![]() ![]() Then – if your baby's blood tests Rh positive – you'll have another shot after you give birth, within 72 hours. If you're Rh negative, you'll have a RhoGAM shot in the third trimester, at 28 weeks. Mild anemia isn't too concerning, but when the situation becomes severe, it's called Rh disease, or hemolytic disease of the fetus (HDFN), which can lead to:įortunately, you can avoid becoming Rh sensitized by getting the RhoGAM shot. The destruction of red blood cells results in mild to severe anemia. The antibodies stay in your body, and if you become pregnant in the future, the antibodies can cross the placenta and attack your baby's red blood cells, which carry oxygen. Rh sensitization doesn't have any symptoms, so you won't know it's happening unless you have a blood test. The production of antibodies in response to your baby's Rh positive blood is called Rh sensitization. "It takes time to make antibodies, especially for those antibodies to reach a level high enough to possibly cause problems." Opens a new window, a board-certified ob-gyn and maternal-fetal medicine specialist, clinical faculty and assistant professor at Loyola University Opens a new window in Chicago, and member of the Bab圜enter Medical Advisory Board. "Most of the blood mixing between the pregnant person and the fetus happens during childbirth," explains Layan Alrahmani, M.D. But if your baby's blood directly interacts with yours (as it can at certain times during pregnancy and – most commonly – at birth), your immune system will start to produce antibodies against the Rh positive blood, much the way it produces antibodies to defend the body against viruses and bacteria it's exposed to. About 15 to 17 percent of Caucasians (North American and European descent) are Rh-negative, while 4 to 8 percent of people of African descent and 0.1 to 0.3 percent of people of Asian descent are Rh negative.īeing Rh incompatible isn't likely to harm you or your baby during your first pregnancy. If you don't have Rh factor, you're Rh negative. If you do have the Rh factor, as most people do, your status is Rh positive. (Having Rh negative or Rh positive blood causes no symptoms and doesn't affect your health.) The Rh factor is inherited from the mother or the father.Īt your first prenatal visit, your blood will be tested to determine your blood type and your Rh status. Rh factor (short for Rhesus factor) is a protein that most people have on the surface of their red blood cells. ![]() "All patients who have an Rh-negative blood type need a RhoGAM shot during their pregnancy," says Whitney Booker, M.D Opens a new window., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a maternal-fetal medicine expert at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where the RhoGAM shot was first developed. ![]()
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