Newborn Jaundice: Jaundice in newborns occurs most commonly because the liver of a newborn baby is not mature enough to remove bilirubin from the blood. Causes of newborn jaundice include physiologic jaundice, neonatal jaundice, polycythemia, cephalohematoma, the baby swallowing blood during birth, a mother with diabetes, and other rare conditions. Newborn jaundice symptoms include yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes, fever, poor feeding, and ill appearance. Generally, newborn jaundice can be treated with phototherapy at home, or at the hospital if necessary.