Brief Answer:
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is common

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your query on HealthCareMagic. Your child has neonatal hyperbilirubinemia or physiological jaundice. The haemoglobin content of a newborn's blood is quite high before it is born as it has to extract oxygen from its mother's blood. But that extra haemoglobin is no longer required after birth and becomes converted into bilirubin, the rise in which by the third day causes the jaundice. There is a cut off level with respect to age in days and the birth weight, beyond which phototherapy is required. Many doctors still prefer to give phototherapy just to be on the safer side.

At the moment you may ignore the neck swelling which could be due to cystic hygroma. A subsequent ultrasound will make things more clear.

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Brief Answer:
It could be Caput Succedaneum

Detailed Answer:
To answer this question, I would need to know the mode of delivery - whether it was Cesarean or normal and if any additional devices like outlet forceps were used to assist the delivery. Often it happens that due to the pressure on a portion of the head during delivery, some amount of blood gets collected below the scalp, a condition we call Caput Succedaneum. The blood gets reabsorbed within 7-10 days usually and is not a cause of concen. However, the blood breaking down could be a source of the jaundice as in your case. The feeling is as you describe.

However, if it does not resolve, other possibilities would need to be considered. A ultrasound will make things more clear. That is the reason I asked you to ignore it at the moment. Hope that will take care of your query. Wishing your baby for a healthy life ahead.

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