What is Jaundice in newborn babies?

Jaundice in newborn babies

What is jaundice in newborn babies?

When a baby has jaundice their skin and the whites of their eyes look yellow. Jaundice happens when there is too much of a substance called bilirubin in your baby's blood.

Bilirubin is made naturally in the body when

red blood cells
Red blood cells are the part of your blood that makes it red. Their main job is to carry oxygen from your heart and lungs out to the tissues of your body. Once these cells unload oxygen, they pick up carbon dioxide. They take carbon dioxide back to your lungs so you can breathe it out of your body.

red blood cells that aren't needed any more are broken down. Usually, the

liver
Your liver is a large organ that sits on the right side of your body, just below your rib cage. It does several important things, including processing and storing nutrients from food, and breaking down chemicals, such as alcohol.

liver changes the bilirubin into a form the body can get rid of as waste. But sometimes the body makes more bilirubin than it can process. When that happens bilirubin builds up in the body and makes the skin and the whites of the eyes look yellow.

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

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

Newborn babies get jaundice for two reasons:

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

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

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).

Source:
Dennery PA, Seidman DS, Stevenson DK.
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2001; 344: 581-590.

⁴

They produce twice as much bilirubin as adults. This is because newborn babies make and break down far more red blood cells than adults.
Their liver isn't properly developed. This means it may not be able to process the extra bilirubin that their body's making.
Some babies with jaundice need treatment.

Most babies get jaundice in the first few days after birth.

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

Source:
Dennery PA, Seidman DS, Stevenson DK.
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2001; 344: 581-590.

⁴ Your baby's doctor may call this physiological jaundice. By the time they are about two weeks old, babies make less bilirubin.

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

¹ So the jaundice clears up because their body isn't producing too much bilirubin any more.

Some things can increase the chances of your baby getting jaundice:

Being born early (premature birth). If your baby is born early they will be more likely to get jaundice than babies born around their due date (full term). This is because their liver is not as well developed. So your baby can't get rid of bilirubin that well. Instead bilirubin builds up in their body, causing jaundice.

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).

⁵
Getting bruised during birth. Sometimes babies are bruised during birth or they can be slightly hurt by instruments such as forceps. When this happens, their body has to break down even more red blood cells than it usually has to. This makes more bilirubin, and your baby will be more likely to get jaundice.

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

²
Breastfeeding. Babies are more likely to get jaundice if they're breastfed. But they don't usually need any treatment. Doctors think this happens because babies who are breastfed may not get enough milk in the first few days after they're born. This means they may get dehydrated and are less able to get rid of the bilirubin as waste.

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

¹ If this happens to your baby you may be advised to breastfeed them more often or give them some formula milk.

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

²

Babies who are breastfed can sometimes get jaundice between six days and two weeks after they are born. This is called late-onset jaundice. Doctors don't exactly know why this happens. It seems that there's something in breast milk that makes it harder for newborn babies to get rid of the bilirubin in their blood.

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

² Late-onset jaundice usually clears up on its own. But you may need to give your baby formula milk for a few days to speed this up.

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

Sources for the information on this page:

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

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

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).

Dennery PA, Seidman DS, Stevenson DK.Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.New England Journal of Medicine. 2001; 344: 581-590.

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).

This information was last updated on May 07, 2008

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