How Blood Group Affects Jaundice in Newborns

Jaundice in newborns can be related to blood group incompatibilities between the mother and the baby. The most common causes of jaundice due to blood group incompatibilities include ABO and Rh incompatibilities. 
 

For example, if a mother is O positive and her baby is A positive, the mother's antibodies can penetrate the baby's bloodstream, leading to jaundice. This is because the mother's immune system produces antibodies against the baby's blood type, which can cause the baby's red blood cells to be destroyed, releasing bilirubin into the bloodstream 
 

Minor blood group incompatibilities, such as anti-E incompatibility (where a mother's immune system produces antibodies against the E antigen on the surface of red blood cells in her baby), can result in the destruction of the baby's red blood cells, releasing bilirubin into the bloodstream. Severe cases of anti-E incompatibility may lead to hemolytic disease in the fetus and newborn, causing conditions such as hyperbilirubinemia, which may require exchange transfusion for treatment. 
 

Watch our next video to know about “Phototherapy for Jaundice in Newborns!” 

Source1:-Newborn Jaundice | Duke Health. (n.d.). Newborn Jaundice | Duke Health. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.dukehealth.org/blog/newborn-jaundice 
 

Source2:-Özcan, M., Sevinç, S., Erkan, V. B., Yurdugül, Y., & Sarıcı, S. Ü. (2017). Hyperbilirubinemia due to minor blood group (anti-E) incompatibility in a newborn: a case report. Turk pediatri arsivi, 52(3), 162–164. https://doi.org/10.5152/TurkPediatriArs.2017.2658