund. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics , 58 (5), 339–340, https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fms051
Ullah, S., Rahman, K., & Hedayati, M. (2016). Hyperbilirubinemia in Neonates: Types, Causes, Clinical Examinations, Preventive Measures and Treatments: A Narrative Review Article. Iranian journal of public health , 45(5), 558-68.
