International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

The risk of death among preterm babies suffering from necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) has been linked to blood type by recent maternal and newborn health research.

The disease affects around 7,000 infants delivered about eight weeks early or weighing under three pounds and five ounces and is characterised by the destruction of the intestinal walls, which can lead to a life-threatening infection.

A study by Loyola University Medical Center in the US found preterm babies with the AB blood type are three times more likely than other premature arrivals to die from the disease.

The paper, which was published in the Journal of Perinatology, was authored by a team led by Jonathan Muraskas, co-medical director of the institution's neonatal intensive care unit, alongside assistant professor in the Division of Neonatology Tricia Thomson.

Following the findings of the research, the scientists suggested doctors reconsider the usual practice of giving premature infants transfusions using Type O blood and use the variety specific to the baby instead.

"Although this will likely not eradicate NEC, it is an easily modifiable factor that may help to prevent those cases of NEC that develop in relation to the transfusion of blood products," they explained.

This comes after a University of California, San Fransciso-led study published in journal Science Translational Medicine found some steroids given to premature infants could negatively affect their brain development.

Posted by David Smith