What causes jaundice in newborn babies?

What exactly causes jaundice in newborn babies? Find out…

My baby has newborn jaundice. What causes this?

Jaundice in newborn babies can occur in ABO incompatibility due to the blood group “O VE ladies” who have either A ve, or B ve blood group babies and their body have natural antibodies which attack their babies blood causing it to breakdown.Newborn jaundice is due to excessive breakdown of the babies’ blood.

In Rhesus incompatibility, Rhesus -ve ladies who had previous rhesus positive babies will carry antibodies which attack their babies blood causing this to breakdown. Hence it is very important for Rhesus -ve ladies to get RHOGAM during the pregnancy.

In Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, the babies are deficient in this enzyme which maintain the life of the red blood cells and they undergo breakage when exposed to certain drugs or mothballs and fava beans. This condition is present in up to 2-4 per cent in Singapore and much higher in other Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar.

There are several different causes of jaundice in newborn babies.

Jaundice in newborns can also be caused by extravastion of blood such as babies with cephalohematoma (blood collection outside the head). It can also occur from a delayed excretion of the bilirubin pigments like delayed conjugation or increased enterohepatic circulation when the babies do not pass meconium well or are not fed due to various reasons.

Jaundice in newborn babies questions answered by:

Dr Lee Le Ye

Associate Consultant

Department of Neonatology

National University Hospital, Singapore

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