Different Rh factor in spouses pregnancy. If the father and mother have a different Rh factor

Pregnancy is the happiest time for every woman. In anticipation of the baby, expectant mothers, of course, worry about the health of the unborn baby. But expectant mothers with a Rh factor with a “-” sign experience special experiences. Despite the fact that Rhesus conflict during gestation is quite rare, and doctors already know how to effectively deal with this pathology, many women are still afraid of this condition.

factor in pregnancy

For many years, it was believed that a mother could have only one pregnancy with a negative blood count. Gynecologists forbade our mothers and grandmothers with this feature to give birth to more than one child. In those days it was just dangerous. Today the situation has changed. Doctors have learned to deal with the incompatibility of indicators in mother and child, and now women can have several children. It is worth remembering that people with negative indicators are less than 21% of the total population of the Earth.

Rh is positive and negative. If a woman has it with a plus, it does not affect the bearing of a baby. If the girl has a minus sign, and the husband has a plus sign, there is a high risk of incompatibility between the cells of the mother and the baby. You need to know that if a woman has a positive Rh, and the father is negative, this does not affect the growth of the baby. But even when mommy has a negative indicator, it is not at all necessary that there will be a conflict. If the baby takes this feature from his mother at conception, the pregnancy will proceed completely normally.

Incompatibility

A person's blood may differ in Rh and group affiliation. Often, patients ask doctors if blood type matters during pregnancy? Gynecologists say that the group becomes important only if a negative Rh is detected. This means that it doesn’t matter at all whether you have a second group or a third, the main thing for specialists is to establish the Rh of the parents when conceiving a child.

If the factor is negative, the patient should be under special control throughout all 9 months.

Why are all mothers with a negative indicator so afraid of the Rhesus conflict of the mother and fetus? How does Rh affect mother and baby? In fact, the incompatibility of the blood cells of a woman and an unborn baby can result in very dire consequences. The mechanism of confrontation lies in the fact that getting into the bloodstream of a woman, the plus factor of the fetus causes defensive reaction mother's immunity. She does not have the D protein, which is the Rh factor. The mother's body perceives the factor of the child as a stranger and begins to rapidly synthesize protective cells for it.

What is going on? These protectors female body enter the infant's bloodstream and aggressively destroy the infant's red blood cells. As a result, the crumbs develop dangerous pathological conditions. What threatens this child? A baby may not be born at all or come into this world with congenital diseases.

Baby's first expectation

Different Rh factors in parents while expecting their first child rarely lead to the development of pathology. The fact is that during the initial meeting of negative maternal blood with the child's protein D, IgM antibodies are formed. These substances have big sizes and cannot cross the placenta. Thus, they do not harm the child in any way, because they simply cannot get into his blood. With a second pregnancy, a woman already forms other antibodies, such as IgG. It is these substances that pose a threat to the crumbs, because they are so small that they easily penetrate the placental protection. Thus, a negative Rh factor and 1 pregnancy does not imply the development of pathology. It is worth noting that the first conception should not be confused with the first expectation of a child. If you had an artificial or natural loss of a baby before deciding to have a baby, you are at risk.

Next pregnancy

The risk of Rh factor conflict increases with each subsequent expectation of the baby. Women who choose to have more than one child should consider these risks. However, not always the child inherits the father's indicator. It often happens that in the first pregnancy the child was positive, like the father, and the second baby inherits blood counts from the mother. Thus, each pregnancy in girls with negative blood is purely individual. If it happened repeated pregnancy, gynecologists always assess the risks of conflict. Negative Rh factor and 2 pregnancy is always a reason for careful monitoring of the condition of the fetus.

The risks of the manifestation of the Rh conflict during pregnancy in the table are as follows:

This table shows that there is a risk only in couples where the woman is with a minus sign and the man is with a plus sign. It is worth noting that if both parents have a negative Rh, the risk arises only if the child inherits the factor not from the parents, but from their ancestors. This happens extremely rarely. For this reason, doctors rarely worry about the occurrence of an Rhesus conflict during pregnancy if both partners have a factor with a minus sign. If the parents positive factor, nothing to fear.

Conflict prevention

All women who are Rh negative and whose pregnancy may be affected should be registered with a gynecologist. Throughout the 9 months, doctors carefully monitor the growth of antibodies in their blood. If antibodies begin to be produced at a dangerous rate, doctors preventive treatment. It consists in administering to a woman a special drug that neutralizes antibodies that are dangerous for the child.

However, the prevention of conflict between mother and child should be carried out immediately after the birth of the first child. The introduction of immunoglobulin should be carried out no later than 3 days after childbirth or termination of pregnancy. This will cleanse the mother's blood of dangerous cells and prevent the development dangerous state during the second pregnancy, if the woman has a negative Rh factor.

What threatens pathology

Why are Rh conflicts dangerous? First, it is worth remembering that the danger arises only when the spouses different Rh factor and thus at the woman negative, and at the man positive. In other variations, there are practically no risks. If a Rh conflict occurs during pregnancy, the consequences for the child are quite dangerous. Despite the fact that this phenomenon is extremely rare today, all girls with negative blood are afraid of the likelihood of a Rh conflict. This is not surprising, because blood incompatibility can be the cause of pathological conditions. What threatens the baby?

