An adult human being has in his body between 4 and 6 liters of blood, an essential element for survival that circulates through the body through blood vessels. The function of blood is essential for the body, transport oxygen to organs and tissues and defend the body from infections and viruses.
Each person has different molecules in their blood cells, and it is from these that the 4 blood groups are formed. These molecules called antigens give rise to the 4 groups which are of type A, B, O and AB. But in addition, there are many people who have one more element in their blood, a protein that is part of red blood cells. And from there the Rh factor is born, people who have this protein will be Rh positive and those who do not have it, Rh negative.
Even today it is not known for sure why these differences exist in terms of blood type, but there are a very curious theory that relates it to evolution. Through the different stages of the human being in prehistory, the blood had to adapt to the different living conditions, mutating and receiving the different antigens that make up the blood groups.
What is blood incompatibility?
Knowing what your blood group is is very importantKnowing your partner's is too, and you may never have thought about it. It is logical that you have never thought about this question, since there is too much misinformation about it. When you need a blood transfusion, it is necessary to know what your blood group is so that your body does not reject it.
Approximately 85% of the world's population has the protein that gives rise to the Rh factor, that is, their blood is Rh positive. In contrast, people who do not have it are Rh negative. The Rh factor is what determines the incompatibility between the different blood groups.
Receiving blood incompatible with yours can provoke you different complications and health problems. But this is not the only blood incompatibility that can occur. A baby conceived by two people who are incompatible due to their Rh factor can also suffer serious health problems.
How blood incompatibility affects pregnancy
A baby receives at the time of its conception a series of elements that form its genetic inheritance. Blood is one of them, so the baby can inherit the blood group of either parent. It is also possible that a combination of the two will form and you will also inherit the Rh factor.
The Rh positive factor is dominant versus negative, so if the mother is Rh negative and the father is Rh positive, the baby will be Rh positive inherited from his father. And this is where the possible incompatibility between the mother's blood and that of the baby is born.
The mother's immune system recognizes a foreign element that is the baby's Rh positive, what it does is form antibodies to fight that protein it does not recognize, in the same way that it would face a virus or bacteria. During pregnancy, these antibodies can cross the placenta to attack red blood cells that contain the 'foreign' protein.
The consequences for the baby are devastating:
- Hemophilia: it is a hereditary disease that affects blood clotting.
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)): a serious disease that affects the development of the baby.
- Anemia, among other serious health problems.
When does Rh incompatibility affect?
The mother's body does not have the antibodies, until it comes into contact with blood which has the Rh protein. So generally this problem does not affect during the first pregnancy, however there is the possibility of contact through some events such as:
- Abortions occurred previously
- Through a transfusion of blood
- Through the prenatal examination procedure called amniocentesis
During childbirth is when there is the greatest probability that the mother's and baby's blood come into contact. In this way, the mother's body creates the antibodies that are waiting for a future attack.
Today there are different treatments to solve this problem, however, knowing the blood group of both parents is a very simple procedure. Knowing it in advance can prevent future health and conception problems in the future baby.