Medical News Today -- A baby with neonatal jaundice, meaning jaundice within a few days or weeks of being born, has a higher risk of being diagnosed with autism or some other psychological development disorder later on in life compared to infants who did not have neonatal jaundice, Danish researchers report in an article published in Pediatrics. Neonatal jaundice, also known as neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and physiologic jaundice of the newborn refers to the yellowish staining of the whites of the eyes (sclerae) and skin by bilirubin (a pigment of bile). It is caused by the breakdown of red blood cells which release bilirubin into the bloodstream, as well as the immaturity of the baby’s liver which cannot metabolize the bilirubin properly. In most cases, neonatal jaundice occurs during the second to fifth days of a baby’s life, and gradually clears up.
