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| Home > Pre-natal Care > Incompatibility
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| | Incompatibility
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Special care is a must for the pregnant woman with Rh (Rhesus) negative blood. About 85 percent of humans are Rh positive, meaning existence of Rh factor (antigen) in their blood. At the start of your pregnancy, doctor will test for your Rh factor. If you have no Rh factor, that is, Rh negative and the baby is Rh positive, it is possible for the antigens from the baby to pass into your bloodstream. In case of your first pregnancy, the baby will probably be unharmed. However, if the condition stays untreated, antibodies pro-duced against the Rh factor will harm your next Rh positive baby by crossing through the placenta and actually destroying some of your unborn baby`s red blood cells.
To avoid problems with succeeding pregnancies, the Rh nega-tive mother is given an injection of Rh immune globulin (RhoGAM) after the birth of each Rh positive baby. This medi-cation usually combats the problem of Rh incompatibility. An Rh negative mother who has suffered a miscarriage or abortion should also receive this drug, in case the fetus was Rh positive.
If you are Rh negative, your physician will assess the number of antibodies in your blood throughout your pregnancy. If your body starts reacting to the Rh factor, there will be an increase in the number of antibodies, necessitating further studies. Amniocentesis provides information on the effects of this sensitization on the fetus. This sensitization can cause the fetus to suffer from mild to severe jaundice and anemia. An early delivery of the baby, or in selected cases, intrauterine blood transfusion is recommended. Newborn infants may be given blood transfusions if they have been severely affected by Rh incompatibility.
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