28/12/2023
Do you know anyone who might have been having series of abortion or as we commonly refer to it miscarriage?
This will really benefit the person or the couple.
Our Topic Today is Rh Factor
A “Rh factor” is a protein found on some red blood cells (RBCs). Not everyone carries this protein, though most do. Whoever that has the protein is Rh-positive. People who don't carry the protein are Rh-negative.
The "positive" or "negative" part of your blood type, such as O positive or A negative, refers to your Rh status.
When a mother-to-be and father-to-be are not both positive or negative for Rh factor, it's called Rh incompatibility.
For example:
If a woman who is Rh negative and a man who is Rh positive conceive a baby, the fetus may have Rh-positive blood, inherited from the father. (About half of the children born to a Rh-negative mother and Rh-positive father will be Rh-positive.)
Rh incompatibility usually isn't a problem if it's the mother's first pregnancy. That's because the baby's blood does not normally enter the mother's circulatory system during the pregnancy.
During the birth, though, the mother's and baby's blood can mix. If this happens, the mother's body recognizes the Rh protein as a foreign substance. It then might begin making antibodies (proteins that act as protectors if foreign cells enter the body) against the Rh protein.
Rh-negative pregnant women can be exposed to the Rh protein that might cause antibody production in other ways too. These include:
1. blood transfusions with Rh-positive blood
2. miscarriage
3. ectopic pregnancy
Rh antibodies are harmless until the mother's second or later pregnancies. If she is ever carrying another Rh-positive child, her Rh antibodies will recognize the Rh proteins on the surface of the baby's blood cells as foreign. Her antibodies will pass into the baby's bloodstream and attack those cells.
This can make the baby's red blood cells swell and rupture. This is known as hemolytic or Rh disease of the newborn. It can make a baby's blood count get very low.
TREATMENT
If a pregnant woman has the potential to develop Rh incompatibility, two Rh immune-globulin shots during her first pregnancy is given. She'll get:
*the first shot around the 28th week of pregnancy
the second shot within 72 hours of giving birth
* Rh immune-globulin acts like a vaccine. It prevents the mother's body from making any Rh antibodies that could cause serious health problems in the newborn or affect a future pregnancy.
A woman also might get a dose of Rh immune-globulin if she has a miscarriage, an amniocentesis, or any bleeding during pregnancy.
If a woman has already developed Rh antibodies, her pregnancy will be closely watched to make sure that those levels are not too high.
In rare cases, if the incompatibility is severe and a baby is in danger, the baby can get special blood transfusions called exchange transfusions either before birth (intrauterine fetal transfusions) or after delivery. Exchange transfusions replace the baby's blood with blood with Rh-negative blood cells. This stabilizes the level of red blood cells and minimizes damage from Rh antibodies already in the baby's bloodstream.
Stay and live healthy.
-actcares
