Frequently Asked Questions

---

Jaundice in newborns is common.  The technical term is hyperbilirubinemia which simply means the body has too much (hyper) bilirubin. The liver is responsible for removing bilirubin, however; some newborns liver need to “catch up” on the processing of the excess bilirubin.  Some babies will require treatment to help the body process the excess bilirubin and a biliblanket is a possible solution.  Your baby’s health provider will determine if the treatment is necessary and therefore may recommend a machine, called a biliblanket.  

Phototherapy is treatment with a special type of light (not sunlight). It’s sometimes used to treat newborn jaundice by lowering the bilirubin levels in your baby’s blood through a process called photo-oxidation.

A biliblanket helps convert bilirubin to waste products that are excreted through stool and urine.

Every newborn is different, but most bilirubin counts can be reduced to acceptable levels in one to three days with the use of phototherapy. Austin Biliblankets uses the Skylife by NeoLight, which only requires 12 hours of daily use, rather than 24 required by most other brands.