What are the causes of jaundice in newborn babies?

Jaundice is often simply thought of as yellowing of the skin, but that's only half true, yellowing is just an outward phenomenon. Normal human blood contains a certain amount of pigment substance, called bilirubin, if the bilirubin in the blood increases due to physiological and pathological reasons, the skin, the whites of the eyes and other places will turn yellow.

What causes bilirubin to rise in the body?

First, red blood cells destroy too much and too quickly. About 80% of bilirubin in the body is formed by the destruction of senescent red blood cells.If red blood cells are destroyed too much and too quickly, bilirubin surges, causing jaundice. Hemolytic jaundice caused by incompatibility between mother and child belongs to this category, and the newborn appears within 24 hours of birth, and it progresses rapidly, and the skin is golden yellow. When the bilirubin in the blood exceeds 20 mg%, bilirubin may enter brain cells, interfere with the normal activities and functions of brain cells, cause kernicterus, and threaten the life of newborns. At present, although there is a good treatment for severe jaundice, in order to achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to rescue in time before the occurrence of kernicterus. When observing the degree of jaundice, parents should pay attention to choosing a place with sufficient natural light and repeatedly check whether it is aggravated. Newborns with rapid jaundice should seek medical attention.

Second, hepatocytes are impaired in the uptake, binding, and excretion of bilirubin. Due to inflammation of liver cells or lack of an enzyme in liver cells, or low activity of this enzyme, bilirubin cannot be excreted well, such as neonatal hepatitis or sepsis. Physiological jaundice in newborns within the first week of life is due to low liver enzyme activity.This type of jaundice can also be caused by breastfeeding in some babies because breast milk contains a fatty substance, the progesterone. After the baby is breastfeeding, this fat component is quickly broken down by lipase, releasing free fatty acids, which can increase the absorption of bilirubin in the small intestine and cause jaundice, but the baby is healthy. All of these conditions are called hepatocellular jaundice.

Third, due to the obstruction of the bile ducts, bilirubin cannot be excreted into the small intestine, causing bile to accumulate in liver cells or biliary tracts and cause jaundice. We call it obstructive jaundice, such as neonatal biliary atresia, viscous bile, etc.