Harnessing Sunlight Safely for Newborn Care: Balancing Risks and Benefits in Resource-Limited Settings

Growing global interest in solar energy has renewed attention to sunlight exposure and its health effects. Although sunlight contains harmful ultraviolet radiation (UVR), controlled exposure has preventive and therapeutic benefits. In many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, newborns are traditionally exposed to early-morning sunlight to prevent vitamin D deficiency and help treat neonatal jaundice. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to nutritional rickets, while untreated severe jaundice may cause serious complications such as brain damage, deafness, cerebral palsy, or death. However, most clinical guidelines discourage sunlight exposure because of the potential risks of dehydration, hyperthermia, sunburn, and long-term skin cancer. This creates a dilemma in resource-limited settings where vitamin D supplements, specialised healthcare, and conventional phototherapy for jaundice are often unavailable or unreliable due to cost, poor maintenance, or electricity shortages. Recent clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa suggest that filtered-sunlight phototherapy, which blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation while allowing therapeutic blue light when irradiance is optimal, can safely and effectively treat neonatal jaundice. This approach may also provide vitamin D benefits. Further research, improved screening for jaundice, and clear clinical guidance are needed to facilitate the safe and effective use of controlled sunlight exposure for optimal newborn care.