Jaundice is a condition marked by high levels of bilirubin in the blood. The increased bilirubin will cause an infant's skin, along with the whites of their eyes, to appear yellow. Several types of jaundice can cause brain and central nervous system injury to infants whose bilirubin levels remain elevated.
Physiological
Because newborns have relatively immature liver function, physiological jaundice is a common infant ailment that usually appears during the first days of life and resolves itself without causing harm by the second week. Physiological jaundice occurs to some degree in most newborns, according to the Healthy Kids website.
Breastfeeding
Certain chemicals produced in breast milk appear to cause bilirubin levels to become higher, according to Health-Cares.net. However, according to the MedlinePlus website, the milk itself does not lead to breastfeeding jaundice, but rather occurs because the infant does not get enough to drink.
An exaggerated form of physiological jaundice, bilirubin levels may become slightly higher and appear in five to 10 percent of all newborns. Breastfeeding jaundice appears shortly after week one of life and resolves itself within three months according to the KidsHealth website.
Blood Incompatibility
Blood incompatibility, known as RH or ABO incompatibility is another cause of infant jaundice. Both occur when the baby blood types or groups are different from that of the mother. This can occur for example when the baby is type "AB" and the mother is type "O," or the mother is RH negative and the baby is not. In both instances, the mother's body can create antibodies to the baby's blood, which in turn can lead to elevated bilirubin levels and jaundice. Blood incompatibility jaundice can begin as early as the first day of life, according to the KidsHealth website.
Prematurity
Jaundice occurs quite frequently in premature babies, according to the KidsHealth website. This occurs because the livers of premature infants prove even more immature than those of newborns, and are thus even less efficient and effective at processing bilirubin which leads to jaundice.
Predisposition
Certain factors which can predispose an otherwise healthy full-term newborn to a greater risk for jaundice. The MedlinePlus website says these include a sibling who needed phototherapy treatment for jaundice, a high bilirubin level without the presence of jaundice and even East Asian ancestry.
