Child health experts have called for mandatory jaundice screening for all newborns before they are discharged from hospitals, warning that early detection is crucial to preventing permanent brain damage, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, learning disabilities, and death.
The paediatricians explained that neonatal jaundice, identified by the yellowing of a baby’s eyes and skin, is both preventable and treatable. However, delayed diagnosis, missed symptoms, poor access to healthcare, and reliance on harmful home remedies continue to claim the lives of many newborns in Nigeria.
According to the experts, the major risk factors include blood group incompatibility between mother and baby (ABO and Rhesus factor), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, prematurity, and neonatal infections. Babies with these risk factors should have their bilirubin levels monitored daily before discharge and receive immediate treatment if jaundice is detected.
Parents were advised to closely monitor newborns after leaving the hospital and seek urgent medical attention if they notice yellowing of the eyes or skin, poor feeding, unusual high-pitched crying, stiffness, arching of the neck or back, or convulsions.
The specialists also warned against common practices such as exposing babies to sunlight, giving glucose water, antibiotics, herbal mixtures, or using camphor and medicated balms, stressing that these methods do not treat jaundice and may worsen the condition. Instead, they recommended proven treatments such as phototherapy or exchange blood transfusion for severe cases.
They further urged hospitals to make bilirubin testing a standard part of newborn care before discharge.
A 2024 study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that neonatal jaundice remains one of the leading causes of newborn admissions in Nigeria, recording 3,228 cases among more than 77,000 babies across 54 referral hospitals. The study also noted that about 1.1 million newborns develop severe jaundice globally each year, with Africa bearing one of the highest burdens.
The experts emphasised that proper antenatal care, including screening for infections, malaria, blood group incompatibility, and G6PD deficiency during pregnancy, remains the first step in preventing severe neonatal jaundice and its life-threatening complications