What is Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn?
Hemolytic disease of the newborn, is an alloimmune condition that develops in a fetus, when antibodies that have been produced by the mother and have passed through the placenta include ones which attack the red blood cells in the baby’s circulation. During the birthing process, blood cells from the unborn child can escape into the mother’s bloodstream. These cells are recognized as foreign if they are a different blood type from the mother and a natural rejection process will ensue with the formation of antibodies. The process is known as red cell alloimmunization. This event typically occurs after the delivery of a baby at the end of pregnancy, but other pregnancy-related events such as elective abortion or spontaneous miscarriage can result in antibody formation. Although the pregnancy in which the alloimmunization first occurs results in an unaffected child, future children are at substantial risk. In these subsequent pregnancies, newly formed antibodies in the pregnant patient can
