What does the word “jaundice” mean?
The word jaundice means “yellow”. When a baby is jaundiced, it means the skin color looks yellow. Jaundice first shows in the face and chest and then moves down toward the toes. What causes the skin to appear yellow? Bilirubin is formed and released into the bloodstream when red blood cells are broken down. Bilirubin, which has a yellow pigment, is deposited in the baby’s skin for storage until it gets carried to the liver to be processed and excreted in the bowel movements. This is a normal process for getting rid of older red blood cells. A newborn has an immature liver and cannot process the bilirubin as fast as when he gets older. Why does neonatal jaundice occur? Most babies with jaundice have physiologic jaundice. This jaundice is a result of the normal process of breaking down red blood cells. Sometimes other things can cause jaundice in the newborn. The most common of these conditions are known as ABO incompatibility and Rh incompatibility. They occur when mother and baby have
