I am pregnant and have O negative blood, father has A negative... will there be any complications?

Question

My doctor briefly discussed this, saying he should take a blood test to be certain and that we might have complications. Can anyone explain this better? If we are both negative will we be fine? Or does the O vs. A have cause for concern?? I read articles but can't find the answer I am looking for!

My doctor wouldn't supply further information until she has the results from the fathers blood test.... she rushed us out of her office as she is extremely busy. He is 95% certain of his blood type, so I did a lot of research, but can't quite find the answer. There are people out there who have either experienced this themselves or know of others who have.... just looking for an insight on those who have experienced this already - if I were an "idiot" I wouldn't care about this at all. The answer from my doctor will come soon enough, and it will be the answer I ultimately use.

Answer 1

Rh factor is the thing your doc is worried about. If one parent is + and the other -, that is when you should be concerned and to take precautions (a.k.a. getting the Rh shot during the late 2nd or early 3rd trimester)

Answer 2

My understanding was that if both of you are rh negative, you should be fine. If mom is negative and dad is positive, the chances are great that baby will be positive, which could problems in later pregnancies. (if some of baby's positive blood gets into mom's negative bloodstream, mom develops antibodies to destroy positive blood. In that case, a postive baby in the future could be attacked by mom's body....) "



From what I've read, blood type is only relevant in that situation... but I'll let you know if I find more.
OK... I just found this (see source below) but it doesn't give details...

Problems with the Rh factor occur when the mother's Rh factor is negative and the baby's is positive. Sometimes, an incompatibility may occur when the mother is blood type O and the baby is either A or B.


Here's more, although it's pretty technical:

"ABO typing is the first test done on blood when it is tested for transfusion. A person must receive ABO-matched blood because ABO incompatibilities are the major cause of fatal transfusion reactions. To guard against these incompatibilities, typing is done in two steps. In the first step, called forward typing, the patient's blood is mixed with serum that contains antibodies against type A blood, then with serum that contains antibodies against type B blood. A determination of the blood type is based on whether or not the blood clots in the presence of these sera.

"In reverse typing, the patient's blood serum is mixed with blood that is known to be type A and type B. Again, the presence of clotting is used to determine the type.

"An ABO incompatibility between a pregnant woman and her baby is a common cause of HDN but seldom requires treatment. This is because the majority of ABO antibodies are IgM, which are too large to cross the placenta. It is the IgG component that may cause HDN, and this is most often present in the plasma of group O mothers."



HDN is: hemolytic disease of the newborn.


So, it appears A/O blood causes an incompatibility problem only very rarely...

Answer 3

I had a RH Factor pregnancy with my first son, his father was positive in blood type and I was Rh negative. I got my RH shot late in the pregnancy, which made the whole 9 months hell honestly. I was very sick.

Two negatives wouldnt give you a positive, so you sound like you will be perfectly fine. It only gets complicated when one parent is negative and the other is positive. The two blood types conflict when you've concepted and it sees the child as a foriegner. But Over all please DONT WORRY! Listen to your doctor and encourage her to take her time with you more, otherwise it might be a good idea to get an OBGYN who spends the time to listen. Makes all the difference in the world.

I have enclosed some links of RH factor and how a woman would be diagnosed with RH Factor.
Good luck!!

Answer 4

There is a concern *if* you are Rh- and the baby's father is Rh+ (or unknown). Then there is a small chance that the baby will be Rh+ and enough of it's blood will mix with yours that you will become sensitized (ie your immune system will attach the Rh factors in the baby's blood)

However as you and your partener are both Rh- there is no need for Rh-immune globulin during pregnancy of after birth.

There is also something called ABO incompatibility but I'm not that familiar with it. Mostly it causes jaundice, which scientists have lately been finding is protective for the baby.
http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/A/ABO_incompatibility.html

Answer 5

If you are both negative, then it is fine. The problem comes when you are negative and the father is positive. You are RH negative. I am too. If it turns out that your husband is positive, they will just give you a shot at 28 weeks, and again after the baby is born. My Midwife just gives the shot, they don't test the fathers blood. If you are RH negative than they just do it.... Also, it wont harm this pregnancy at all, the danger comes with later pregnancies, because your body will build up antibodies to the RH, and reject any babies that are RH+.... But if your husband is A-, then you don't even have to worry about it....Good Luck!

Answer 6

I don't think it so much depends on blood type from the ABO category, but more of the Rh factor, which is separate from blood typing.

there could be complications depending on what antibodies you each possess and whether or not you are Rh positive or Rh negative.

Your doctor should explain it better so you know more of what's going on. Make sure you ask him next time you see him, or better yet, call him up and ask for a better explanation because you are curious as to what may be the problem.

Answer 7

ok ,i am a- and my husband is also a-,the way this was expained to me is that if you have a negative blood type and the father has positive blood type then is when you have the problem,the dr told me 2 negatives cannot make a positive baby so in other words the reason there is a concern is that the baby would have a chance of being + which would fight the babies blood type ..i think with 2 negatives you are ok...

Answer 8

I think the only problem would be if the father were Rh positive. The doctor probably wants to be sure that he isn't mistaken about whether he's -/+. A vs O shouldn't be a problem. If it is, I've never heard anything about it and I'm O negative myself.

Answer 9

Hi If ur o- and ur partner is a- it shouldn't be a problem the problem would be if u were 0- and ur partner was a+ then the white cells in ur body will think that the baby is forgen and attack it because mostly likely the baby will have a+ blood. But there is a shot that ur doctor can give u while ur pg and right after ur baby is born.

Answer 10

I am not sure about your question but I do know that if you take a little O Negative and some A negative and throw in a jigger of Vodka mix well with a little old bay seasoning and Tabasco over chipped ice an a stalk of celery it make one heck of a bloody Mary I like to call it the crusty vampire. PS lighten up at least your pregnant there is lots of people who cannot have babies so sit back and enjoy until they tell you something is seriously messed up. P.S. the surgeon general says that drinking during pregnancy can cause complications!!!!!!!!!