Recent comments in /f/science

starciv14 t1_jch3qkp wrote

Ok I'm a float nurse but I work mom baby often enough to answer this.

This would be done in a panda baby warmer or equivalent, which is very comfortable for baby.

Blood tests are sent to check bilirubin level. You can simply trend labs and stop the light when it's appropriate. We know the light we use doesn't harm babies when used appropriately. We have to draw blood for many other reasons in the first 24 hours of life, so yes it's an extra heel stick or 2 for the baby.

I'm not saying we shouldn't do better and optimize here, but I just wanted to communicate that neonatal jaundice happens a lot and it's pretty easily solved the overwhelming majority of the time, unless the kiddo has something very serious going on. My little rural hospital has been doing this easily for a decade

3

CaveSquirrel1971 t1_jcgpt80 wrote

What was wrong with the "prescription" given to my mother to place my twin brothers (born with jaundice in 1954) in the sun for a few days. The condition was cured and they both have lived normal lives.

2

Kradget t1_jcgn7iz wrote

I guess I see why. If you know there's a main driver, it makes sense to assume there's a reasonable way to address it everywhere - we're kind of conditioned to expect things to scale massively and apply no matter where you are.

It's just that this isn't one of those situations, because the effects are diverse and a single solution wouldn't necessarily apply everywhere.

3