ABO incompatibility?

[kosh]

i knew about Rh causing problems, but just heard that mothers with blood type O carrying A or B babies can have problems too.

does anyone know anything about it?
thanks

 

[kosh]

no one?

 

[LittleBird]

I don't know... I have type O Pos, so I would be interested to know, but I haven't had an issue with that in the past.

 

[LittleBird]

Ooh, I just read the Wikipedia article on it and I can say that both my boys had jaundice when they were born... I don't know if it was related to this though.

 

[kosh]

thanks littlebird, i think it is likely it was related
i'm interested to know if it can be cause of miscarriage too

 

[LittleBird]

Well, the article made it sound like the blood doesn't mix during pregnancy, but if there is trauma or a difficult delivery, it can cause problems. Another link I was reading said that the doctor should clamp the cord as soon as possible to limit the amount of mother's blood that gets into the baby's system. I'll keep searching to see what I find.

 

[LittleBird]

This article: Abortion/Miscarriage says that ABO incompatibility can be considered "Fault in the maternal environment" causing miscarriage.

 

[kosh]

thank you!!

 

[PugLuvAh]

It can be a problem if the mother is Rh- and the father is Rh+ because then you can have an incompatability problem with the baby if its Rh+. If the mother is Rh+ and the baby is Rh- then there is no issue. Its like if you needed a blood transfusion, O+ can accept O+ or O- but a person with O- can only accept O- blood.

I am O+ and my hubby is O- which is why I inquired...so we're ok. It might have been a problem if it was the other way around. I think there are anti-rejection drugs they can give you if thats the case.

 

[blueeyedgirl1]

My sister was a "Rhesus baby" in terms that my parents Rhesus factors weren't compatible and my sister's blood could have clotted upon birth. It doesn't occur in your first child's birth as your immune system only "learns" the opposing Rh factor when your blood first mixes with the baby's. It CAN be a problem in subsequent births.

I would guess it can only cause a MC if there's something that physiologically that goes wrong with the baby's development and mum's blood suddenly mixes with baby's blood, reacts and attacks the cells. That's only a guess though from what I've learned at Uni in the past (Immunology).