Why Is My Baby Yellow?

Breaking Down Newborn Jaundice

By Carma Haley Shoemaker

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), jaundice is the No. 1 leading cause for hospital re-admittance of newborns. Because jaundice is easy to spot it yellows the skin parents are able to readily identify jaundice and contact their doctors. Still, there are questions that can leave new parents feeling overwhelmed: What causes jaundice? Can it be prevented? Is it dangerous?

Jaundice occurs when bilirubin, a yellow pigment normally produced by all infants, builds up in a baby's blood. Newborns usually produce more bilirubin than can be processed by a baby's still-developing liver, leading to a build up and ultimately, the appearance of jaundice.

Some degree of jaundice occurs in approximately 80 percent of newborn infants, according to the AAP. For the majority of these infants, jaundice is entirely benign. However, because a small fraction of infants about one to three in 10,000, according to the AAP is at significant risk for developing dangerously high bilirubin levels, all infants need to be monitored.

"Jaundice is evident in the yellow pigmentation of the skin and/or mucus membranes, the 'whites' of the eyes and bodily fluids," says Dr. Jay Goldsmith, a neonatologist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, La. "Jaundice is caused by one or more of the following: obstruction of bile passageways, excess destruction of red blood cells usually from Rh incompatibility, an outside source or illness or a disturbance in the normal functioning of the liver. And since there is no true test to screen in utero, all newborns are monitored for the development of jaundice."

A common trend of the last decade or so is that of "rapid release" from the hospital or birthing center after childbirth and delivery. What once was a minimum four-day stay in the late 1950s is now a 36-hour layover. This may be directly related to a rise in the number of infants who have jaundice. Without the extra time to monitor or treat the initial onset of jaundice, the condition can develop into something more dangerous.

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