Identification of blood type and Rh factor - this action is performed before everyone else after confirming that a woman is expecting a baby. Specialists in the field of immunology have long studied the effects of compatibility or, conversely, incompatibility on fetal development. What blood types and rhesus conflicts negatively affect the baby?
What it is?
Since ancient times, in women with a negative Rh factor, babies immediately died or were born too weak and painful. Today, the conflict of the blood group of the mother and father can be prevented, since specialized drugs have been created for this. It can be an immunoglobulin that is created from human blood. This injection should be given to the pregnant woman at 28 weeks of pregnancy and must be repeated again three days after the birth if the Rh factor of the baby is positive.
There is an opinion among doctors that it is advisable not to have an abortion for a woman with a negative Rh factor, since this can significantly affect her condition and her subsequent ability to bear and give birth to a child. In a situation where an abortion is not planned and the birth will have to take place, it is necessary to take into account the fact that such women need to be given birth at least once.
Then there is a high probability that the child will be healthy, and mother’s health is also not in danger. Her blood composition during the first pregnancy will produce antibodies to the Rh baby, but the second time will not allow him to intervene.
Mechanism of action
A stable working placenta saves from the development of a conflict over blood groups. Its special arrangement prevents the blood of the mother and fetus from mixing, mainly through the placental barrier. However, this can still happen with the destruction of the vessels of the placenta, its detachment and other defects, or, more often, during delivery.
Penetrated into the mother’s blood, fetal cells, if incompatible, provoke the production of antibodies that can penetrate the fetus and attack its blood cells, resulting in hemolytic disease. The poisoning element - bilirubin, which is formed in the course of such interaction in significant volumes, can cause damage to the child's body, mainly the brain, excretory system. This can be fraught with significant malfunctions in the body.
In the case of compatibility, there is nothing to worry about, but if the incompatibility of the blood groups of the mother and the child is revealed, then the expectant mother will need to constantly be monitored by a specialist in order to suppress the negative consequences for the child.
Incompatibility
It makes sense to study in detail what is the incompatibility of the blood groups of the mother and child. People with blood type I lack antibodies A and B, but they have beta and alpha antibodies. Other blood groups have antibodies: second (A), third (B), fourth (AB).
As a result, the immunity of a woman with the first blood group begins to struggle with elements of other blood groups that are foreign to the body. The protective mechanisms of the expectant mother decompose the red blood cells of the child, killing the antigens that are unnecessary for her contained in the blood of the child. This is what is called the incompatibility of the blood groups of mother and baby.
When does it occur?
The conflict appears when the blood of the mother is incompatible with the blood type of the child. A blood group conflict during the period of bearing a child can contribute to hemolytic abnormalities in the baby.
Hemolytic disease of the newborn is fraught with the production of red blood cell hemolysis. As a result of this, there is a great danger of the death of the baby. One way or another, erythroblastosis disrupts the natural functioning of the circulatory system of the child. With such deviations, the future baby is not able to develop harmoniously.
Are there any symptoms?
A pregnant woman may not feel the symptoms characteristic of a blood type conflict during pregnancy. An analysis can reveal its presence. Laboratory studies will determine the high level of antibodies in the blood of the expectant mother. This is the main diagnostic method. With the development of blood diseases in the fetus or in the baby, the following may occur:
- swelling;
- yellow shade of the skin;
- anemia;
- increased size of excretory organs.
A warning of significant complications may be constant monitoring of the mother’s blood and the determination of certain elements in it - hemolysins. In the event of their presence, the expectant mother is carefully observed by specialists.
If, in the course of further research, the number of antibodies continues to increase continuously, and the condition of the fetus becomes worse and worse, then it may be necessary to organize a premature birth or a blood transfusion to the fetus. Some specialists constantly determine the analysis of group antibodies for pregnant women with the first blood group when there is reason for this.
What is more important - a group or a rhesus?
Experts are convinced that the blood group at conception is not so important as the Rhesus factor of the father and mother. It is preferable that the father and mother have the Rh factor identical, this will make it possible to avoid problems that may appear at any period of bearing the baby, conception, or even after the baby is born.
When to receive treatment?
If parents learned in advance that the Rh factors are incompatible, then before conceiving, it is best, and in some cases just necessary, to take a specialized course in order to prevent the fetus from being rejected by the woman’s body.
If, however, spouses with various Rh factors are already waiting for a replenishment, and no precautionary steps have been taken during the planning of pregnancy, then it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the fetus throughout pregnancy. At present, when detecting a Rhesus conflict, it is possible to prevent unpleasant consequences by introducing antibodies - immunoglobulin for a period of 26-27 weeks.
ABO conflict
In most cases, the ABO conflict is expressed in hemolytic (or physiological) jaundice in the child. In addition, children become troubled, often scream or, on the contrary, lose their activity, become broken, sleep longer than children of their age should. In advanced situations, a bilirubin attack affects the brain and other important organs of the baby. But in most cases, congenital jaundice disappears in a couple of weeks with the support and constant control of doctors. The main treatment is to support the baby’s body.
