Pregnancy and Anti-e Antibody
Q: I just found out that I have anti-e antibody. I am seven-weeks pregnant. How did I get it? How will it affect my pregnancy? Will this happen in all future pregnancies? Thanks,
A:
Our red blood cells have numerous proteins on them. These proteins differ from one person to another and are part of what makes us unique. When your husband and consequently your baby have an antigen on the red blood cell that you do not have, there is a chance that you will either already have or develop an antibody against that protein. This is what happens with Rh incompatibility. The mother produces antibody against the D antigen present on the red blood cells of the baby. This antibody can pass through the placenta and destroy the baby's red blood cells. A similar process may occur with the anti-e antibody. However, the problems caused by anti-e antibody are much less common and much less severe than those associated with the D antigen, which causes Rh disease. There are a number of these antigens (proteins) that can stimulate antibody production in a mother's body. The e antigen is not one that usually causes a lot of problems.
At some time your body was exposed to the e antigen, which is not present on any of your cells. This could have happened during a blood transfusion, miscarriage or previous pregnancy with a child that did have the e antigen. Your body recognized the e antigen as being foreign to you and has made antibody to this protein. Once developed, you have the antibody against the e-antigen forever.
Severe problems with antibody to the e antigen occur rarely and this antibody will not likely affect either you or your pregnancy. If your antibody level rises during the pregnancy, your doctor may recommend additional testing, such as an amniocentesis. Even if you have one of those very unusual situations where the antibody to the e antigen causes a situation like that seen in Rh disease, there are lots of things that you doctor can do to help you have a healthy baby.
Although this all sounds complicated, you have a very good chance of having a healthy baby.
I hope that this helps,
Dr. Nathan
Pediatrics
Dr. Nathan is a neonatal pediatrician with over 25 years of experience in caring for sick infants and children. He was recently selected as one of the top pediatric specialists in the Twin Cities area.
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