Question
After a newborn develops jaundice and recovers after treatment with jaundice-lowering medication, the test results show neonatal hemolytic positivity. What is neonatal hemolytic positivity? Is this condition severe?
Answer
Neonatal hemolytic disease refers to a condition caused by incompatibility between the mother and baby’s blood types, leading to the mother producing blood type antibodies that are incompatible with the baby’s blood type antigens. These antibodies cross the placenta into the fetus’s body, triggering an immune hemolysis. Common blood type incompatibilities include the ABO blood group system, and it can also be the Rh blood group system. This condition may lead to hemolytic jaundice, and in severe cases, it can cause acute bilirubin encephalopathy, forming nuclear jaundice, which poses a threat to the newborn’s life. Treatment methods mainly include phototherapy and blood transfusion.