HOW COMPATIBLE IS YOUR BLOOD TYPE TO YOUR PARTNER'S?

Hello everybody, it’s Patie again bringing you yet another important health chat. It's been long minus having this kinda post but i thought this could be an eye opener to somebody out there.

I hope you are doing fine, if you are dealing with something not quite pleasant, i send my love and best wishes to you. Get well soon darling! 

Today i want to bring you up to speed with an issue that most people especially here in Uganda and Africa at large don't consider vital, yet it is. This is about the Blood type system and the Rhesus factor system and how they could possibly affect your relationship.

You gotta know your blood group guys!

Now, i know for a fact that many of you guys out there do not even know what your blood type is. This is in no way meant to make you feel some kinda way, it's a fact that we can't shy away from and it’s not good, at all. You probably haven't had a chance or even reason to know it. I too, didn't know mine till i was 12 years.

I will cut straight to the chase; this is going to be particularly about people with the Rhesus Negative blood type. Since i don't have huge insecurities about stuff, i will let you in....i'm AB Negative! For a fact, this is considered the rarest blood type with only 0.6% of the world's population while AB Positive is 3.4% I'm unique guys, hahaha.

People with AB blood inherited an A gene from one parent and a B gene from the other. Based on the underlying number of people in the A and B blood types, the odds of that particular combination happening are simply lower than any other possibility.

With this rare occurrence comes some bits of complications such as which person can donate to you and health issues relating to pregnancy and child birth as a whole.

Here is who you can donate to or receive blood from, take note!

Usually, the blood type system goes hand in hand with the rhesus system therefore knowing your blood type helps you know the rhesus stand. Some people carry the Rhesus D and therefore Rh Positive while some like myself don't and therefore Rh Negative. (I will not get into much details because it’s a wide and complex topic) 

I just want to create awareness about some health risks that we can prevent. If you are interested in knowing more, you can do an extensive google reading.

There is something called Rhesus Incompatibility which is plainly when a mother-to-be and father-to-be are not both positive or negative for Rh factor. If a woman who is Rh negative and a man who is Rh positive conceive a baby, the fetus may have Rh positive blood, inherited from the father. (About half of the children born to an Rh-negative mother and Rh-positive father will be Rh-positive.)

Rh incompatibility usually isn't a problem if it's the mother's first pregnancy. That's because the baby's blood does not normally enter the mother's circulatory system during the pregnancy.

During the birth, however, the mother's and baby's blood can mix. If this happens, the mother's body recognizes the Rh protein as a foreign substance. It then might begin making antibodies (proteins that act as protectors if foreign cells enter the body) against the Rh protein.

Rh-negative pregnant women can be exposed to the Rh protein that might cause antibody production in other ways such as via blood transfusions with Rh-positive blood so pregnant mothers ought to be careful and their medical personnel too.

With your rhesus factor position, here is which blood you can receive

When Is a Baby at Risk?

Rh antibodies are harmless until the mother's second or later pregnancies. If she is ever carrying another Rh-positive child, her Rh antibodies will recognize the Rh proteins on the surface of the baby's blood cells as foreign. Her antibodies will pass into the baby's bloodstream and attack those cells.

This can make the baby's red blood cells swell and rupture. This is known as hemolytic or Rh disease of the newborn. It can make a baby's blood count get very low.

How Is Rh Incompatibility Treated?

If a pregnant woman has the potential to develop Rh incompatibility, doctors give her a series of two Rh immune-globulin shots during her first pregnancy. She'll get:

• The first shot around the 28th week of pregnancy
• The second shot within 72 hours of giving birth

Rh immune-globulin acts like a vaccine. It prevents the mother's body from making any Rh antibodies that could cause serious health problems in the newborn or affect a future pregnancy.

In rare cases, if the incompatibility is severe and a baby is in danger, the baby can get special blood transfusions called exchange transfusions either before birth (intrauterine fetal transfusions) or after delivery. 

Exchange transfusions replace the baby's blood with blood with Rh-negative blood cells. This stabilizes the level of red blood cells and minimizes damage from Rh antibodies already in the baby's bloodstream.

Here is how Intrauterine fetal blood transfusion is done(to the unborn baby ofcourse)

This comes at a cost which might not be affordable for every ordinary person and that's the reason i emphasize being open minded to learning something new every day. Who knows this very blog could lighten up something for your understanding.

Now folks, i didn't bring this up to scare nobody, i just want us to be aware of these things. Sometimes a couple fails to get children or have miscarriages, stillbirths or even sometimes give birth to very weak children and sicklers.

In the African setting, we would say, the lady or man was bewitched,...the in-laws don't wish them well or something of the sort. Actually, some of these myths and misconceptions can be explained scientifically and solved.

An approximate count of world wide blood group distribution

So, my dear readers, be WOKE! Before you meander to some spiritual healer to get kids, first have your situation analyzed by the right doctors. Oh, i'm a believer so i will say, talk to God about stuff because clearly he is the one keeping even those fake wizards of yours alive.

I hope this article was helpful to you and I’m awaiting your comments down below. If you have something that you would like to see in the next blog, please let me know. I would even catch a grenade for you my esteemed readers.  That’s how much I appreciate your support guys, thank you!

INFO CREDIT: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/rh.html