When planning pregnancy, prospective parents are advised to undergo a medical examination and pre-determine the blood group and Rh factor. These two indicators can significantly affect the bearing of a child and its development. Knowing them before conception, doctors will help to avoid complications. In the article, we consider the possible combinations in both sexes of the first positive, first negative and other blood groups and their effect on pregnancy and the fetus.
What are the blood types?
The blood group obtained by the individual at birth is maintained for life and does not change. It is determined by the presence of antigens, which are indicated by the letters A or B, located on the membranes of red blood cells. Blood type will be:
- first, both antigens A and B are absent;
- the second contains protein A;
- the third is protein B;
- fourth, both antigens A and B are present.
For a long period, it was believed that the first blood group was suitable for transfusion to all patients, and people with the fourth group were universal recipients. Over time, the rules have changed - only the same group is suitable for transfusion, and with the same Rh factor.
What is a Rhesus factor?
This is a special type of protein (protein) - a substance located on the surface of red blood cells. According to statistics, 15 percent of all people on the planet do not contain this protein in the blood, and they are considered to be Rh-negative. The remaining 85 percent of the population are Rh-positive. This factor has no effect on the physical and intellectual development of the individual. It is important to consider it only with blood transfusion and pregnancy. In these cases, the body enters into the fight against a foreign protein and leads to serious consequences, including death of a person during a blood transfusion or a child during a woman’s pregnancy. Therefore, the Rhesus factor must be taken into account when planning children and when you need to become a recipient or donor.
The first positive and first negative group
Each individual must know their blood type, as well as the Rh factor. For example, the first negative is quite rare in India, about seven in Africans, and fifteen percent of people in Europe. This group can form in the fetus:
- With equal probability, if one of the parents owns the first, and the other - the second or even third.
- With absolute admissibility, when a woman and a man have the first.
It is important to know that if one of the spouses has a fourth group, then the child will never be the first.
Is Rh negative or positive in the baby? If:
- Both parents do not have an additional erythrocyte antigen, i.e., Rhesus, it will not be detected in the blood of a newborn.
- One of them has it, then the possibility of having a baby with a negative is fifty percent.
- The future father and mother have Rhesus, then the baby is positive.
In donation, the first positive is recognized as universal, because with the help of some laboratory reactions it can be converted into any other, if necessary. The owners of the first positive are the most desired donors.
In dangerous life situations, when there is no suitable blood, the first negative is allowed to transfuse individuals with a different group and Rhesus. However, such actions are not carried out as planned.
Blood type 2 with a rhesus bearing a minus sign
The blood type second negative, like the first positive, appeared a long time ago. It is believed that when the primitive individual began to engage in agriculture and hunting, then the second negative was formed. Today it is widespread throughout the planet, as is the first negative. For people who possess them, there is no difficulty in finding a recipient, since the admissibility of compatibility is great. Due to the fact that representatives of the 2nd blood group were engaged in tillage, their digestive system has some differences. For example, she’s better at processing carbohydrates than proteins and fats. Therefore, the owners of this group eat more fruits and vegetables. In addition, owners of the second negative are more susceptible to diseases associated with the heart and blood vessels. They tolerate overloads harder. They should exercise every day and make a diet so that plant food predominates. Protein, so necessary for the body, can be obtained from fish products that are allowed to be consumed daily.
Conflict Pregnancy
A woman's pregnancy will proceed safely if she and her partner have a first blood group and a negative Rh factor. In a situation when mom has the first negative, father has the first positive, then the child is likely to inherit the negative first group from his mother. In this case, no problems will arise, since their blood does not contain protein. But if a positive Rh factor is transmitted to the fetus from the father, then the mother’s body will perceive it as a foreign body and begin to fight with it. He will actively develop antibodies that, penetrating the placenta, will begin to attack and destroy the red blood cells of the embryo. As a result, the following situations are possible:
- pregnancy ends in a miscarriage;
- the work of the liver and spleen of the fetus on the production of red blood cells is enhanced;
- as a result of overload, the baby’s liver increases in size and anemia develops.
If you ignore the special test for blood compatibility before conception, the newborn faces:
- jaundice;
- anemia;
- dropsy;
- mental retardation in development.
Avoiding the unpleasant consequences of a rhesus conflict
Parents can quite successfully conceive and give birth to a normal child if the group of the spouse is first, the Rh factor is negative and the first positive for her spouse. In this situation, it is very important for the future mother to be under the constant supervision of a physician. To maintain the health of both, you will need:
- carry out the procedure for determining the Rhesus factor of the embryo;
- the introduction of immunoglobulin to the expectant mother;
- cordocentrez - a method of taking umbilical cord blood for research;
- with a threat to the life of a woman and a baby, an artificial birth is caused.
All these activities contribute to the birth of a healthy baby and preserve the health of the mother.
Pregnancy blood compatibility
When the spouses have decided on the birth of the baby, it is necessary to control this process from the moment of conception planning until the delivery. Regarding the Rhesus conflict, one must be wary in the following situations:
- If the man has the first positive, the woman the first negative, then the probability of a conflicting pregnancy is about fifty percent if the partner is homozygous, that is, has identical genes in similar chromosomes. And if it is heterozygous, that is, it contains only one gene in only one of the chromosomes, then this is twenty-five percent.
- For married couples whose blood mixing has a chance to result in a Rh-conflict pregnancy, with a past birth and pregnancy, a favorable outcome should not be taken into account. With each subsequent conception, the risk of incompatibility of the blood of the fetus and mother increases.
