The special pride of the Pope, along with the discovery of a smaller copy of his own nose in a baby, is the presence of a similar blood group in a newborn. Perhaps he hopes in vain, and she will be my mother's? What determines the blood type of the child, which is indicated by not entirely clear characters? Consider all these questions in this article and below you can calculate your child’s blood type using a special table.
A bit of history
The future winner of the prestigious Nobel Prize, Austrian researcher Karl Landsteiner, conducted an interesting experiment. Taking blood from several like-minded employees, including himself, he divided it into a liquid component, serum, and red cells - red blood cells. Mixing six samples in various ways, the scientist discovered that in the serum some red blood cells are distributed evenly, while others stick together and then settle to the bottom. During the experiments, scientists identified three different groups of human blood, which they labeled A, B, and O. The fourth, discovered six years later by Dr. J. Jansky, was most likely simply absent from the participants in the experiment.
The Czech researcher proposed to designate blood types differently, using Roman numerals, and in 1928, the symbolism was adopted, which is still used - 0 (I), A (II), B (III) and AB (IV). It was proved that not all donor blood is suitable for the patient, when transfusion is required, but only the appropriate group. In honor of Landsteiner's greatest discovery, which helped save the lives of millions of people, International Donor Day is celebrated on his birthday - June 14th.
What is blood
The division of blood into groups is based on the presence of specific antigens of erythrocytes A and B and is as follows:
- I (0) - there are no antigens in the blood;
- II (A) - the presence of only antigen A;
- III (AB) - the presence of antigen B;
- IV (AB) - on the surface of the erythrocyte there are both, A and B.
Antigens are reliable body guards located on the surface of red blood cells. With the invasion of the virus, they immediately begin to actively produce antibodies that are securely attached to it and immobilize.
What determines the blood type of the child
Timely determination of the blood type of the child is extremely important. After all, if necessary, its transfusion can be done only with a similar type of life-giving moisture. It is extremely important for young children, which is why blood is taken for analysis in the maternity hospital. To determine what will be the blood type of the child, curious parents can even before the birth of the crumbs. Long-term studies of geneticists have shown that this indicator, like many other signs, is inherited from mom and dad. Gregor Mendel, considered the founder of genetics and known for his experiments with peas, formulated laws in the middle of the 19th century, according to which a child’s blood group inherits its parental parameters (you can see it in a special table of a child’s blood group). In short, it looks like this:
- Mum and Dad will have owners of the same blood group I (0) - A and B antigens will be absent from the heirs;
- parents have a combination of groups I (0) and II (A), or I (0) and III (AB) - the blood type of the child is similar to that of the parent;
- spouses IV (AB) - options are possible, any type of child’s blood, except I (0);
- if the parents of the baby have II (A) and III (AB) - it is rather difficult to predict, any blood type is equally possible for children.
Child blood type table
Interesting! The owners of I (0) are considered hunters and meat-eaters, II (A) are farmers, vegetarians and lovers of various berries, the third blood group is among nomads and bread lovers, but owners of IV (AB) are quite capable of becoming vampires for unique omnivorousness and compatibility.
Rh factor and blood type of the child
On the erythrocyte membranes of the vast majority of the world's population, there is a lipoprotein, a special protein, this is the mysterious Rh factor, which is designated by the Latin letters Rh. Its presence is confirmed in approximately 85% of the population of the planet, their blood is therefore called Rh-positive. In the absence of protein, why blood does not get better or worse, they say that a person has a negative rhesus. The letters Rh are used with the signs "+" or "-". If the potential parents of the baby do not have protein, then the long-awaited children will not show up, no matter what their blood type is.
The presence of + Rh in both parents guarantees that heirs will appear in 4/5 of all cases, although 1/5 remains for the possible option of having -Rh. But if the father has the baby -Rh, and the mother has + Rh, or vice versa, then the crumbs are likely both the presence and absence of a lipoprotein. Thus, the Rh factor, as well as the blood type of the child, depends on the factor of heredity.
Blood compatibility of potential parents
Creating a family and dreaming of a firstborn, future parents sometimes do not know that the success of conception, the future health of the little ones and the well-being of the gestation period directly depend on their compatibility with the blood group and the Rh factor. Ideally, the same Rh is desirable, regardless of the presence or absence of protein. With different types of Rh factor, ambiguous scenarios are possible:
1. Mom has + RH, dad -RH. In this case, sometimes you have to wait for the desired pregnancy for quite a long time, and after that you also have to be ready for possible difficulties. Often, in order to carry the child, the mother needs to stay in the hospital for a long time, and the Rh factor and the child’s blood group inherited from the father can cause problems with the baby's health.
2. Negative mommy's RH and positive for the father, which will be discussed in detail below, can sometimes lead to fetal death and miscarriage.
Rhesus conflict
Most of the trouble happens if mom has -Rh, and dad has + Rh. In 75% of cases, the fetus will have a fatherly positive Rh factor, which will cause active resistance of the maternal immune system. Perceiving the baby's red blood cells as foreign, she will seek to destroy them with actively produced antibodies. In turn, the child's body, losing red blood cells, produces new ones, while the spleen and liver are very significantly increased. Gradually, oxygen starvation, brain damage, even the death of an unborn baby is possible. While waiting for the first child, the real danger is not yet so great, and the serious Rh-conflict troubles may not arise, but the risk increases with each subsequent pregnancy.
In this situation, the future mom should be under the constant supervision of doctors. In the antenatal clinic, she will have to constantly donate blood for the number of antibodies hostile to the red blood cells of the baby. Immediately after birth, the child’s blood type and Rh factor are determined. If the crumb has + Rh, then an anti-Rh immunoglobulin is urgently injected into mommy, which will allow you to avoid trouble if you want to have another child. Do the same if the first pregnancy ended in miscarriage or artificial interruption. Doctors began to use this innovative method only at the end of the last century.
Blood type - is incompatibility possible
Not only the Rh factor plays a crucial role in the safe conception and birth of a strong baby. No less important is the compatibility of future parents in the blood group, as the table below convincingly demonstrates. It allows you to see that a conflict may occur in the following cases:
- I (0) and negative Rh factor in mom determine the possibility of conflict with proteins of the second group A, the third group B and positive rhesus;
- II (A) with negative RH - a conflict is possible with proteins of positive rhesus, the third and fourth groups B;
- III (AB) and negative rhesus may conflict with proteins of the fourth group A, second group A and positive rhesus protein;
- IV (AB) is the most non-conflict group, trouble can arise only with -RH in mom and + RH in dad.
If the mother, for example, I (0), and the child’s blood group is inherited from the father and is different from the mother, the pregnant woman’s body will start to produce antibodies against it - antiA and antiV. It becomes clear the indispensable blood test at the first visit to the antenatal clinic. Indeed, in this case, it is possible to determine in advance for the mother with the first group the presence of immune antibodies and to prevent the possible development of hemolytic disease in the newborn baby in the blood group.
Attention! If you suspect the development of hemolytic disease, do not shy away from regular blood tests for antibody levels! The optimal timing for normal delivery in this case is 35-37 weeks.
Many experts are convinced that if the father’s blood type is higher than the maternal one, the baby will be born strong and healthy. Conflicts due to incompatibility with each other in the blood group are not so rare, but they are not as dangerous and global as with Rhesus incompatibility. Timely examinations, regular visits to antenatal clinics and obedient implementation of all the doctor’s recommendations will allow you to safely conceive, bear and give birth to a healthy baby.
