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Causes of Jaundice - newborn
The liver is a very important organ. One of its functions is to remove a yellow chemical, called bilirubin. Bilirubin is found in bile and made from the breakdown of red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.
The body usually removes bilirubin from the bloodstream and it passes though the liver and to the kidneys for disposal.
Newborn babies have a greater number of red blood cells than normal at birth and these are broken down more quickly. This makes more bilirubin, which the liver needs to get rid of. In newborn babies the liver is not fully developed and cannot work efficiently yet, so bilirubin builds up and causes jaundice.
In some cases the mother’s milk may contain a harmless substance that makes the baby jaundiced. There is no need to stop breastfeeding (see complications).
Other, rarer, causes of jaundice include:
- liver disease,
- infection,
- an underactive thyroid gland,
- rhesus incompatibility (when the mother and baby have different blood types),
- inherited deficiencies in enzymes,
- blockages of the bowel or bile duct, and
- hepatitis.
