Preventive examination Antibody screening test: What pregnant women need to know

Why the antibody test is so important during pregnancy, what risks it reveals and how Rhesus prophylaxis protects.

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At the beginning of a normal pregnancy, women usually go to the gynecologist every four weeks. These regular onesand their close implementation serves the health of mother and child.

There is sometimes uncertainty among expectant mothers about one test: the antibody test, also called the indirect Coombs test. We'll tell you why it's important, how it's made and how possible antibodies are treated.

Antibody screening test: what is it?

Every person has one of the blood groups A, B, AB or 0 with a positive or negative Rhesus factor (sometimes there are mixed forms of the Rhesus factor; more detailed examinations are necessary). As the name suggests, the antibody test looks for antibodies in the mother's blood, especially antibodies against the Rhesus factor.

There are natural antibodies that can occur in the blood and irregular antibodies that can only be detected in the blood after a blood transfusion, organ donation or pregnancy.

In order to determine the mother's blood type and test her blood for possible antibodies, the first step is to have her blood taken. This happens both during the initial examination and again between the 24th and 27th weeks of pregnancy. Blood is usually drawn from a vein in the arm.

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Antibody test during pregnancy: why is it so important?

The antibody test is particularly important for women with negative Rhesus factor. If the mother is rhesus negative and the baby is rhesus positive (because the father has rhesus positive blood), the blood may mix, for example during birth.

This in turn would lead to the mother building up antibodies against Rhesus positive blood, which is then referred to as Rhesus intolerance. In a subsequent pregnancy (with an Rhesus positive baby) this can lead to complications, from birth defects to death. The mother's body would reject the second baby because it considers him a potential danger.

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Antibody screening test: Protection through Rhesus prophylaxis

Rhesus intolerance can only occur if the mother has a negative Rhesus factor and the father, and therefore perhaps also the unborn baby, are Rhesus positive. Women who have Rhesus positive blood are not at risk.

If the mother's blood was tested for Rhesus antibodies and the test was negative, she can be protected from intolerance. This happens through Rhesus prophylaxis. This means that the mother receives one during pregnancy or after the birthAnti-D immunoglobulin syringe, which ensures that the mother's body cannot produce Rhesus antibodies.

If antibodies can already be found in the mother's blood, the injection can no longer be given. The pregnant woman then has to go to the doctor more often to monitor her health and that of the child more closely.

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Further antibody blood tests in pregnancy

In addition to the antibody test, which explicitly looks for Rhesus intolerance, there is another antibody test that is carried out during preventive examinations and is intended to ensure the health of mother and child.

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TheRubella antibody testshows, among other things, whether a sufficient number of antibodies against rubella can be detected in the pregnant woman's blood. This is the case if she has already survived a rubella infection or has received two rubella vaccinations.

A rubella infection during pregnancy can, under certain circumstances, lead to serious physical and mental abnormalities in the child. Vaccination during pregnancy is not possible because the vaccine could harm the unborn child. However, vaccination is possible again before a planned pregnancy or after birth.

Sources:
Onmeda.de
familienplanung.de(Information provided by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA))

Important NOTE:The information in this article is for informational purposes only and does not replace a diagnosis from a doctor. If you have any uncertainties, urgent questions or complaints, you should contact your doctor.