Question

A nurse in the newborn nursery is monitoring an infant for jaundice related to ABO incompatibility. What blood type does the mother usually have to cause this incompatibility?

1. A

2. B

3. O

4. AB (Nugent 332)
Nugent, Patricia M. Mosby's Review Questions for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, 7th Edition. Mosby, 2011. VitalBook file.

Answer 1

ABO incompatibility, which can lead to neonatal jaundice, commonly occurs when a type O mother has a newborn with either type A or type B blood, as the mother's antibodies can attack the infant's RBCs.

Step-by-step explanation:

A nurse in the newborn nursery is monitoring an infant for jaundice related to ABO incompatibility. To cause ABO incompatibility, the mother usually has blood type O. This is because type O blood does not have A or B antigens on the surface of the red blood cells (RBCs), and therefore, the mother can produce anti-A and anti-B antibodies. If the infant has either type A or type B blood, inherited from the other parent, these antibodies can cross the placenta and cause jaundice by destroying the baby's RBCs. However, it's important to note that ABO incompatibility is one of several potential causes of neonatal jaundice, and other factors, such as Rhesus (Rh) incompatibility, may also play a role.