Can my baby have sickle cell traits when myself &hubby are AA??

[deman26]

I had my baby March 7th @39weeks 2days.with no complications.I got a letter today saying the new born screening she had says there is a sickle cell traits in her.myself and the father are both AA!Thou am 35years.can My age affect mybaby sickle cell traits???Just been feeling so sad ever since I heard it.been making calls to the sickle cell organization listed in the letter but they promised to get back at me.have read stuffs online!Just not happy.my 2years old toddler never had this.Thou she has had another test which result will be out in a week time.pls help me????Am losing my mind!

[deman26]

Thanx so much for the comments.I was asked to take her for another screening which I did last week Thursday.result should be out in a week time.hopefully there's a mixup some where.Am just restless with bad thoughts about my baby.i long to have her,I loved her right from my womb .have zero my mind towards bad thoughts.am ready to fight fo her.

[Deirdjam]

So, I just realized something. By AA, you  meant African American. I was thinking you were referring to your hemoglobin make-up. Amongst the medical community, AA when referring to sickle cell means the genetic makeup of your hemoglobin gene. For example, "A" is adult hemoglobin gene, while "S" is sickle gene (found in people woth sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease). It takes two different genes (one from mom and the other from dad) to make up the baby's hemogloblin gene. Therefore, when you wrote "AA," I incorrectly interpreted that has both you and your husband had two adult hemoglobin genes and were unable to pass the sickle gene to the baby. As stated in the last post, if one of you guys are a carrier, it is possible for your child to be a carrier. Remember, most people are completely fine as carriers. If both of you are carriers, you child may have sickle cell disease. If you know someone with sickle cell disease, the thought of the pain crises and complications may scare you, please don't let it. Some people have more severe pain crises/complications than others. There are medicines (like Hydroxyurea) that really help people with sickle cell disease. Sorry for the confusion.

[Deirdjam]

If you and your husband are both truly AA, it is very rare your child will have sickle cell trait. Sickle cell follows the rules of Mendelian inheritance. This means if you are both AA, all of your offspring will be AA. If one of you is AA, while the other is AS. There is a 1/2 chance that your child will be AA, and 1/2 chance they will be AS (have sickle cell trait; or be a carrier for sickle cell disease). If both of you are AS, there is a 1/4 chance your child will have SS (actual sickle cell disease), 1/4 chance of AA, and 1/2 chance of AS. If your child, God forbid, does have AS (is a carrier for sickle cell disease), don't be scared. Most (probably over 90%, but I am estimating here) people don't have any complications/symptoms at all. My husband has sickle trait and played highschool football. He didn't even know he had a sickle trait until donating blood in highschool. I am AA and not worried in the least about my baby having AS. It really hadn't crossed my mind until I saw your post. Hope this helps.