Newborn Jaundice: Causes, Treatment & Red Flags | Parenting Hub
Most newborns develop some jaundice in the first week. How to tell mild from serious, what feeding has to do with it, and when bilirubin needs treatment.
A yellow tint to your newborn's skin or eyes is incredibly common in the first week. Here's how to tell harmless jaundice from the kind that needs treating.
What jaundice is
Jaundice is a yellow tint to the skin and the whites of the eyes, caused by a build-up of bilirubin — a pigment produced as red blood cells are recycled. Newborn livers are still learning to clear bilirubin, so around 6 in 10 healthy term babies develop some jaundice in the first week.
Most jaundice appears between days 2 and 4, peaks around day 5, and fades by 2 weeks. Premature babies and breastfed babies may stay slightly yellow a little longer.
Symptoms to watch for
Press a fingertip gently on baby's forehead, nose or chest — if the skin underneath looks yellow rather than pale, that's jaundice. The yellow typically spreads from head to toe as bilirubin rises.
- Yellow tint to the whites of the eyes
- Yellow on the face that spreads to the chest, tummy and legs
- Baby is sleepier than usual and harder to wake for feeds
- Fewer wet and dirty nappies than expected
What causes it
Physiological jaundice — the normal newborn kind — is the most common cause. Less common causes include blood-group incompatibility between mother and baby, infection, bruising from birth, prematurity and feeding difficulties that slow bilirubin clearance through stools.
What helps at home
The main treatment is feeding. Bilirubin leaves the body in poo, so a well-fed baby clears jaundice faster.
- Offer feeds 8–12 times in 24 hours; wake a sleepy baby for feeds if needed.
- If you're breastfeeding, ask your midwife or IBCLC to check the latch and milk transfer.
- Track wet (6+ heavy nappies a day by day 5) and dirty (3+ a day) nappies.
- Bright indirect daylight near a window is fine — but old advice to put baby in direct sun is no longer recommended (burn risk).
When to see a doctor
All newborns should be checked by a midwife or maternal health nurse in the first week. Jaundice that appears in the first 24 hours, deepens quickly, spreads below the chest, or is still visible after 2 weeks always needs a bilirubin test. Treatment, when needed, is usually phototherapy — special blue lights that help the body break bilirubin down.
When to seek help
- Jaundice in the first 24 hours of life
- Yellow skin spreading to legs or hands, or yellow eyes that look orange
- Baby is very sleepy, floppy, won't wake to feed, or has high-pitched cry
- Fewer than 6 wet nappies a day after day 5
- Pale (chalky white) poo or dark urine
- Jaundice still present after 2 weeks (3 weeks if premature)
Common questions
Should I stop breastfeeding if my baby has jaundice?
Almost never. Breastfeeding is the treatment, not the cause. The advice is to feed more often, not less. If a paediatrician recommends a short top-up of expressed milk or formula, that's to boost feeds — not to replace them.
Does sunlight cure jaundice?
Direct sunlight is no longer recommended — it risks burn and overheating. Special phototherapy lights used in hospital are very different from sunshine.