What is "jaundice"?
Jaundice is a yellow color of the skin that is very common in babies. Over half of healthy babies do become jaundiced. There are many different causes and reasons for jaundice. The most common cause is something called physiologic or healthy baby jaundice. This usually happens around day 3 to day 5 of life. Jaundice is caused by a chemical called bilirubin that's in our blood. It's actually a breakdown product of red blood cells. In a newborn, or in all of us, the liver is the part of the body that gets rid of bilirubin, and it takes a couple of days for our liver to rev up, so our whole system is backed up. On top of that, most babies are at least a little bit dehydrated in the first couple days because breast milk hasn't come in yet, so the concentration of that chemical in the blood is higher. As a result, this usually reaches a peak around day 3 to day 5. They turn yellow, and then the breast milk comes in, dilutes out the system, the liver revs up, gets everything moving in the poop and the pee, and the baby's jaundice and yellow color goes away. Any jaundice should be looked at and brought to the attention of your doctor, because there are many other causes of jaundice that have to be watched more closely.
