How many months of pregnancy is it best to check for hemolysis

If you are not pregnant or working in the medical industry, you probably don’t know what hemolysis means. However, after pregnancy, in order to detect the baby's health problems as soon as possible and not let the baby suffer because of their ignorance, many parents conduct hard research on their own. So, at which months of pregnancy is it better to check for hemolysis?

How many months of pregnancy should I check for hemolysis

Neonatal hemolytic disease is mostly caused by incompatible blood types of maternal and infant products. During the mother's pregnancy, both the mother and the father should have their blood types tested. Newborn ABO hemolytic disease is common when the pregnant woman has type O blood and the husband has type A, B, or AB blood. Should be maintained regularly. Generally, the first test is done at 16 weeks of pregnancy, the second test is done at 28 to 30 weeks, and then every 2 to 4 weeks. Blood antibody titer testing during pregnancy can detect and treat blood type discrepancies between the mother and the child early, and terminate the pregnancy immediately if necessary.

How to prevent hemolysis during pregnancy

1. Premature delivery of pregnant women. If an Rh-negative pregnant woman has a history of stillbirth or miscarriage, the mother's blood can be used for immunological testing. If antibodies are detected, the pregnant woman can be tracked daily to check the changes in antibody titers. During this pregnancy, the Rh antibody titer rises from a low of 1:32 or 1:64 or above, and the total bilirubin value of the pregnant woman's amniotic fluid increases, and the ratio of phosphatidylcholine/sphingomyelin in the amniotic fluid is >2 (indicating that the fetal lungs are complete), early delivery can be considered to reduce fetal damage.

2. Repeated plasma exchange. For pregnant women with severe Rh hemolytic disease whose Rh antigen titration level in prenatal blood continues to increase, repeated plasma exchange treatment can be given to replace the antigen. Relieve fetal hemolysis.

3. Intrauterine intravenous injection. In case of fetal hydrops, or fetal Hb < 80g/L and imperfect lungs, intrauterine intravenous injection can be performed to immediately introduce extracted blood cells that do not coagulate with the pregnant woman's blood cells into the umbilical vein under B-ultrasound monitoring.

4. Medicines. Starting from the fourth month of pregnancy, you can take the Chinese medicinal materials Leonurus granules, Chuanxiong, Red Peony Root, and Magnolia officinalis, one dose per day until the pregnant woman gives birth. Pregnant women whose ABO blood type does not match hemolytic disease can be given Chinese herbal medicines such as Artemisia capillaris to prevent it. Pregnant women should take phenobarbital sodium 90 mg/d 1 to 2 weeks before delivery to induce the production of fetal glucuronyl transferase.

5. Termination of pregnancy. Pregnant women should be given comprehensive treatment to reduce the risk of pregnancy, and the pregnancy should be terminated if necessary.

Not all newborns will have neonatal hemolytic disease after birth. First, you can check the blood types of the expectant parents. After selecting pregnant women with a high possibility of hemolysis, it is best to start hemolysis testing in the 16th week of pregnancy. After the test, some treatment methods can be used during pregnancy to prevent hemolytic disease after birth.