Physiological jaundice
'Breast milk jaundice'
Non-physiological jaundice
Physiological jaundice
Preventing physiological jaundice
Physiological jaundice is the most common type of jaundice. It is the name given to the natural process explained previously, where the baby is breaking down, processing and excreting surplus haemoglobin cells as bilirubin. Most babies with normal, physiological jaundice (where the bilirubin temporarily accumulates to moderate levels) will not require any treatment because the levels of bilirubin do not usually become very high.
Any normal, healthy baby can experience a degree of physiological jaundice. The yellowish discolouration usually first starts appearing about 24 to 48 hours after the birth and peaks at around 3 to 6 days, before slowly subsiding after a week or so. The baby is usually well and feeding and appears unperturbed by their yellow appearance!
Occasionally a baby with physiological jaundice will accumulate bilirubin levels to the point where they require treatment (usually phototherapy). This is often because their liver is having difficulty keeping up with the processing of bilirubin quickly and efficiently.
Babies at increased risk of needing treatment for physiological jaundice include: