Patient's question:
I had a child in 2018, had an abortion in 2019, and now I am pregnant again, but I don't want to. I am O-negative blood type, and my partner is AB-positive. I want to have another child in a year. I heard that ABO hemolytic disease gets worse with each subsequent pregnancy. Is ABO neonatal hemolytic disease serious?Doctor's answer:
Hemolytic disease of the newborn refers to a condition where, due to incompatibility between the blood types of the mother and the fetus, the mother's body produces blood group antibodies that are not compatible with the blood type antigens of the fetus. These antibodies pass through the placenta into the fetus, causing alloimmune hemolysis. Common blood type incompatibilities occur in the Rh blood group system and the ABO blood group system. Other causes of hemolysis during the neonatal period include defects in red blood cell enzymes or red blood cell membranes, which have specific names. Only hemolysis caused by blood type incompatibility is referred to as hemolytic disease of the newborn. Hemolytic disease of the newborn can lead to hemolytic jaundice and anemia. Treatment includes phototherapy, the use of albumin, and exchange transfusion, which is entirely manageable and there is no need to be overly concerned.