Jaundice is the most common and one of the most vexing problems that can occur in the newborn. As Hansen points out in an elegant historical review (1), “neonatal jaundice must have been noticed by caregivers throughout the centuries%…,” but the first documented scientific description of neonatal jaundice occurred in the latter part of the eighteenth century when Baumes was awarded a prize from the University of Paris for his description of the clinical course of jaundice in 10 infants (1). Although most jaundiced infants are otherwise perfectly healthy, they make us anxious because bilirubin is potentially toxic to the central nervous system.