Jaundice is a common, temporary. and usually harmless condition in newborn infants. It affects both full-term and premature babies, usually appearing during the first week of the baby's life.

Jaundice occurs when there is a build-up of a naturally occurring substance in the blood called bilirubin . Bilirubin is an orange/red pigment in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells. It is normal for everyone to have low levels of bilirubin in their blood. As bilirubin begins to build up, it deposits on the fatty tissue under the skin causing the baby's skin and whites of the baby's eyes to appear yellow.

Your doctor may prescribe the biliblanket as an alternative and/or additional treatment for you child's jaundice. This system uses fiber optics and represents advanced technology in phototherapy treatment given in the hospital or at home.

The biliblanket provides the highest level of therapeutic light available to treat your baby. This form of light is also found in sunlight. The strength of light form the biliblanket is about the same, as you would get in the shade on a sunny day, yet is safer because the biliblanket filters out potentially harmful ultraviolet and infrared energy.

A pad of woven fibers is used to transport light from a light source to your baby. This covered fiberoptic pad is placed directly against your baby to bathe the skin in light. Absorption of this light leads to the elimination of bilirubin.

The biliblanket can be used 24 hours a day to provide continuous treatment if prescribed by your doctor. Blood may be drawn and tested during treatment to check bilirubin levels and determine when normal levels are reached and phototherapy is no longer needed.

With this convenient form of phototherapy your child can be diapered, clothed, held, and nursed during treatment.

For over 30 years, phototherapy treatment has been used in hospitals.  Hospital treatment involves rows of lights shining directly on an undressed baby (with diaper on) whose eyes would need protection from the light with soft eye patches applied.Technology advancements have led to home phototherapy treatment through the use of BiliBlankets. The blanket is tied to baby (usually on the back) and a pad of woven fibers is used to transport light to your baby.
Home treatment is quite popular with parents, doctors, and insurance companies because you avoid higher costs of inpatient treatment. With home phototherapy, your child can be diapered, clothed, held, and nursed during treatment.  Some also consider it a better option because the newborn does not have to be separated from the parents and does not need to lie alone in a box with their eyes covered.