Baby Olivia died when she was only five days old

The doctors in the hospital reassured them that, although Olivia was jaundiced, she was healthy enough to go home that day.

But four days later Olivia was back in hospital for a transfusion to replace all the blood in her body in a bid to save her life.

Tragically, Olivia died.

Yet her condition, kernicterus, can be prevented if warning signs are spotted and the problem is treated early.

When Olivia was born she was slightly jaundiced but nobody paid much notice to it at the time Olivia's mother, Jackie Gonzalez Jaundice check for all babies

The Chief Medical Officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, is asking the government to consider offering a blood test to screen all new babies to check for jaundice that might lead to kernicterus.

Olivia's mother, Jackie Gonzalez, believes such routine screening is vital to prevent other parents experiencing the same loss as she and her husband.

Jackie recalled: "When Olivia was born she was slightly jaundiced but nobody paid much notice to it at the time.

"We went home and on the second day we were visited by a midwife and a GP who both noticed the jaundice and made a note of it, but still did not consider it to be important.

Warning signs

"The thing about her during those early days was she was very sleepy. She slept rather too much. But at the time I did not realise that this was important, because all babies are different.

"She wasn't feeding particularly well either."

Jackie said that because Olivia had naturally olive skin - being of Indian and South American descent - it was difficult to spot how severe her jaundice was at the beginning.

But after four days, Olivia's jaundice had become severe and a visiting midwife recommended she go into hospital for a blood test to check her bilirubin level - the waste product in the body that causes jaundice and kernicterus.

Jackie said: "She was verging on the colour of an orange by this stage.

"Her bilirubin level at the time of testing was 760 which is a very, very dangerously high level which would have been causing severe damage to all her organs and to her brain."

Warning symptoms and signs Severe jaundice - particularly in the first 24 hours of life Impaired consciousness Abnormal muscle tone Spasms in the head, neck and spine Seizures

On her fifth day, Olivia died, despite medical treatment to correct the bilirubin imbalance.

Jackie said: "The message that needs to get across to everybody is that jaundice can be very serious, particularly in the first 48 hours of life.

"A very simple blood test could be offered as routine and would put parents' minds at rest. Had there been a routine test on our child when she was born or even within a day it would have shown up that her bilirubin level was too high."

She said parents should look out for any warning signs in their newborn babies - poor feeding, lethargy, abnormal movements, spasms, seizures and jaundice - and to seek help immediately.

"The main symptoms for any mother is not good feeding, feeding for five minutes and then losing interest, sleeping too much and of course the golden yellow colour," said Jackie.