Thank you and I look forward to your response. This could mean that the matter hasn't been studied. There may have been too few cases to make a statistical association to suggest a need for study. It does not mean that jaundice during pregnancy is known to have no effect. Since I have no studies to back me up, I will have to answer your hypothetical question with hypothetical answers based on what I do know.
Premature infants develop kernicterus at lower levels of jaundice than full term infants.
The placenta does not allow everything in the mother's blood to pass to the fetus. I do not know if bilirubin crosses the placenta, and if it does, what level of bilirubin the fetus' blood will reach as a percentage of the mother's bilirubin level. Even though bile duct obstruction may cause jaundice, if your wife never appeared jaundiced, she may not have had any significant elevation of her bilirubin level. As stated above, I know of know evidence that prolonged exposure to low levels of bilirubin starting early in fetal life can cause brain damage. Neither do I know of any evidence that it is not harmful.