What is Blood Incompatibility? Why Does It Happen?
The incompatibility between the blood of the expectant mother and her baby is called blood incompatibility. Blood incompatibility can occur for two different reasons. The first consists of the difference in Rh protein in the blood of the mother and baby. It occurs when the mother’s blood is Rh negative and the baby’s blood is Rh positive. Another type of incompatibility is blood incompatibility caused by AB0 blood groups difference. In some cases, if the baby’s blood comes into contact with the mother’s blood, blood incompatibility occurs due to AB0 blood group difference. In this article, you can find answers to your questions such as what is blood incompatibility, how does it happen, what is a blood incompatibility injection and blood incompatibility in marriage.
Contents
What is Blood Incompatibility?
Can Blood Group Incompatibility Be Treated?
How Does Blood Incompatibility Happen?
Who is at Risk in Blood Incompatibility?
Can Blood Incompatibility Be Prevented?
Blood Incompatibility Test
Blood Incompatibility Needle
Blood Dispute in Marriage
What is Blood Incompatibility?
Rh factor in the blood is a protein found outside or on the surface of red blood cells. It helps maintain the elasticity and shape of red blood cells. The Rh factor is passed on to you genetically from your parents. If the Rh factor is present in the blood, the person is Rh positive, if not, Rh negative. Blood incompatibility occurs when the mother’s blood is Rh negative and the baby is Rh positive. The mother’s blood perceives this Rh protein as foreign and the mother’s immune system produces antibodies against the Rh positive factor, that is, it becomes defensive. This situation causes serious problems for the health of the baby. The formation of this immune defense develops very slowly and is rarely a health problem in the first pregnancy. Blood incompatibility can cause serious problems in other pregnancies.
Can Blood Group Incompatibility Be Treated?
Blood group incompatibility can be detected and treated early in pregnancy. If Rh incompatibility is detected, Rh immunoglobulin treatment is applied at the 28th week of pregnancy. If a blood incompatibility is not detected, the baby may develop jaundice which can cause brain damage. Although jaundice can have serious negative consequences, it is a condition that can be treated with developing technology. The most common symptoms of jaundice are yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes and require medical attention. With hydration and phototherapy treatment, bilirubin that causes jaundice is excreted. Another type of blood incompatibility is the incompatibility arising from AB0 blood groups. There may be blood incompatibility between mothers and babies with different blood group and people who take blood supplements from their own blood group. When blood incompatibility occurs due to the difference of AB0 blood groups, early intervention cannot be done to the baby in the womb, as in Rh factor blood incompatibility.
How Does Blood Incompatibility Happen?
Blood incompatibility can occur in two different ways. These are Rh factor and AB0 blood group incompatibility. If the mother’s blood is Rh-negative and the father’s blood is Rh-positive, if the baby’s blood is Rh-positive, blood incompatibility arises due to the Rh factor. During pregnancy, the blood of the mother and the baby do not come into contact with each other, but after some situations, the mother’s body becomes sensitive to the Rh positive factor. If the mother’s blood passes to the baby after the formation of antibodies in the body, the antibodies formed begin to break down and kill the red blood cells. After this situation, the baby’s heart may stop or other damage may occur. Even if the problem does not occur in the first baby, it can cause serious health problems in children born later. Conditions in which the maternal body is sensitized include:
Performing a blood transfusion (blood transfusion)
have been low before
ectopic pregnancy
having given birth before
Performing procedures such as amniocentesis, CVS
Often experienced complications related to bleeding during
Bilirubin is produced by the breakdown of the baby’s blood. Too much bilirubin causes jaundice. Jaundice occurs rapidly in newborns as a result of blood incompatibility, and babies diagnosed early do not have many problems with the treatment.
Who is at Risk in Blood Incompatibility?
AB0 blood incompatibility occurs between different blood groups. Some blood groups form antibodies when they come into contact with different blood groups. AB0-induced blood incompatibility can be seen between blood transfusion and mother-infant.
If your blood group is A, your blood has antibodies against blood group B, AB.
If your blood type is B, your blood has antibodies against blood group A, AB.
If your blood group is 0, it means you are a general donor, so you don’t have antibodies against other groups and you won’t have any problems donating blood.
If your blood type is AB, you are in the general recipient group. Your blood does not react to other blood groups, you can receive blood transfusions from all blood groups.
Therefore, blood groups of the recipient and donor are checked before the blood transfusion is performed. If the wrong blood group is transplanted, short-term effects such as fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, difficulty in breathing, low back pain and palpitations may occur.
Can Blood Incompatibility Be Prevented?
During pregnancy, antibodies can be produced in the mother’s body due to the difference in blood group with the transfer of the baby’s blood to the mother. By looking at the blood groups of the mother and father candidates during pregnancy, an assumption can be made about whether there will be blood incompatibility. For example, if the mother is O father and has A or B blood group, blood incompatibility may develop. AB0 blood incompatibility is very common in pregnancies. In this type of incompatibility, there is no chance to take early precautions as in Rh incompatibility, but the hemolytic disease seen in AB0 incompatibility does not cause serious health problems as in Rh incompatibility. After birth, babies are observed and treated for jaundice.
Blood Incompatibility Test
A test called the Coombs test is used to detect antibodies that attack your red blood cells. This test is used to screen your blood before blood transfusions or to detect blood-related health problems such as anemia. There are two types of coombs test as indirect coombs test and direct coombs test. Indirect coombs test is applied to detect blood incompatibility that may occur during pregnancy.
Blood Incompatibility Needle
The most effective method in the treatment of blood incompatibility is blood incompatibility injection. This injection, called anti-immunoglobulin, is administered at the 28th week of pregnancy. If the baby’s blood is Rh negative, a second dose is not needed after birth. If the baby’s blood is Rh-positive, a second dose of injection is administered within 72 hours after birth. With the Rh immunoglobulin injection, the mother’s immune system is prevented from producing antibodies that can cause serious complications in the baby’s body or pose a risk to the baby’s health in later pregnancies. With this effect, it functions as a vaccine. Also, if you have experienced bleeding during pregnancy and during the amniocentesis screening test, your blood may have come into contact with your unborn baby’s blood. In such a case, you can use an immunoglobulin injection under the control of a doctor. In addition, it is very important for health to have immunoglobulin measurements in Rh-negative women after unsuccessful labor or in case of pregnancy intervention.
Blood Dispute in Marriage
Among the questions that couples who are considering marriage are wondering and frequently asked are questions such as what is blood incompatibility, is there a treatment, and in which blood groups there is a risk of blood incompatibility. Although it is not a problem for the spouses themselves, couples who want to have a baby should not underestimate the blood incompatibility for the health of the baby. Before having a baby, couples should determine whether there will be blood incompatibility and if there is blood incompatibility, they should start early treatment. In summary, it can be said that if you want to have a baby, you can check before pregnancy for your baby’s health and find out if your baby will have a blood incompatibility. With early diagnosis and treatment, you can have a healthier pregnancy process and have a healthy baby.
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