{
  "release_id": "fc5a600ec7387e71",
  "id": "maternal:guide-newborn-jaundice-what-to-watch",
  "owner": "maternal",
  "kind": "patient_guide",
  "slug": "guide-newborn-jaundice-what-to-watch",
  "name": "Newborn jaundice: what to watch",
  "aliases": [],
  "atlases": [
    "maternal"
  ],
  "summary_plain": "What the sources say about yellow skin in newborns, how bilirubin is checked and treated, and which newborn danger signs WHO lists.",
  "summary_technical": "Patient guide for families. Every sentence cites a US government health page, a WHO guideline recommendation or a 2021 narrative review. It gives no bilirubin thresholds, treatment triggers or doses.",
  "editorial_state": "draft",
  "last_substantive_edit": "2026-10-15",
  "last_evidence_check": "2026-10-15",
  "next_review_due": "2027-04-15",
  "identifiers": [],
  "navigation": {
    "maternal": {
      "life-stage": [
        "newborn"
      ],
      "care-area": [
        "newborn-care"
      ]
    }
  },
  "payload": {
    "purpose": "explainer",
    "audience": "Parents and families of newborns, and the people supporting them",
    "about": [
      "maternal:neonatal-jaundice",
      "maternal:bilirubin-newborn",
      "maternal:phototherapy"
    ],
    "reading_grade_target": 8,
    "scope_note": "Written from US government health pages, an international guideline and a 2021 review. It states no bilirubin thresholds or treatment rules.",
    "warning_blocks": [
      {
        "heading": "WHO's danger signs for all newborns",
        "signs": [
          {
            "id": "sign-feeding",
            "text": "WHO's list includes not feeding well.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-convulsions",
            "text": "WHO's list includes a history of convulsions.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-breathing",
            "text": "WHO's list includes fast breathing, which it writes as \"breathing rate > 60 per minute\".",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-chest",
            "text": "WHO's list includes severe chest in-drawing.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-movement",
            "text": "WHO's list includes no spontaneous movement.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-fever",
            "text": "WHO's list includes fever, which it writes as \"temperature > 37.5 °C\".",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-low-temp",
            "text": "WHO's list includes low body temperature, which it writes as \"temperature < 35.5 °C\".",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "sign-jaundice",
            "text": "WHO's list includes any jaundice in the first 24 hours after birth, or yellow palms and soles at any age.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "act_now": [
          {
            "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
            "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)",
            "words": "parents and family should be encouraged to seek health care early if they identify any of the above danger signs between postnatal care visits"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "sections": [
      {
        "heading": "What jaundice is",
        "statements": [
          {
            "id": "what-yellow",
            "text": "Jaundice makes the skin and the whites of the eyes look yellow.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-jaundice-common-first-week"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "what-bilirubin",
            "text": "Too much bilirubin causes jaundice.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-jaundice-common-first-week"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "what-bilirubin-2",
            "text": "Bilirubin is a yellowish substance made when the body breaks down old red blood cells.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 1, sentence 2"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "When yellow skin is common in newborns",
        "statements": [
          {
            "id": "common-week",
            "text": "MedlinePlus says many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life, and that it usually goes away.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-jaundice-common-first-week"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "common-liver",
            "text": "Many healthy babies get jaundice because their livers have not developed enough to clear bilirubin.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 2"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "common-weeks",
            "text": "Newborn jaundice is usually not harmful and clears up within a few weeks.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 3"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "common-risk",
            "text": "In some cases, high bilirubin levels can lead to brain damage, so infants are often tested as a precaution.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 4"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "common-any-age",
            "text": "Jaundice can also happen at any age, and it may be a sign of a problem.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-jaundice-common-first-week"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "WHO's list of newborn danger signs",
        "statements": [
          {
            "id": "who-check",
            "text": "WHO recommends assessing a newborn for a list of danger signs at each postnatal care contact.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "who-refer",
            "text": "WHO recommends referring the newborn for further evaluation if any sign on the list is present.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "who-jaundice",
            "text": "One of the eight signs is about jaundice: any jaundice in the first 24 hours after birth, or yellow palms and soles at any age.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "who-other",
            "text": "The other seven signs on the list are not about jaundice.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:who-9789240045989-pdf-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1)"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "How bilirubin is checked",
        "statements": [
          {
            "id": "test-what",
            "text": "A bilirubin blood test measures the amount of bilirubin in the blood.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 1, sentence 1"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "test-newborn",
            "text": "The test is commonly used to help diagnose newborn jaundice.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 1"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "test-heel",
            "text": "For a newborn, a health care professional cleans the heel and pokes it with a small needle.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What happens during a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 2, sentences 1 and 2"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "test-range",
            "text": "The results show whether the bilirubin is in the normal range, and the normal ranges can vary from lab to lab.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:medlineplus-bilirubin-blood-test-2026-10-15",
                "locator": "What do the results mean?, paragraph 1, sentences 1 and 2"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "test-meter",
            "text": "In the United States, FDA cleared a skin meter, the Draeger JM-105, that reads the yellowness of tissue under a newborn's skin, and the clearance says levels should be confirmed by another method, such as a blood test, before treatment decisions.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-fda-k133175-indication"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "test-meter-use",
            "text": "The JM-105 is a prescription device and is not intended for home use.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-fda-k133175-indication"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "How jaundice is treated",
        "statements": [
          {
            "id": "treat-first",
            "text": "A 2021 review names phototherapy as the usual first treatment for newborn jaundice.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-phototherapy-first-option"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "treat-blue",
            "text": "The review says blue light therapy is used to treat newborn jaundice in most countries.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "snapshot_id": "maternal:pmc-pmc7859475-2026-10-14",
                "locator": "2. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, Treatment, paragraph 1, sentence 2"
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "treat-harms",
            "text": "The same review says some studies suggest phototherapy may cause harms in the short and long term.",
            "cites": [
              {
                "claim": "maternal:claim-phototherapy-first-option"
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "checklists": [],
    "questions": [
      {
        "text": "Which of the listed danger signs has my baby been checked for, and how often will that happen?",
        "grounded_in": [
          "who-check",
          "who-refer"
        ]
      },
      {
        "text": "Is my baby's yellow color the kind that is common in the first week, or does it need a closer look?",
        "grounded_in": [
          "common-week",
          "common-weeks",
          "common-risk"
        ]
      },
      {
        "text": "Will my baby's bilirubin be checked with a blood test, a skin meter, or both?",
        "grounded_in": [
          "test-heel",
          "test-meter"
        ]
      },
      {
        "text": "If treatment is needed, what would it involve, and what are its risks?",
        "grounded_in": [
          "treat-first",
          "treat-blue",
          "treat-harms"
        ]
      },
      {
        "text": "Which signs between visits mean I should bring my baby back?",
        "grounded_in": [
          "sign-jaundice",
          "sign-feeding"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "content_digest": "39b86efe45602743669dc501f5d63b341d4f5c14745c726084ed5cd48ad1d501",
  "review": {
    "content_digest": "39b86efe45602743669dc501f5d63b341d4f5c14745c726084ed5cd48ad1d501",
    "current": [],
    "conflicting": [],
    "stale": [],
    "inactive": []
  },
  "claims": [],
  "decisions": [],
  "milestones": [],
  "relationships": {
    "outgoing": [],
    "incoming": []
  },
  "page_path": "guides/guide-newborn-jaundice-what-to-watch/",
  "context_path": "api/v1/context/maternal--guide-newborn-jaundice-what-to-watch.md"
}