ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the range of common haematological disorders in the newborn: jaundice, polycythaemia, coagulation disorder including vitamin K deficiency bleeding, thrombocytopaenia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and finally, anaemia. Jaundice in a newborn is extremely common, estimated to occur in roughly two-thirds of all newborns in the first week of life. In utero, the placenta manages the excretion of unconjugated bilirubin. Following delivery, the neonatal liver assumes responsibility for bilirubin metabolism. Sick and premature infants are more susceptible to the neurotoxic effects of high bilirubin levels. Hyperbilirubinaemia can cause neurological damage including deafness, neurodevelopmental and cognitive problems. Rhesus haemolytic disease of the newborn, also known as erythroblastosis foetalis, occurs when there is maternal red cell alloimmunisation, and is one of the common pathological causes of hyperbilirubinaemia. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase is an enzyme responsible for maintaining the integrity of the red cell membrane.
