I am 6 months pregnant with my second son. My oldest son had jaundice and needed to be under the blue light for 2 days. Does this mean my second son will have a higher chance of getting jaundice?

Yes. Jaundice is a yellow discoloration that is a result of elevated bilirubin (the pigment in red blood cells) from the death of red blood cells. The excess bilirubin desposits in the skin causing it to yellow – much like the pigmentation of a bruise. In additon to physiologic jaundice (newborns with a large excess of red blood cells that die shortly aftee birth), neonatal jaundice has a number of other causes including, blood type incompatibility, bruising, or infection. Newborns with sibilings that had neonatal jaundice have a 3-4 times greater chance of also having jaundice when compared to newborns with no such family history.