Calcium Deposits And Jaundice In The Premature Baby

Approximately 12.8 percent of U.S. infants enter the world before the 37th week of pregnancy, the March of Dimes reports. At least 80 percent of premature babies experience some degree of jaundice, according to the Kids Health website. Jaundice, a yellow tint to the skin and eye caused by high bilirubin levels, results from the normal breakdown of red blood cells after birth. Calcium deposits can occur in many organs, including the skin. Jaundice and calcium deposits are nonspecific symptoms; many different disorders can cause them.

Calcium Deposits

Calcium deposits can occur in organs such as the brain, heart, lungs, pancreas, liver or skin and can indicate serious diseases; they might also be harmless, depending on the number of calcium deposits, their location and other abnormalities seen in the newborn. Small calcium deposits inside the mouth, called Epstein pearls, are common in newborns. Calcium deposits are seen in the hearts of 3 to 5 percent of fetuses on ultrasound, according to the Permanente Medical Group, and are considered a normal variation. Some children with Down syndrome have calcium deposits in their hearts, but calcium deposits alone do not diagnose Down syndrome and most children with calcium deposits do not have Down syndrome.

Jaundice

Jaundice is usually a temporary finding in newborns and resolves on its own within two weeks after birth. In some cases, newborns may need phototherapy to break down the bilirubin to prevent levels from rising too high. Jaundice can occur in more serious conditions such as Rh incompatibility, caused by your baby having a different blood type than yours, by infection or by congenital disorders.

TORCH Testing

TORCH is an acronym for toxoplasmosis, other agents, rubella, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus. Symptoms such as jaundice, abnormally small size, low platelet levels, enlarged spleen and liver and calcium deposits on the brain in a newborn can indicate a need for TORCH testing, which looks for antibodies in the blood that indicate an infection with these diseases.
Cytomegalovirus affects about 1 percent of babies born in the United States, according to the National Congenital CMV Disease Registry. Toxoplasmosis affects 1 in 1,000, herpes simplex infects between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 5,000 and congenital rubella occurs even more rarely, in around 1 in 10,000 newborns, due to widespread immunization, the Encyclopedia of Nursing & Allied Health states.

Considerations

Taken separately, these three symptoms may have no relation to one another. Your premature newborn is much more likely to have jaundice than not. Calcium deposits are worrisome only if they occur in certain locations and in conjunction with other symptoms. TORCH testing may be done on infants with a group of symptoms that, taken together, may indicate a congenital infection. If your child does have a congenital infection, early diagnosis will aid in early treatment and prevention of complications.

Calcium Deposits and Jaundice in the Premature Baby