Post Date December, 03 2023
Three days ago, Ms. Han, who worked for a Japanese company, successfully gave birth to a 7-pound daughter at the hospital. However, on the second day of her birth, the skin on her small face and body began to turn yellow. After seeing it, the doctor on duty told her that the child is highly likely to have neonatal hemolysis caused by incompatibility between mother and baby blood types. Sure enough, after laboratory examination, it was found that the daughter had type A blood, while Ms. Han had type O blood. Why are the blood types of the mother and daughter different? Will hemolysis leave any sequelae? Will it affect children's growth and health in the future? The doctor comforted her by saying that neonatal hemolysis is more common and there is no need to worry.
Mismatch of blood type between husband and wife caused trouble
Neonatal hemolysis is often seen in clinical practice, and the fundamental cause of this disease is incompatibility between husband and wife blood types. Half of the baby's genetic material comes from the father and half comes from the mother, so the baby may inherit the mother's blood type or the father's blood type. "Liang Guifang, deputy chief physician of the pediatric department at Chaoyang Hospital, said in an interview, If the blood type of the fetus in the mother's body is different from that of the mother, the mother's body is equivalent to being 'sensitized', activating the immune system, and producing antibodies that reject the baby's blood type. The antibodies bind to the surface of the baby's red blood cells, causing hemolysis, and the baby will develop hemolysis
Is it necessary to have a matching blood type to get married?
Since neonatal hemolysis is caused by blood type incompatibility between spouses, should everyone marry someone with the same blood type? Experts say there is no evidence to suggest that one must have the same blood type in order to get married. The phenomenon of marital blood type incompatibility is common, so neonatal hemolysis is also common. However, this disease can generally be detected and treated in a timely manner, and almost all can be cured without affecting the future health of children.
It is reported that although the fetus relies on the mother's supply of nutrients in the mother's body, there is a "placental barrier" between the mother and the fetus, which can protect the mother and baby's blood from "interacting with each other". However, a small amount of infant red blood cells will infiltrate into the maternal circulation, resulting in the production of antibodies, and a small part of the mother's blood will also enter the fetus. After the child is born, the antibody containing blood from the mother in the baby's body will be metabolized and depleted within a certain period of time, and the child will soon return to normal.
Mothers with type O and infants with type A are most likely to develop the disease
It is understood that there are two main causes of hemolysis of newborn: incompatibility of ABO blood group system and incompatibility of Rh blood group system. In China, the most common is the incompatibility of the ABO blood group system. The mothers of children with ABO hemolytic disease are mostly type O blood, and the infants are mostly type A or type B.
ABO hemolysis often occurs in the second fetus, but it can also partially occur in the first fetus. If the mother of an O-type blood (universal recipient) has received A, B, or AB blood before giving birth, or has a history of miscarriage (if the mother's birth canal is damaged and the blood from the removed fetus enters the body), the mother will be "sensitized" to produce anti A or B antibodies. So even the first child may develop neonatal hemolysis. Ms. Han had previously been pregnant, but due to work reasons, she underwent an induced abortion, which resulted in the production of anti A antibodies in her body. This is why her daughter, who was later born, developed severe hemolysis.
It is understood that the incidence and severity of neonatal hemolysis increase with the increase of birth order. In addition, although some women give birth for the first time, substances similar to the ABO blood group exist in nature, which can enter the human body through various channels and produce antibodies, leading to neonatal hemolysis in infants.
This disease cannot be prevented but can be cured
Neonatal hemolysis is very common in clinical practice, but it generally does not have serious consequences, especially in recent years with the advancement of medical technology, there have been almost no dangerous cases, "Dr. Liang said.
It is understood that the symptoms of this disease vary from mild to severe, and infants often develop jaundice within 24 hours or the next day after birth, and rapidly worsen. Because the antibodies from the mother in the baby's body are consumed every day, the symptoms will gradually improve. Severe infants may develop anemia, and even "nuclear jaundice", also known as bilirubin encephalopathy, is caused by the entry of a substance called bilirubin into the brain after the destruction of red blood cells, which is the most serious consequence. Generally, ABO blood group incompatibilities do not result in such outcomes.
O-type wives and non O-type husbands should pay more attention when having children
It is understood that there are currently no effective ways to prevent the disease due to the uncontrollable selection of genetic material in infants. Doctor's reminder: If the husband is of A, B, or AB blood type, and the wife is of O blood type, and has a history of miscarriage or blood transfusion, this issue should be considered during pregnancy. If necessary, the doctor's opinion can be sought.
At the same time, a survey data also shows that 30% of pregnancies in China have blood group incompatibility, and the incidence rate of hemolysis of newborn babies is 11.9%, but there are few serious cases.
