Infants

Why do infants break down so many red blood cells that it causes jaundice?

The condition known as jaundice is a result of a build-up of bilirubin and is usually a sign of liver malfunction. Newborn human infants often go through a period of fetal jaundice in which they turn yellow. This usually reflects not a liver malfunction, but rather the destruction of huge numbers of red blood cells. Why would newborns be cashing in so many red blood cells?

Public Comments

1. the shock and stress of being born.it's hard on a little body
2. Because before delivery they relied on the placenta for a good exchange of oxygen with the mother's blood supply, it's not like breathing air and babies not only have specialized hemes for this but they have excess ones as well (broken down hemoglobin made from hemes makes bilirubin). After delivery there is no need for the excess red blood cells or the fetal hemoglobins as they are breathing directly, so they are broken down and neonatal hemes are made - and usually they get milk from mom which helps their bodies get rid of the excess bilirubin.