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I’m blood type O and I have a chance of having a baby with ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn. Should I have an IAT done while I’m pregnant?

April 26, 2017ABO baby blood chance disease hemolytic I’m type

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I’m blood type O and I have a chance of having a baby with ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn. Should I have an IAT done while I’m pregnant?

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Hemolytic disease of the newborn may occur when there is an ABO incompatibility between mother and baby, especially with mothers who are blood group O. However, the IAT is not useful in this situation because our bodies naturally produce antibodies against the A and B antigens we do not have on our red blood cells. A mother who is blood type A will naturally have antibodies directed against the B surface antigens on red blood cells, and a mother who is type B will have anti-A antibodies, and so on. An IAT is not used to screen in cases of ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn because it is already known that the antibodies are present in the mother’s blood.