Neonatal Jaundice
- Causes and Risk Factors
In the human body, new blood is being made all the time and old blood is being destroyed. One of the products of destroyed blood is called bilirubin. Bilirubin normally goes to the liver to be processed and then leaves the body in the faeces. For the first few days after birth there tends to be a build-up of bilirubin in the blood because of immaturity of the liver. This causes the yellow colour in the skin and whites of the eyes.
Risk Factors
- Prematurity
- Poor feeding
- Bruising at birth
- Infection
- G6PD Deficiency ( common in Singapore)
- ABO and Rhesus incompatibility
- Underlying liver disease
- Hypothyroidism
