The little one may experience blood clotting or imbalances in blood composition. This is done when phototherapy is unsuccessful and there is a very high risk of developing potentially life-threatening complications such as kernicterus and severe anemia.Īs with any procedure of this scale, there are risks involved. This is more commonly done with babies and moms who are Rh incompatible, and hardly ever necessary with ABO compatibility. This is a process in which the baby’s own blood will be removed from the body while, at the same time, transfusing a donor’s blood that is negative for antigens. In the most severe cases of hemolytic disease, the baby will require a more aggressive treatment called an exchange transfusion. In this case, hemolytic disease may develop after childbirth. In the newborn, the still immature liver may not be able to process the bilirubin load as well as the mom can. In some cases, this will result in the swelling of the little one’s tissues, a dangerous condition called hydrops fetalis.īut just because the little one is clear of symptoms during pregnancy doesn’t mean they’re not going to pop up during childbirth. However, if the destruction is so fast that it results in anemia, the fetus may experience enlargement of the liver and spleen. This is because the placenta is still able to take bilirubin and return it to maternal circulation, where mom’s liver metabolizes it into something less harmful. In some of the milder cases, symptoms will not present during the pregnancy. If, however, it’s too late for the mom-to-be to receive immunoglobulin treatment and it’s highly likely that the mom’s immune system will target fetal red blood cells, it’s important to monitor the fetus for possible complications. As a general rule, the presence of any antigen is a dominant gene. Others are recessive, which means that if they’re paired with a recessive gene, they won’t appear at all and a baby will need to inherit both recessive genes for her to have that specific blood type.
Some of these genes are dominant, which means that they will present in the baby no matter what they’re paired with. A baby inherits half of the genes that determine blood type from mom, and the other half from dad. The letters indicate the person’s ABO type, while the positive or negative symbol indicates the RH type. Keep this in mind as it will come to play when we talk about the immune system. These surface proteins are among the things that help the body distinguish its “own” cells from that of another, possibly harmful organism. Each of these actually stand for the presence or absence of distinct proteins, known as antigens, located on the surface of each person’s red blood cells. 15 Blood Types ExplainedĪnyone who has had a blood test will see that the test results will be a combination of one or two letters and either a positive or a negative sign. In some countries, these tests are even mandatory. Many doctors now encourage blood tests for both the mom and the dad to help calculate the risks. It’s also important to understand how the immune system works, as this has an important bearing on the specific set of symptoms that occur when mom and baby have different blood types.īut it’s also important to know that, with modern medicine, it’s perfectly possible to avoid all these dangers completely. It’s important to remember, however, that chromosomes from the mother and the father are present in making the baby, so it’s quite possible that the baby will be the father’s blood type, and not always compatible with the mother’s. After all, it may be difficult for some to wrap their head around how mom and the baby can have different blood types in the first place. To understand this variety of reactions, it’s important to learn about blood types and how they’re inherited. In yet others, it may mean an extended hospital stay, or even an admission in the neonatal intensive care unit. In some, the symptoms will be so mild that there’s no need for treatment. In many cases, mom and the baby having different types will result in hardly any complications at all. This is tricky, complicated business, however. Many know that it’s potentially dangerous for the pregnant mom and her baby to have different blood types.