Rh Incompatibility

Rh incompatibility is a serious condition when it occurs during pregnancy because it can be a life-threatening condition for the fetus.

Rh incompatibility

Rh (rhesus) factor is a type of protein that is located on the surface of the red blood cells. When a person has it, the blood type is called Rh-positive, and when they don’t, it’s called Rh-negative.

The significance of this issue manifests during pregnancy when the mother is Rh-negative and the fetus is Rh-positive because this can trigger the mother’s body to produce antibodies that may attack the red blood cells of the fetus.

Causes of Rh incompatibility

• Generally, the pregnant mother and the fetus don’t share blood until maybe during labor or delivery. This can also occur in the following cases: certain tests during pregnancy that require taking samples from the amniotic fluid or the placenta, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, injury or trauma to the abdomen, early pregnancy complications like ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, and the procedure that is used to turn a breech baby to its correct position.
• When the blood is shared between the mother and the fetus, the mother’s body produces antibodies against the Rh factor because the immune system considers it a foreign substance. However, Rh incompatibility doesn’t typically occur in the first pregnancy because the fetus will be born then. The real danger lies in the second pregnancy if the fetus is Rh-positive as well because the mother’s body already has antibodies against the Rh factor, and they will attack the fetus’s body immediately.

Symptoms of Rh incompatibility

• Rh disease may be mild and only cause the destruction of the red blood cells (hemolytic anemia) and may cause jaundice without further complications.
• In severe cases, Rh incompatibility may lead to heart failure, liver failure, or stillbirth.

Diagnosis of Rh incompatibility

• Blood tests.

Treatment of Rh incompatibility

• A medication called Rh immune globulin is given to the mother.
• Treating the fetus depends on the case.