Health Tip: Having Signs of Newborn Jaundice

Risk factors for yellowed skin and eyes

(HealthDay News) -- Jaundice in newborn babies occurs when a yellow pigment called bilirubin builds up in the blood. The pigment is a normal byproduct of the body's destruction of old red blood cells. Removal of bilirubin is the liver's job.

Symptoms of jaundice often include yellowed skin and eyes.

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The U.S. National Library of Medicine says risk factors for developing symptoms of jaundice include:

• Having a sibling who required light therapy to treat jaundice.
• High levels of bilirubin in the blood.
• Being fed only breast milk, especially for a large baby.
• Having a red blood cell disease.
• Being of East Asian ancestry.

-- Diana Kohnle