What Causes Jaundice in Babies?
Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky
3. Mother-Baby Blood Incompatibility
As the baby is developing in its mothers womb, the baby will get all the nutrition that it needs directly from the mothers blood. Despite this, the mothers blood and the baby’s blood are still kept separate from each other to help prevent any problems with incompatibility.
Sometimes, however, the mothers blood cells can cross over into the baby’s body, and this is most likely to happen just before, or during, birth. The mothers blood cells will react negatively and the baby’s blood cells will be attacked. This will cause bilirubin to be produced, causing the baby to become jaundiced.
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