Rh incompatibility occurs during pregnancy if the mother is Rh- and the baby is Rh+. If you get a positive Rh gene from one parent and negative from another, your body will produce the Rh protein and you are considered Rh+. While there are four options for ABO, there are only two for Rh and positive is dominant. You get one gene from your mother and one from your father for ABO and Rh and that combination determines your blood type.
In other words, everyone has one of each type, from ABO and Rh. When ABO and Rh and described together, there are eight different blood types: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+, and O. Positive means that a person’s blood has the Rh protein and negative means that the protein is absent. Rh blood type is positive or negative, written as Rh+ or Rh. B refers to B antigens, AB means the blood cells have both types of antigens, and O means that there are no antigens on the blood cells. Someone with type A blood has A antigens on their red blood cells. There are two proteins, which are known as antigens, represented by A and B. Blood is typed as ABO, but also by Rh factor. More specifically, the type describes the kinds of proteins, or lack of proteins, that a person has on their red blood cells. Blood Typingīlood type describes the characteristics of blood cells in a particular person. Preventative treatments can reduce the risk of an incompatibility harming the fetus or newborn. It is easy to check for blood types in the mother and baby after birth and for the possibility of Rh incompatibility during pregnancy. When a mother and her developing fetus have incompatible blood types, it can lead to disease in the baby, and potentially to severe jaundice that may cause the brain damage that can then cause cerebral palsy. Sources of information for the article are listed at the bottom.įor any content issues please Contact Us.īlood type is used to describe the proteins, or the absence of proteins, on blood cells, and although it may seem completely unrelated, blood type can actually be a risk factor for cerebral palsy in certain scenarios. If a person has the genes -, the Rh factor will be negative.Ī baby receives one gene from the father and one from the mother.This article has been fact checked by a Board Certified Pediatrician. If a person has the genes + -, the Rh factor will also be positive. If a person has the genes + +, the Rh factor in the blood will be positive. The Rh-positive gene is dominant (stronger) and even when paired with an Rh-negative gene, the positive gene takes over. Rh factors follow a common pattern of genetic inheritance. A baby may have the blood type and Rh factor of either parent, or a combination of both parents. The following are the possible combinations of blood types with the Rh factors: If there is no Rh factor protein, the person is Rh- negative. If the Rh factor protein is present on the cells, the person is Rh-positive.
The Rh factor is a protein that is found on the covering of the red blood cells. The blood type is found as proteins on red blood cells and in body fluids. The blood type and the Rh factor simply mean that a person's blood has certain specific characteristics. Every person has a blood type, (O, A, B, or AB) and an Rh factor, either positive or negative.