In many cases, infants are born with hepatic diseases. This is called neonatal jaundice and is usually of the following types:
Physiological jaundice:
It reaches its peak within 4-5 days of birth and is characterized by shortening of RBC life span (70-90 days instead of the usual 120 days).
Pathological jaundice:
It appears within 24 hours of birth and bilirubin level rises above 5 mg per dL of blood. It usually stays even after 14 days and is characterized by dark-colored stool and brownish urine.
Breast-milk jaundice:
Breast milk might contain a bilirubin conjugation inhibitor or bilirubin recirculation enhancer (beta-glucuronidase) which when passed on to the infant can cause neonatal jaundice.