The rule of thumb that I use is related to both intensity of color & what body
parts are jaundiced. Jaundice 1st appears on the face/eyes, moves down the
trunk of the body then out to the extremities & finally the hands & feet.  So
if the jaundice is in the face & chest only...it's usually insignificant. It's
also important to look at the color in natural light rather than artificial
light.  Other important considerations are gestational age, birth age, weight,
blood type-Rh or ABO set up and baby's intake & output.

I try to stress to parents the importance of 10 feedings/24 hr. I don't
usually recommend sunlight-I seem to remember that some study/studies showed
that the amount of time a baby spent in sunlight made no significant impact on
the reduction of jaundice. More important was at least 10 feeds/day. I get
really annoyed when some nurses want parents to feed baby in 30 min. and
return to phototherapy for 2 hrs 30 min before the next feed. On this schedule
they only get 9 feeds in 24 hrs and limited time at breast. I try to stress
that the feedings are just as (or more so) important as the lights.

Some people are determined to separate the babies from the parents! That's
what gets so many babies in trouble in the 1st place!!!!

Laura Hart, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Winter Park FL . . . where it is good to escape to the fantasy of Disney World
when reality sometimes seems distorted.