Newborn Care in a New Light

At an elevation of 7,220 feet above sea level, Ivinson’s pediatric teams, especially in the Women and Children’s Center, are familiar with newborns acclimating to life beyond the womb in high altitudes. Occasionally, these transitions demand additional care and attention for our tiniest patients.

Billi-Hut, a new treatment light designed for newborns in need of jaundice treatment, is making phototherapy treatment more tolerable for newborns and their sleep deprived parents that are still navigating the first few days with a newborn baby.

​“At our higher altitude we do have a higher occurrence of jaundice in newborns,” Women and Children Clinical Manager Nicole Vasquez, RN said. ​“We test bilirubin levels of all of our newborns at 24 hours of age to identify newborns with higher levels that may require treatment.”

Newborn jaundice is a common condition that affects as many as 80 percent of newborns in their first week of life. The term ​“jaundice” refers to a yellowing of the skin, caused by a substance called bilirubin, which is made normally in the body. Babies with higher than normal blood levels of bilirubin (hyperbilirubinemia) may experience this yellowing when bilirubin builds up in the skin. High bilirubin levels require medical intervention, which primarily consist of phototherapy and support in breastfeeding or formula feeding to help newborns process bilirubin out of their systems. 

Phototherapy in a New Light

At Ivinson, phototherapy treatment is being seen in a new light, a Bili-hut phototherapy light, to be exact.

Phototherapy is the most common medical treatment for Newborn Jaundice, which requires a newborn’s skin surface to be exposed to a specific wavelength of blue light for a prolonged period of time at high intensity. This light breaks down bilirubin, making it easier for newborns to process and eliminate through regular bowel movements.

In the U.S. 400,000 newborns reach bilirubin levels that are high enough to require phototherapy. Ivinson’s Women and Children Center is the only facility in Wyoming to currently be using the Bili-Hut phototherapy technology, thanks to funding made available by the Ivinson Foundation.

​“We are excited that we have this new technology,” Pediatrician Daiva Olipra, MD said. ​“It is simple to use, comfortable for baby to lie in, less stressful for the baby and for their parents. The Bili-Huts look natural, like they were made to comfortably hold a baby, that was not the case with the traditional lights.”

The Bili-Hut is an FDA approved phototherapy device that looks similar to a bassinet with a curved canopy that covers the torso and extremities and radiates phototherapy light.

“With the Bili-Hut, more surface area of the newborn is exposed to the light because of the curved light and enclosure technology,” said Little Sparrow Technologies Clinical Application Specialist, Sharla Hassing, RN.

Made to be portable, these devices are available in-room at Ivinson, meaning babies are able to receive treatment with their parents in the room while both mom and baby recover from birth.

“With the Bili-Hut, it’s enclosed and bendable. It folds over like a little tent or hut over the baby,” explained Clinical Manager Nicole Vasquez. ​“The lights and enclosure keep them a little warmer than the lights that we used previously that are overhead lights or in a phototherapy bed where they are exposed to the elements.”

The Bili-Hut semi-enclosure design creates an environment that is eight degrees warmer than the ambient temperature.

“Babies can’t regulate their temperature very well, so the Bili-Hut keeps them a little more enclosed and helps them stay at a good temperature for them to be comfortable and better tolerate the treatment they need,” Nicole said.

For parents and hospital care teams alike, the comfort and tolerable conditions for babies is a big satisfier.

​“My background of taking care of babies with jaundice is in the hospital — they are naked, they are in a diaper, they are screaming and the entire room is glowing blue,” Sharla with the Bili-Hut team said. ​“The blue light used to treat bilirubin (hyperbillirubia) in babies actually disrupts the circadian rhythm of grown-ups. It can trigger migraines. So these parents are upset — they have experienced trauma after just giving birth and now we are putting them in this room full of this light that isn’t good for them.”

Decreased light pollution in the room, in addition to new swaddle technology, is getting more light to the newborn and making for more effective treatment. The sparrow-swaddle is a baby swaddle similar in shape and compression to traditional swaddles but is made of mesh to allow 90 percent of phototherapy light to pass through and reach the baby.

Faster Treatment Times

According to a new white paper by Bili-Hut, Bili-Hut users are experiencing shorter treatment times than the traditional phototherapy treatment options due to effectiveness and increased tolerance made possible by comfort. Traditional treatments that may take 3 – 5 days, Bili-Hut is achieving results in as little as 12 hours of treatment time.

Resources

Medscape
https://​emed​i​cine​.med​scape​.com…

Mayo Clinic
https://​www​.may​oclin​ic​.org/dis…

Little Sparrows Technologies
https://​bit​.ly/​L​i​t​t​l​e​S​p​a​r​rowsT…