Rh Incompatibility

The Rh factor of a person's blood is determined by the presence or absence of a protein on the red blood cells. If a person's red blood cells contain the protein, the blood is described as Rh positive. If the protein is absent from the blood, it is described as Rh negative.

Rh incompatibility occurs when an Rh negative mother carries an Rh positive fetus. This positive Rh factor can be inherited from the child's father. If the mother's blood encounters the fetus's blood through the placenta, her immune system may respond to the presence of the protein and attack it with antibodies.

The immune reaction normally poses no threat to the woman's first child, as antibodies are not built up in time to attack the fetus's blood. But problems arise during the woman's second Rh positive pregnancy, by which time the antibodies have become strong enough to aggressively destroy the second fetus's red blood cells.

Possible effects of Rh incompatibility on the baby:

• Stillbirth

• Jaundice (the excessive breakdown of hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying pigment in red blood cells). In addition to causing the eyes and skin to appear yellow, jaundice can have harmful effects on the liver. Other symptoms include sluggishness, irritability, upset stomach, and loss of appetite.)

• Neurological damage (to vision, hearing, and touch senses)

• Heart problems

• Hypotonia (decreased muscle tone, the baby will feel limp when held)

• Motormental retardation (motor and mental skills underdeveloped)

• Anemia (low red blood cell count)

Treating Rh incompatibility

Rh incompatibility is treated with Rh o(D) immune globulin. RhoGAM is a brand of Rh o(D) immune globulin. The injection prevents the mother's immune system from creating or releasing antibodies to the fetus's Rh positive blood. The RhoGAM shot is given to the Rh negative mother if her fetus is Rh positive, if the father is Rh positive, or if her body encountered Rh positive blood in another pregnancy or blood transfusion. She will be injected with RhoGAM at 28 weeks, and again after the baby is born.

RhoGAM is effective in preventing a woman from becoming sensitized to the Rh factor during her first pregnancy, and in stopping a woman who has already built up antibodies (from an earlier pregnancy or blood transfusion) from releasing them in subsequent pregnancies. By preventing the woman from creating, and/or releasing antibodies, RhoGAM can nearly eliminate the danger of Rh incompatibility.

• Tell a Friend
• Bookmark Site
• Site Map