Newborn babies who have jaundice may get a yellow tinge to:

If your baby has white skin, it should look normal if you gently press it with your fingertips. But if the skin looks yellow after you've pressed it, your baby may have jaundice. If your baby has dark skin, you'll need to check the whites of their eyes and the inside of their mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Porter ML, Dennis BL.
Hyperbilirubinemia in the term newborn.
American Family Physician. 2002; 65: 599-606.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Academy of Family Physicians.
For parents: common conditions in children: jaundice and your baby.
June 2006. Available at http://familydoctor.org (accessed 29 April 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

²

Jaundice usually appears when babies are two days to five days old. If you can only see the yellow tinge on the skin of your baby's face, the jaundice is probably mild. But as bilirubin builds up in your baby's blood the jaundice spreads further down your baby's body, such as to their arms and legs.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Porter ML, Dennis BL.
Hyperbilirubinemia in the term newborn.
American Family Physician. 2002; 65: 599-606.

 

 

 

 

 

¹ (To read more about bilirubin and how jaundice happens, see What is jaundice in newborn babies.)

If you think your baby has jaundice and seems to be sick (for example not feeding as well as usual) you should tell your doctor right away. This is because:

Your baby's doctor may do a blood test to check how much bilirubin is in your baby's blood.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Porter ML, Dennis BL.
Hyperbilirubinemia in the term newborn.
American Family Physician. 2002; 65: 599-606.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
American Academy of Family Physicians.
For parents: common conditions in children: jaundice and your baby.
June 2006. Available at http://familydoctor.org (accessed 29 April 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

⁴ Your doctor may also carry out other tests to find out what has caused the jaundice. The tests will help them decide if your baby needs treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Porter ML, Dennis BL.
Hyperbilirubinemia in the term newborn.
American Family Physician. 2002; 65: 599-606.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Totapally BR, Torbati D.
Neonatal jaundice.
International Pediatrics. 2005; 20: 47-54.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵

Some babies may also get jaundice within 24 hours of being born or have jaundice for longer than about 10 days to two weeks. If this happens to your baby, they may need treatment. Or it may be a sign that your baby is sick for another reason. For example, your baby may have an infection.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Faber BM, Mills JF.
Early intravenous nutrition for the prevention of neonatal jaundice (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2006. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

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