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Jaundice Explained

You commonly hear of newborns having jaundice, but what is it exactly? The word jaundice comes from the French word for 'yellow' which is 'jaune.' It describes the yellowish appearance of the skin and whiles of the eyes of a newly born baby.

The cause of jaundice is a build up of biliruben in the babies bloodstream. Everyone has biliruben in their blood, which is created when red blood cells break down. The hemoglobin in the red blood cells changes into biliruben which is then removed by the liver and excreted into the stools. Babies are born with an excess of red blood cells and often times their livers aren't developed enough to filter out the biliruben.

Because biliruben is ultimately removed in the babies stool, increasing feeding times is recommended. For breastfed babies at least eight to ten daily feedings is suggested.

If a newborns jaundice level increases to a certain amount your pediatrician may recommend that your baby spend some time under the Bililights. These are a series of flurescent lights that are placed over a baby's incubator. Bililights change the structure of the biliruben making it easier to be excreted by the liver. A little time spent in sunlight also helps as well.

About 50% of all full term babies develop jaundice within the first two or three days after birth. It will most commonly disappear within a week. The rate of jaundice in preterm babies increases to 80% and often can last longer. In either case, the jaundice usually is so mild that there is no reason for concern and with clear itself up by itself.