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Newborn jaundice: what to watch

What the sources say about yellow skin in newborns, how bilirubin is checked and treated, and which newborn danger signs WHO lists.

Signs the sources say need care

WHO's danger signs for all newborns

  • WHO's list includes not feeding well.1
  • WHO's list includes a history of convulsions.1
  • WHO's list includes fast breathing, which it writes as "breathing rate > 60 per minute".1
  • WHO's list includes severe chest in-drawing.1
  • WHO's list includes no spontaneous movement.1
  • WHO's list includes fever, which it writes as "temperature > 37.5 °C".1
  • WHO's list includes low body temperature, which it writes as "temperature < 35.5 °C".1
  • WHO's list includes any jaundice in the first 24 hours after birth, or yellow palms and soles at any age.1

“parents and family should be encouraged to seek health care early if they identify any of the above danger signs between postnatal care visits”1

World Health Organization, WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience

In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

What jaundice is

  • Jaundice makes the skin and the whites of the eyes look yellow.2
  • Too much bilirubin causes jaundice.2
  • Bilirubin is a yellowish substance made when the body breaks down old red blood cells.3

When yellow skin is common in newborns

  • MedlinePlus says many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life, and that it usually goes away.2
  • Many healthy babies get jaundice because their livers have not developed enough to clear bilirubin.4
  • Newborn jaundice is usually not harmful and clears up within a few weeks.5
  • In some cases, high bilirubin levels can lead to brain damage, so infants are often tested as a precaution.6
  • Jaundice can also happen at any age, and it may be a sign of a problem.2

WHO's list of newborn danger signs

  • WHO recommends assessing a newborn for a list of danger signs at each postnatal care contact.1
  • WHO recommends referring the newborn for further evaluation if any sign on the list is present.1
  • One of the eight signs is about jaundice: any jaundice in the first 24 hours after birth, or yellow palms and soles at any age.1
  • The other seven signs on the list are not about jaundice.1

How bilirubin is checked

  • A bilirubin blood test measures the amount of bilirubin in the blood.7
  • The test is commonly used to help diagnose newborn jaundice.8
  • For a newborn, a health care professional cleans the heel and pokes it with a small needle.9
  • The results show whether the bilirubin is in the normal range, and the normal ranges can vary from lab to lab.10
  • In the United States, FDA cleared a skin meter, the Draeger JM-105, that reads the yellowness of tissue under a newborn's skin, and the clearance says levels should be confirmed by another method, such as a blood test, before treatment decisions.11
  • The JM-105 is a prescription device and is not intended for home use.11

How jaundice is treated

  • A 2021 review names phototherapy as the usual first treatment for newborn jaundice.12
  • The review says blue light therapy is used to treat newborn jaundice in most countries.13
  • The same review says some studies suggest phototherapy may cause harms in the short and long term.12

Questions to ask

  1. Which of the listed danger signs has my baby been checked for, and how often will that happen?
  2. Is my baby's yellow color the kind that is common in the first week, or does it need a closer look?
  3. Will my baby's bilirubin be checked with a blood test, a skin meter, or both?
  4. If treatment is needed, what would it involve, and what are its risks?
  5. Which signs between visits mean I should bring my baby back?

Sources

  1. WHO recommendations on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal experience Guideline, World Health Organization, Recommendation 25 (Chapter 3, B.1.1). Retrieved .

  2. Jaundice turns the skin and the whites of the eyes yellow, and it is caused by too much bilirubin. MedlinePlus says many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life and that it usually goes away, but that jaundice can happen at any age and may be a sign of a problem.

    Applies to Newborn
    • Newborn babies. The sources set no limits of gestational age, birth weight or setting.
    • Not stated in the source.
    • United States programmes are described by NICHD; MedlinePlus names no country.
    • Newborn period
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: general health information.

    Limitations. Consumer health information from the National Library of Medicine. The MedlinePlus topic covers jaundice at any age, not newborns alone, and gives no bilirubin thresholds or treatment rules. This atlas lists the American Academy of Pediatrics 2022 guideline as a reference only and takes no thresholds from it.

  3. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 1, sentence 2. Retrieved .
  4. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 2. Retrieved .
  5. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 3. Retrieved .
  6. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 4. Retrieved .
  7. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 1, sentence 1. Retrieved .
  8. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What is it used for?, paragraph 2, sentence 1. Retrieved .
  9. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What happens during a bilirubin blood test?, paragraph 2, sentences 1 and 2. Retrieved .
  10. Bilirubin Blood Test (MedlinePlus medical test information) Webpage, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine, What do the results mean?, paragraph 1, sentences 1 and 2. Retrieved .

  11. FDA cleared the Draeger Jaundice Meter JM-105 under 510(k) K133175 on 13 November 2014 as a non-invasive transcutaneous bilirubinometer. It measures yellowness of the tissue under the skin in newborn infants and gives a digital reading that has been shown to correlate with serum bilirubin. It is meant to help clinicians monitor newborn infants in hospitals, clinics or doctors' offices, under a physician's supervision. It is not intended as a standalone for diagnosing high bilirubin: it is used with other clinical signs and laboratory measurements, and bilirubin levels should be confirmed by other methods, such as serum bilirubin, before treatment decisions. It is a prescription device and is not intended for home use. In a physician's office it may only be used at the sternum measurement site.

    Applies to Newborn
    • Newborn infants. The meter is a prescription device used under a physician's supervision; it is not intended for home use.
    • Hospitals, clinics or doctors' offices, under physician supervision or direction.
    • United States (FDA clearance)
    • Newborn infants
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: a device clearance, not a study.

    Limitations. The statement rests on the FDA clearance letter and Indications for Use form. A 510(k) clearance means FDA found the device substantially equivalent to a predicate device; it is not a finding of clinical benefit. The clearance is for the United States, and the regulatory class on the letter is I, reserved.

  12. A 2021 narrative review describes phototherapy as the treatment of first choice for jaundice in newborns, and says it lowers a high level of unbound bilirubin and limits that bilirubin's toxic effect on nerves. The review also says some studies link phototherapy to harms in the short and long term, ranging from red blood cell breakdown to allergic disease, and it calls for an agreed, standard way of giving it.

    Applies to Newborn
    • Neonates with jaundice and high serum bilirubin, as discussed in a narrative review. The abstract sets no gestational age or setting.
    • Not stated in the source.
    • Not stated in the source.
    • Neonatal period
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable: a review.

    Limitations. A narrative review, not a trial, so it gives no effect size, threshold or schedule. It sets no population or setting. The source licence is CC BY-NC-ND and this atlas treats the source as cite only, so the statement is in the atlas's own words. Only the abstract was read. When to start phototherapy is set by guidelines that this atlas lists as references only.

  13. Challenges of phototherapy for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (Review) Publication, Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 2. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, Treatment, paragraph 1, sentence 2. Retrieved .

About this guide

Written for
Parents and families of newborns, and the people supporting them
What it covers
Written from US government health pages, an international guideline and a 2021 review. It states no bilirubin thresholds or treatment rules.
Pages it explains
Sources checked
2026-10-15
Next check due
2027-04-15
Reading level
Estimated grade 6.4 (target 8)

Every sentence cites a source. Words in quotation marks are the source's own; the rest is the atlas's summary.

https://maternal.openmedicalatlas.org/guides/guide-newborn-jaundice-what-to-watch/ · Release fc5a600ec7387e71, built 2026-10-15