Jaundice due to ABO blood type disagreement

The article is consulted professionally by Resident Doctor Ho Thi Hong Tho – Pediatrician – Pediatrics – Newborn – Share99 Phu Quoc International Health Hub.

Jaundice caused by increased free bilirubin in babies is a biological phenomenon. However, when jaundice levels rise rapidly and many are often quite severe and can cause brain damage, followed by cerebral palsy, severe migrating if not actively treated. Blood type disagreement between mother and child is one of the causes of severe newborn jaundice.

Blood type is one of the characteristics that identify a particular person. Blood type is determined based on the presence of antigen proteins on the surface of red blood cells.

Based on proteins on the surface of red blood cells, blood is divided into groups with characters A, B, O. Accordingly, the way of distinguishing blood type according to ABO can be blood type A, blood type B, blood type AB or blood type O. This is because there are two types of antigen proteins, represented by A and B. A person with blood type A means having antigen A on their red blood cells. The same with antigen B. However, a person with an AB blood type means that on blood cells there are both types of antigens while blood type O means no antigen.

For the Rhésus(Rh)antigen system, blood will be divided into two groups with Rh being positive or negative, written as Rh + or Rh-. People with rh blood type are positive which means having Rh proteins on the surface of red blood cells and vice versa for rh negative.

Thus, only by the way blood groups are classified according to the ABO and Rh systems when described together there have been up to eight different blood groups: A +, A-, B +, B-, AB +, AB-, O + and O-. However, this is just a common way of identifying and there are many other ways of identifying blood types but the popularity is low, so little is mentioned.

The blood type of the fetus is prescribed due to the coordination of two sets of chroma that come from eggs and sperm. Accordingly, the child receives half the genome from the mother and half of the genome from the father, which combination determines which ABO and Rh blood the child's blood belongs to.

However, in rare cases there is still a disagreement between the mother and the fetus. This disagreement will categorise depending on the blood type classification system.

Rh incompation occurs during pregnancy if the mother is Rh- and the baby is Rh+. This is a serious problem when the mother's body does not recognize the Rh protein before and will treat it as a foreign substance (antigen). During pregnancy if the placenta is damaged (threatening to miscarriy) or when the placenta peels during medtaal labor, rh antigens from the fetus enter the mother's lapse through the umbilical cord, the immune system produces antibodies attached to the antigen and initiates an attack on the red blood cells of the fetus. As a result, it often causes miscarriages very early.

However, it is fortunate that this is not a common problem since most people have Rh+ blood type. Despite this, in the population there are still about 13% of women with Rh- and at risk of rh incompat compatibility pregnancy. This will happen when the father is Rh+ or is completely unaware of rh status before. Finally, Rh incompation between the mother and the fetus can cause a condition called congenital hemolytic disease of the newborn. If the baby is alive until birth, it will also have very severe newborn jaundice.

The mother and fetus may also have ABO blood type incompaties and may also cause congenital hemolysis in newborns. However, compared to the Rh system, this incompat compatibility usually has less serious consequences. This is a condition that occurs when the mother has blood type O and the baby is A, B or AB. Like Rh incompaties, this will activate the mother's immune system, treat the A or B antigens in the blood of the fetus as foreign substances and cause an immune response, attacking and destroying them.

Blood incompation between the mother and the baby can cause various complications, among which the highlight is hematoma in babies with manifestations including anemia and jaundice. Jaundice is always the most common symptom of hematoma in babies when jaundice occurs very early in the first 24 hours of life and progresses very quickly. For ABO blood type incompatance, the level is usually mild and will disappear over time.

However, with Rh incompat compatibility, the consequences can be very serious, which can sometimes be life-threatening for the baby. At this time, babies can be born with severe jaundice, which is characterized by the accumulation of a substance called bilirubin – which is released after the decomposition of red blood cells. The accumulation of bilirubin is the main cause of the characteristic yellow color observed on the skin and the strengthening of the child's eyes.

Most often, the liver will be the body that is responsible for processing bilirubin and excreting from the body through the intestinal tract and excreting. In children with congenital hemolytic disease, due to the massive breakdown of red blood cells in excessive quantities, the rate of liver transfer does not keep up, causing the accumulation of bilirubin in the blood with high concentrations and the manifestation of jaundice.

Free increased jaundice bilirubin is a normal post-birth psychological phenomenon of the baby it usually occurs on the 3rd to 5th day lasting 7 to 10 days after calving. However, when jaundice is more likely to have serious consequences, bilirubin accumulation is at risk of causing brain damage, called jaundice (kernicterus).

Jaundice occurs when bilirubin levels are so high that the substance moves into the brain. At this time, babies not only have severe jaundice, but also may show signs of mental disorders such as lethargy or lethargy, sleeping chickens, separation. In addition, the child also has other signs of brain damage such as muscle weakness, decreased reflexes interspersed with muscle stiffness, arches of the back and neck, cries of crying, fever and convulsions.

M mother's blood type disagreement and jaundice are considered a medical emergency. Children should be actively treated for bilirubin with light therapy and considered in combination with blood transfusion changes to minimize the extent of damage caused to the brain, preventing progress to complications of cerebral palsy caused by jaundice.

Fortunately, blood group incompaties can be actively prevented by early blood tests during pregnancy. If ABO or Rh blood type incompation is found, immunoglobulin treatments will be taken approximately 28 weeks during pregnancy. These proteins, when introduced into the mother's body, neutral the antibody produced as well as contribute to preventing the immune system from producing new antibodies, limiting to the maximum the attack on the red blood cells of the fetus. From there, early screening and proactive preventive treatment will avoid the birth of a child with severe jaundice that leads to brain damage.

Prevention is always the best thing. However, if it is too late and the newborn has congenital hemolysis, the child should be monitored closely for jaundice as well as a dosing test for bilirubin levels in the blood, helping to keep the baby in a safe range until the liver can completely eliminate bilirubin. If severe he hematoma leads to anemia, the newborn should be given an early blood transfusion with the right volume. At the same time, children are also given light therapy to quickly eliminate bilirubin. In addition, active care such as increasing breastfeeding, increasing the amount of milk each also helps to increase the amount of feces and urine, increasing the rate of excretion of bilirubin.

For the prevention of accidents caused by m mother and child blood group disagreements, women should be examined and screened before pregnancy to help proactively and detect early factors that are at risk of affecting the health of mothers and babies. In particular, in case of the first birth there has been a disagreement of the ABO blood type, the maternity should give birth a second time away from the first time so that the amount of antibodies in the body decreases, it is better for the pregnancy and should consider choosing package maternity examination packages to closely monitor the complications affecting the mother and child from the beginning of pregnancy. pregnancy until labor.

At Share99 International Health Hub, there is a full maternity service as a solution to help pregnant mothers feel secure because there is a team of doctors throughout the pregnancy. When choosing a full-service maternity, a pregnant woman can:

• The process of pregnancy is monitored by a team of specialists
• Regular examination, early detection of abnormalities
• Package maternity for the convenience of childbirth
• Infants receive comprehensive care

SEE MORE:

• Blood type test during pregnancy: What to know
• Blood type disagreements during pregnancy: What to know
• What happens if there is a blood type disagreement between mother and child?

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