What is the cause of neonatal jaundice?

What is the cause of neonatal jaundice?

The main causes of physiological jaundice in newborns are excessive red blood cell damage and immature liver function of newborns; one of the causes of pathological jaundice is breastfeeding, the other is the inconsistency of blood types between the mother and the fetus, or it may be bacterial or viral infection.

1. Causes of physiological jaundice in newborns

1. Severe damage to red blood cells

If it is a newborn, the life span of red blood cells is usually relatively short, generally between 70 and 90 days, so the damage to red blood cells will be greater. The more red blood cell damage there is, the more bilirubin is produced, so newborns are prone to jaundice during this period.

2. Neonatal liver function is immature

The liver function of newborns is mostly immature, and bilirubin metabolism is limited, resulting in excessive serum bilirubin and jaundice within a period of time after birth.

2. Causes of neonatal pathological jaundice

1. Breast milk

If it is pathological jaundice, it may be caused by breastfeeding, which is also called breast milk jaundice. If breast milk contains 3-2 pregnanediol, then the child is prone to jaundice after breastfeeding, because this hormone can inhibit the activity of liver bilirubin glucuronyl transferase, so that bilirubin cannot be processed in time, and eventually lead to an increase in the total bilirubin level in the blood, forming jaundice. If breastfeeding is stopped, the jaundice will slowly disappear.

2. The blood types of the mother and the fetus are incompatible

Neonatal pathological jaundice also includes hemolytic jaundice. The cause of this jaundice is the inconsistency of blood types between the mother and the fetus. The most common is ABO hemolysis. Jaundice caused by this cause is usually more severe.

3. Bacterial or viral infection

Bacterial or viral infections can also cause pathological jaundice, also known as infectious jaundice. The function of liver cells is damaged by bacterial or viral infections, thus affecting the normal metabolism of bilirubin.