Factors Affecting Neonatal Jaundice

Infant jaundice is caused by an excess of bilirubin. Bilirubin is a waste product, produced when red blood cells are broken down. It is normally broken down in the liver and removed from the body in the stool.

Before a baby is born, it has a different form of hemoglobin. Once they are born, they very rapidly break down the old hemoglobin. This generates higher than normal levels of bilirubin that must be filtered out of the bloodstream by the liver and sent to the intestine for excretion.

However, an underdeveloped liver cannot filter out the bilirubin as fast as it is being produced, resulting in hyperbilirubinemia (an excess of bilirubin).

Infant jaundice with breast-feeding is common. It occurs in newborns that are breast-fed in two separate forms :-
a) Breast-feeding jaundice - occurs in the first week of life, if the baby does not feed well, or if the mother's milk is slow to come in.
b) Breast milk jaundice - this is due to how substances in the breast milk interfere with the breakdown process of bilirubin. It occurs after 7 days of life, peaking at 2-3 weeks.