Re: Anti-C Antibody - Can anyone explain?


<pokee@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1127284360.342076.80190@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi,
>
> I just had a baby 5 days ago and my baby developed jaundice due to an
> "ABO Incompatibility".

This is not an ABO incompatibility. It is an Rh antigen that you developed
an antibody to.

I am told this means I have an Anti-C antibody

An antibody screen is performed as a part of all prenatal workups. When it
is positive for irregular antibodies then an antibody identification is done
and a titre is performed. It gives a number as to the strength of the
antibody. The strength is important and the number will dectate how the
pregnancy will be followed up with testing to check the health of the baby.
The titre is followed and if it gets too high then amniocentesis may be
performed to check for bilirubin levels of the fluid.


> with my O POS bloodtype. My baby also has O POS, but not the Anti-C.

The baby had a test to check for the C antigen? If you have an anti-C then
the babies blood will contain anti-C. The anti-C will react with the babies
C antigen if the baby is positive for that antigen and lead to hemolytic
problems.
>
> I am confused and my doctor didn't spend enough time with me at the
> hosptial to explain.
>
> I've read on the net that this is quite serious.

Not if followed properly. Anti-D is usually more of a problem as it tends to
yield higher titers.

Anti-C is dosage related. In your case your babies affected will be Cc and
not CC. They are at a lower dose because your babies will have less C in
their blood.

I probably developed
> this antibody from a blood transfusion from my first pregnancy (no
> problems with 1st baby) and I've read that this could have (and may
> cause) more problems with my baby.

I would ask your doctor to have your husband tested for big C and little c
antigens on his red cells. His blood is CC or Cc. Your blood is cc as you do
not have C. If your husband is CC then all he can donate is C and all your
babies will be contain some C antigens. If he is Cc then only half of your
babies will be C positive and the other half will be C negative or cc babies
just like you and will not be affected what so ever with anti-C.
It helps with future care.
>
> Can anyone explain this condition and what the risks are (to me and my
> baby)?

I would respect the presence of your antibody and would hope you keep track
in the future when dealing with operations or need for transufusions in the
future. I would make everyone aware of your antibody status as delays in
crossmatching is common.
Remember where you had the antibody identified for future reference.
Sometimes the antibody goes away in a few years but that does not mean you
should recieve random units. All blood recieved in the future must be C
negative units. The blood bank may not pick up the antibody if it goes away.
You may end up with a delayed transufusion reaction if you are given C
positive units in the future and that is not good for you or your kidneys
etc.

With future pregnancies your baby may end up with jaundice as the red cells
are destroyed and they can harm the baby if the bilirubin gets too high.
They monitor you throughout your pregnancy with titers and as I stated an
increasing titer would indicate your baby probably is C positive and
stimulating your antibody production and if it gets high enough they can
check amniotic fluid and do a bilirubin level on that as a stand in for your
baby and they can go from there.


Is my baby's jaundice more serious because of the cause?

Obviously cause is important on how to treat but once the baby is out then
this cause is easily treated. The treatment is the same for all hemolytic
disease of the newborn but if severe enough then an exchange transfusion
can be done to replace the babies blood with C negative blood to reduce the
jaundice when it is a high levels. This is rarely done.

Her
> billirubin counts were okay when we left the hospital 2 days ago, but I
> am worried I should be monitoring this more closely.
>
> Thanks,
> Paula
>

If your pregnancy was monitored then I wouldn't worry about it as it often
resembles any other ABO incompatibility.


.

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