As during the period of carrying a child, if a high degree of group antibodies is detected, the specialist can prescribe additional glucose into the veins or add it to the baby’s diet, and take vitamins to improve the process of blood purification by the excretory system. If the child has an increased amount of bilirubin, you do not need to resist the appointment of additional complementary foods or medical procedures. As a rule, this does not prevent feeding the child. This is a kind of "ambulance" for the baby to improve his health. Such events contribute to the harmonious growth and formation of the body.
Is jaundice possible?
If there is a conflict in the blood group of the newborn, other medications may be prescribed by the doctor, including during inpatient treatment. If jaundice begins to affect the brain cells of the child, therapy is carried out under close supervision by doctors. Now they often talk about the benefits of belated cord crossing after giving birth. Bandaging the umbilical cord is delayed at the time of termination of its movement, which allows the child to receive beneficial substances after birth. This is exactly the procedure that is prohibited if the parents have different blood types.
Even if it is assumed that the baby received the mother’s blood group and there is a high risk of developing a blood group conflict, the umbilical cord should be removed immediately after birth. This will save the baby from possible problems. However, the main thing with jaundice in newborns is prevention. In the process of bearing a child, a woman does not feel negative phenomena from incompatibility with the child. In this regard, if there may be a conflict in the blood group, you need to be examined in a timely manner, plan a birth with an experienced specialist and remember the need for a proper lifestyle.
Hormone levels
It will help to prevent the possibility of the formation of a conflict over the blood group during pregnancy by identifying and regulating hormones in the woman's body that affect the proper formation of the placenta. Since the placental embryonic organ just turns out to be a reliable barrier to the inadmissibility of contact of the mother’s blood with the blood of the fetus. This barrier is located between the maternal and fetal layer of the placenta.
Most often, pregnancy and childbirth are good, and advanced forms of hemolytic disease occur once in 200 pregnancies. In addition, it is necessary to get registered in a antenatal clinic in a timely manner, take all the required tests, monitor whether the number of antibodies is increasing. The child’s dad must also pass a blood test to identify the group and Rh factor. After all, if he has blood of the first group, then there will be no conflict over the blood group. The effectiveness of monitoring such a deviation in bearing a child will depend on how long it will be revealed.
When does Rh conflict occur?
The Rh factor and Rh conflict in the blood group during pregnancy appear in the baby, starting from 7-8 weeks of fetal development. It is during this period that the child develops its own Rh factor. At the same time, antibodies tend to accumulate, and the situation can rapidly change.
Today you can read many sad stories of mothers who were faced with the result of a conflict of blood types. During brain damage, they notice a lag in the development of the baby, sometimes vision or hearing may disappear. Some mothers struggle with a baby's cramps or raise their children with severe stages of cerebral palsy. But to restore full health to such children is no longer possible.
When a woman has a negative Rh, she is urged to take an analysis to determine the antibodies in the period from 7 to 8 weeks of gestation. If there is a risk of deviations, a new analysis should be carried out at 28-30 weeks. With increased values of the number of antibodies in the first trimester, monitoring for fluctuations in the growth of blood enzymes is carried out more often - 1 time in 14 days. In this case, much will depend on the position of the fetus.
If blood transfusion cannot be done, then a decision must be made on preterm delivery. It is categorically impossible to risk such a deviation. If the baby's pulmonary system has already formed (the 28th week of pregnancy), then it is necessary to stimulate the birth, otherwise the future mother may have a miscarriage.
Antibody Prevention
The most effective method of preventing the appearance of antibodies to the D-protein is considered to be the introduction of anti-Rh (D) -immunoglobulin of the future mother. The drug allows you to block antigenic sites of Rh-positive red blood cells, preventing the appearance of new ones. When passive antibodies are introduced, their excess appears, which leads to the suppression of their occurrence in the body.
The main importance in the prevention of incompatibility is given to family planning. For the conception of a child, the negative Rh-factor is not in danger. When planning motherhood, you need to determine the indicators of a woman and her spouse. Before conception, it is necessary to conduct a study for the presence of Rh antibodies in the blood of a woman. When pregnancy occurs, it is necessary to carry out registration as early as possible and to strictly observe all the doctor's prescriptions.
Healing procedures
Blood diseases in infants require comprehensive, thorough treatment to avoid unpleasant and untreatable complications. The more clearly the signs are expressed, the more noticeable is the conflict of blood groups, to establish which an analysis is carried out for an increased amount of bilirubin.
The essence of therapeutic procedures is to eliminate antibodies in the child’s blood, damaged red blood cells and excess bilirubin. For this, phototherapy and other treatment methods are carried out that are aimed at eliminating the symptoms. In those situations where this does not bring results, or the amount of bilirubin in the blood increases too rapidly, a blood transfusion is performed.