Rhesus conflict – how to get away from it?

Pregnant women whose blood is Rh negative are under special supervision by doctors. The reason for this is a possible Rh conflict, which can lead to sad consequences.

The Rh factor is a protein found on the surface of red blood cells. Most people have this same Rh factor, and such people are Rh-positive. And some people do not have the Rh factor, so such people belong to the Rh-negative group. The Rh factor is a strong, dominant trait that affects its inheritance.

In ordinary life, a negative Rh does not have any effect. But during the gestation of the fetus, the difference in the Rh belonging of the mother and baby can lead to an Rh conflict. It is worth remembering that the problem only appears when the pregnant woman is Rh negative and the father of the child is Rh positive. The crumbs have a chance to get a Rh affiliation from their father, which is the essence of the problem. If the baby of the Rh-negative mother receives the father’s Rh-positive factor, then his body will begin to produce an antigen that enters the mother’s circulatory system through the placenta. To protect against the invasion of a foreign protein, the mother’s body begins to produce antibodies that, when they enter the child’s blood, begin to destroy red blood cells. This is called Rhesus conflict. You can find out the Rh-belonging of the crumbs only after the 8th week, when its formation ends.

In a future mother with Rh-negative blood, who became pregnant for the first time in her life, Rh-conflict can develop only in 10% of cases. If there are no complications during the first pregnancy, then the next pregnancy will be with the same degree of risk.

The most important thing is that Rh antibodies often appear during termination or ectopic pregnancy, as well as complications leading to miscarriage. From that moment, antibodies begin to circulate in the woman’s blood and during the next pregnancy cause an Rh conflict. Therefore, with a negative Rh factor, it is important to maintain the first pregnancy.

Effects

Rhesus conflict causes hemolytic disease in the fetus. Even in the womb, it disrupts the normal development of organs and systems, and the newborn carries anemia and hemolytic jaundice.

Moving away from conflict

Every month, the expectant mother should take a blood test to control the level of antibodies. Upon receipt of high or jumping antibody titers, an analysis of amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood is prescribed. If necessary, doctors can administer anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin, additional vitamins and antiallergic drugs. And with the threat of a miscarriage or the presence of internal bleeding in the past and an interrupted pregnancy, immunoglobulin is prescribed even with a normal level of antibodies.

Such pregnant women can be sent to the hospital as early as the 35th week. Sometimes you have to give up natural childbirth in favor of a caesarean section.

The newborn is immediately determined by Rh-affiliation. In the case of a positive Rh within 72 hours, an anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin is administered to the mother in order to prevent the development of the Rh conflict in the future.

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