Patient's question:
Main symptoms: Pregnancy of five and a half months, fetal edema found in ultrasound examination, induced abortion occurred. Onset time: December 21, 2008. Test results: No tests were performed.Doctor's answer:
Hello, fetal hydrops is a syndrome that is highly likely to cause fetal death and occurs in the early stages of fetal or infant development. It is characterized by severe generalized edema of the soft tissues, with significant fluid accumulation in the chest and abdomen. The heart, liver, and spleen may become enlarged. Severe cases can lead to fetal death or symptoms such as jaundice and hemolysis after birth. Generally, fetal edema can be classified into immune hydrops and non-immune hydrops.1. Immune Hydrops is caused by incompatibility between the blood types of the pregnant woman and the fetus, leading to immune hemolysis of the fetus or newborn infant. It is a type of alloimmune hemolytic disease, primarily resulting from ABO blood type incompatibility or Rh blood type incompatibility. Rh incompatibility mainly occurs when the mother has an Rh-negative blood type, while the fetus has an Rh-positive blood type. In general, human blood can be classified as Rh-positive or Rh-negative. If the mother is Rh-negative and the fetus is Rh-positive, the fetal blood is treated as foreign, leading to the production of antibodies against fetal blood, which gradually destroys fetal red blood cells. ABO incompatibility mainly occurs when an O-type female marries a male who is not O-type, resulting in ABO incompatibility. However, the symptoms are slightly milder compared to Rh incompatibility.
2. Non-Immune Hydrops is primarily seen in vascular diseases, placental abnormalities, or pulmonary malformations in the fetus. Generally, ultrasound is a necessary diagnostic tool. It is recommended that you go to the hospital for a detailed examination.