Do you know your blood type?
The most common blood types are A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, O positive, or O negative. The type is determined by the protein found on the surface of your red blood cells. The positive or negative that accompanies your blood type refers to your Rh factor. If you have this certain protein, you are “positive.” If not, you are “negative.”
For most of your life, your Rh factor doesn’t impact your body or health in any way—until pregnancy and childbirth when there is an opportunity for the mom and developing baby to share blood.
Babies inherit the Rh protein from their mother or father. If the mother's Rh matches the baby’s—if they are both positive, for example—then there is no risk. The same is true if they are both negative. Rh becomes a potential issue when a woman who is Rh-negative is carrying a baby with Rh-positive blood. This is called “Rh incompatibility.” In this scenario, a woman’s body develops antibodies to attack the “foreign” blood cells of the baby. This can cause an immediate or a future problem.
Usually, a mother and baby don’t share blood, but a small amount can mix during labor and delivery. It can also happen during tests (like amniocentesis or CVS), any vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, injury during pregnancy, or pregnancy complications like a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.
The risk to the baby is that he might develop anemia, which kills off red blood cells quicker than they can be replaced.
How can your medical provider help?
Fortunately, this serious problem can be prevented!
First, medical providers will give a simple blood test early in pregnancy to see if you are Rh-negative. If so, the provider will give an injection of immune globulin, which will prevent the antibodies from forming. This will prevent the antibodies from “attacking” the baby’s blood if it happens to cross.
You may also have follow up tests later in pregnancy to make sure your body is not producing these antibodies that might be problematic later in pregnancy.
If your body has already made antibodies (this can sometimes happen due to complications in earlier pregnancies), your medical provider will closely monitor your baby via ultrasound for any level of anemia. If anemia is detected, doctor’s can perform an in utero blood transfusion or one after birth to ensure the health of the baby.
These are the kinds of topics that we cover in our Childbirth Education Classes and that your Tennessee Family Doula would be happy to discuss more with you. Give us a call today!
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