So, the admissibility of conflict pregnancy:
- Does not occur - with a positive or negative Rh factor in both parents.
- Less than fifty percent - with a positive in a woman and negative in a man and vice versa.
Negative Rh factor in a second pregnancy
Women quite often ask doctors questions:
- Is there a greater risk of rhesus conflict during repeated pregnancy?
- If the mother has Rh negative, the first child is positive, the second will be what?
Of course, repeated pregnancy significantly increases the risk of such a conflict, even if the first-born has positive blood. The reason is that the female body remembered the previous struggle. Therefore, if the opposite red blood cells again fall, then the mother’s immune system already with a vengeance synthesizes antibodies that freely pass through the placenta. To minimize risks, it is recommended:
- As soon as possible register with the consultation.
- Be sure to take all tests, including the detection of antibodies, for the first positive and first negative group. Closely monitor their captions. The introduction of “Immunoglobulin” for a period of 28–32 weeks will help prevent the development of antibodies in women. However, only on condition that they are completely absent in her body.
- Do control ultrasound in order to timely identify problems in the formation and development of the future baby.
- Perform all medical appointments.
After delivery, doctors always determine the Rh factor of the newborn. If he is positive, then mom is given an injection of a special anti-Rhesus medication called “Immunoglobulin”. Such prophylactic administration significantly reduces the admissibility of conflicts in subsequent pregnancies. The first positive and the first negative is not always a rhesus conflict. The main thing is a responsible attitude to your health and competent preventive measures under the supervision of highly qualified doctors.
Determining the sex of the child by the blood type of the parents
Of course, thanks to ultrasound, in the early stages it is quite realistic to determine the gender of the future child. However, this can be done by blood type, using special tables in which they are compared. In addition, both Rhesus (positive and negative) are necessarily taken into account. The first blood type and the same Rh factor in both parents, then a girl is more likely to appear, and if the rhesus is different, then we should expect a boy. Consider the different combinations:
- If mom has the first, and daddy has the same or the third group, then there are many chances to give birth to a female baby.
- Mother has a second, father has the same or fourth, then a girl will appear. There will be a boy if the spouse has the first or third group.
- If a woman has a third, and her partner has a first, then she must wait for her daughter. In all other cases there will be a son.
These predictions do not give an absolute result, there always remains the probability of obtaining a different result.
Some features of the course of pregnancy
Bearing a baby will proceed without features if both spouses have the same rhesus. Conversely, when the parents are different, then there is no compatibility. The first negative and the first positive, especially when a woman has a rhesus with a minus sign, then the risks of fetal abnormalities and miscarriage are high. This phenomenon is explained as follows. By the end of the third trimester, the embryo begins the synthesis of red blood cells and there is a high probability that they will penetrate the mother’s blood. The probability of the development of events:
- the fetus has the same proteins and its Rh-positive;
- they are absent, respectively, and there is no reaction.
Thus, if red blood cells of a baby with the opposite Rhesus enters the body of a woman who has a negative, then her immune system, defensively, begins to produce antibodies. They destroy the red blood cells of the child, their number is rapidly decreasing and the fetus lacks oxygen. And in its organs and tissues, fluid begins to accumulate, bilirubin. As a result, the development of crumbs is suspended. This condition is called hemolytic disease of the newborn or abbreviated GBN.
However, such a conflict may not happen if the doctors have taken the necessary compensatory measures in time, and also prevented such incest during delivery.
Compatibility of the first positive and the first negative for conception
Family planning can significantly reduce the number of unwanted and complicated pregnancies. Each prospective parent must have information about what a negative Rhesus virus is and what problems can be during the bearing of a child. It is important to remember that:
- A Rh-negative woman is able to give birth to a Rh-positive baby. This phenomenon can affect the condition of the fetus and the course of pregnancy itself, but this is not regarded as incompatibility with the Rh antigen for conceiving a baby.
- A pair with the first positive and the first negative is able to give birth to healthy children. The relationship between the spouses should not be broken if the rhesus of the mother and the fetus may be incompatible. In this case, competent and professional pregnancy management is important.
It is very difficult to predict and predict the Rhesus conflict with absolute accuracy.
A bit about doubts and fears
Shatter the following fears:
- There is an opinion that if the spouses do not have the same blood type, then they cannot have at all or they have sick and weak children.
- If a woman is the owner of the first group, then she always has healthy offspring and she does not have problems with bearing them.
- If the spouses have the first negative and the second positive - compatibility in this case is zero.
Doctors say such claims are incorrect. Babies are born in couples with different combinations of blood groups and rhesus.
Parents' blood does not affect conception. A woman may not become pregnant in the event of a certain immunological incompatibility, that is, when the partner’s seminal fluid contains some components that the lady’s immune system does not accept and rejects. In other words, this phenomenon is called sperm allergy. There is also a way out of this situation - such incompatibility lends itself to therapy.
Even if mom has the first negative, and dad has the first positive, then during the first pregnancy there is usually no conflict. This is explained as follows. The woman’s body has not yet managed to produce antibodies to foreign proteins. Therefore, gynecologists do not recommend Rh-negative women to do an artificial interruption if she became pregnant for the first time.
Instead of a conclusion
The blood type carries information about our distant relatives. It is unchanged throughout life. And if the spouse has the first negative and the first positive for you, then this will not have any effect on conception and pregnancy. However, if you are worried, remember: medical science does not stand still, medical workers will always come to the aid of parents.