What is a serological conflict?

Everyone knows - it's not like Mom's. Very early - because during pregnancy, conscious women are particularly cautious in their behavior - they give up stimulants, take care of proper nutrition and state of their health. Women must be aware of the dangers that lurk during pregnancy. Let's focus on one of them - the title: serological conflict. Especially future moms (but also fathers) should know: what is he and if their child may be exposed to him.

Serological conflict as simple as possible

To best understand what a serological conflict is - you need to learn certain mechanisms in your blood.

Each of us is characterized by something: one has a small nose, and green eyes, the other has a big nose and the eyes are again hazel. Some are blondes, others are brunettes, etc., etc. We differ in features visible on the outside. Not everyone, however, can realize that we have many individual features inside our body. Let's concentrate on what is connected with the serological conflict, namely blood - more precisely - on erythrocytes.

Erythrocytes, or red blood cells, are the elements responsible for the transfer of oxygen throughout the body. All erythrocytes of a given person are identical in terms of certain features. The state with the notion of a blood group certainly met. Well, blood groups: A, B, AB, O - it is nothing more than a reflection of these features of red blood cells. Let's try to explain it with a simple example: if someone has very fair hair - then we say that he is blond. If a red blood cell - on its surface only has so-called antigen A, that is, the person's blood has blood group A. If only the antigen B - blood has group B. If both at once - then the person has blood type AB, and if there is no antigen on red blood cells - then the blood has group 0.

It is known that a person with blood group A should be transfused if necessary with the same group. Why? A person whose erythrocytes have antigen A produces antibody against blood group B. It's as if the blondes were without any negative attitude towards the brunettes, and they beat them every time they were in their vicinity. This is how the elements of the blood act - they try to eliminate everything that looks different and is unknown to them. And this is the background for a serological conflict between the mother's blood and the child's blood.

Certainly you are perfectly aware that the blood outside the main group, namely: A, B, etc., is determined by the so-called Rh factor. Without going deeper into the issue - let us define the Rh factor as one of the features of erythrocytes. Whereas erythrocytes can have a Rh factor: we say Rh + then, or not (which is similarly called Rh-).

85% of people have Rh factor on their blood cells. The problem starts when the future mother of the Rh factor does not have it, that is, her blood is marked as Rh-, while the expected child is Rh + (because he inherits this feature from his father). It should be mentioned here that a child from the first pregnancy (if only the mother has not miscarried) has not been exposed to the consequences of serological incompatibility. Why? During pregnancy and pregnancy, Rh- mothers are immunized. What does it mean? Under normal conditions, during the course of pregnancy, the mother's blood does not mix with the baby's blood. However, during delivery (miscarriage, intrauterine operations, placental abruption), such contact may occur. What happens then? Some of the mother's blood components "seeing" the child's Rh factor (I remind you that the baby has Rh + blood) recognize him as something foreign - an intruder, like a virus or bacteria and start producing antibodies against the Rh factor. This is a typical creation of immunological memory. All this so that in the event of another contact with this "intruder" be able to immediately react and eliminate it. If no protective measures are taken, such a scenario may occur during the next pregnancy. If the next child has a Rh + factor, the antibodies from the mother's blood (IgG antibodies) will penetrate the placental barrier and begin to fight the "intruder", i.e. they will begin to destroy the baby's red blood cells.

What are the risks of a serological conflict? What can happen to my child?

If a serological conflict has developed, the child develops hemolytic disease of the newborn (Latin: Morbus haemolyticus neonatorum ), with various, often very severe, course. It should be mentioned here that the consequences of the serological conflict affect only the child. The mother remains healthy.

Haemolytic disease can have various forms:

• Generalized swelling of the fetus - this clinical form is usually the most severe. It may result in fetal death or death of a newborn soon after delivery. In the child, swelling of the whole body, enlargement of the liver and spleen, development of heart failure and too low levels of proteins and potassium are observed.
• Severe hemolytic jaundice - in this clinical form the newborn is born with symptoms of jaundice. If you do not get the right treatment for a newborn baby, it can even lead to brain damage.
• Severe anemia (anemia) of newborns - this anemia can develop up to several weeks after birth (we are talking about a lighter form then). In more severe cases, the baby is born pale, with enlarged liver, spleen and with various edema.

What can you do to protect your child from the danger of a serological conflict?

First and foremost, you should be aware of this danger. Women with the Rh-blood group should especially remember this. Report to the attending physician about the possibility of a problem. With the rest - knowing the blood type of the patient, the doctor will be aware of this. It is only the doctor who can take appropriate action. During pregnancy, they rely on the control of the mother's anti-recuritic antibodies in all women up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and in women Rh in the following weeks. In addition, the fetus is subjected to continuous observation - in order to rule out possible changes (haemolysis, enlargement of the liver, spleen, etc.). After a happy solution to each pregnancy (also after a miscarriage, intrauterine surgery, and other), in the first day after the birth of the mother mother with blood group Rh-, gets anti-D antibody. That is the factor directed against IgD antibodies. In this way, there will be no antibodies against the Rh factor in the mother's body, and the baby will be safe next time. This prophylactic procedure gives effectiveness in 97%.

Serological conflict in the ABO system

If there is too dangerous serological incompatibility within the Rh system, there may also be incompatibility within the main blood groups - namely ABO. This is a non-compliant less dangerous and less frequent occurrence. Approximately 20-25% of pregnancies show such non-compliance, of which 10% have a serological conflict. This conflict has a milder course. The main symptoms of a child's serological conflict are: severe jaundice on day 1 or 2 of the child's life and anemia of the child. Very rarely generalized swelling may occur. In this conflict, the first child is also exposed.

summarizing

Every woman with blood Rh-seeking for a child must be aware of the possibility of a serological conflict. With the health of your future children in mind, do not be afraid to ask the doctor about the possibility of serological incompatibility. By making the right decisions, the doctor will help protect your child from the dangerous consequences of the disease.