Intrauterine death of a child. Miscarriage. Birth before term. hemolytic pathology. Dropsy. Children may differ in enlarged internal organs. Anemia. Jaundice starts. Deafness. There may be developmental delays. CNS lesions.

Diagnosis and treatment

For all 9 months, a woman must donate blood to detect antibodies. When Rh resistance occurs in a pregnant woman, experts take necessary measures to keep the baby healthy. Symptoms of Rh incompatibility, unfortunately, do not appear in the mother. Many women are not even aware of the problem until they pass ultrasonography. Ultrasound can show swelling of the fetus, which means that the mother and fetus have blood incompatibility. Also on the study, you can notice that the fetus is in a position that differs from normal, the size of the placenta increases, and a double contour of the baby's head is observed.

All this means that a blood conflict has begun.

At what time can pathology be determined? The first examination of a woman is carried out when registering in the women's office. If it is found that the spouses are with different Rh and the woman is negative, she takes an antibody test every month. Thus, the influence of the Rh indicator on the fetus is checked. If signs of a threat are found from the 20th week, the woman is placed in a hospital. Now she takes the test every 2 weeks.

If manifestations of the Rhesus conflict are detected, treatment is carried out immediately. First of all, the mother is given drugs that destroy antibodies. All actions are aimed at preserving the life and health of the child and this is the most important thing. With symptoms of a conflict that has begun, an intrauterine infusion of pure blood may be prescribed to an infant.

Of course, women are worried about whether a negative Rh can affect the baby, because the causes of the conflict lie in their blood. The risks of pregnancy with the Rh factor "-" the girl always has. However, today doctors can learn about the beginning pathology in time and take timely measures. The revolution in medicine that has taken place over the past decades allows every family, regardless of the Rhesus parents, to have as many children as they want.

In contact with

If you have a Rh conflict with your baby, do not despair. Advances in medicine will help resolve it in favor of both of you. Alla Protasova, therapist

During the first examination in antenatal clinic The specialist will determine your Rh factor. If it's positive, then you don't have to worry about anything. If your Rh factors do not match with your husband, and yours is negative, you should be especially careful about your health.

Rh-negative blood does not indicate any disease, but rather confirms your uniqueness. After all, the additional antigen D, which is responsible for the Rh factor, is absent in your blood. Therefore, we belong to the 15% of the owners of "negative" blood. Find out all about how it affects the course of pregnancy.

1. What is a serologic mismatch?

With a negative Rh factor, your blood can "quarrel" with the blood of the fetus. The fact is that the positive Rh factor of the child through the placenta enters your bloodstream. The body perceives it as alien and begins to fight with it. How can he know that for you the baby from head to toe is the most dear? Antibodies can be produced in the blood, which are harmless to the expectant mother, but can harm the health of the crumbs. They penetrate into his blood and destroy red blood cells - erythrocytes.

2. Is there a threat to the fetus if the parents have different Rh factors?

This incompatibility is dangerous only when your blood is Rh negative and your husband's blood is Rh positive. All other combinations (both have the same Rh or your blood with a plus sign, and your husband with a minus sign) do not fail to affect normal development fetus.

3. When do antibodies appear that destroy blood cells?

They are formed only in 10% of expectant mothers with Rh-negative blood. So it doesn't necessarily mean that you are one of them. If this is the first pregnancy, the health of the baby is practically not in danger. At this time, the body almost does not produce antibodies. And that small amount that circulates in your blood gets to the crumbs in an insignificant amount. With each new pregnancy more are being produced. If you've had miscarriages or abortions in the past, let your doctor know at your first appointment. In this case, the probability of the appearance of antibodies in the blood increases significantly.

4. Is Rh mismatch treated during pregnancy?

Depending on the results of the blood test of the expectant mother, the doctor prescribes the appropriate treatment. As a rule, the Rhesus conflict can be dealt with with the help of medicines and vitamins. Therapy includes glucose, vitamin C, vitamin B, nicotinic acid, iron, methionine, calcium gluconate, and other drugs. Ultrasound, which is carried out additionally, shows the condition internal organs baby. In more serious cases The attending physician will recommend a hospital for you to complete an individual course. Expectant mothers with Rh conflict are sent to the maternity hospital a little earlier, at 34-36 weeks. This makes it possible to undergo an additional examination, which will tell you if you need a caesarean section. Strictly follow the recommendations of your doctor. Timely treatment will help maintain the health of the child.

5. How to detect seroconflict?

The first step is to analyze the level of antibodies in your blood. When it is too high, advanced diagnostics are required. Doctors will draw blood from the baby's umbilical cord to see if he has developed metolitic disease. The determination of the antibody titer in the mother's blood is carried out until the 32nd week once a month. Then the analysis is repeated twice a month - from the 32nd to the 35th week, and then - weekly. Blood is taken from a vein.

6. What happens if the disease is run?

When the erythrocytes of the fetus break down, its liver and spleen try to make up for the loss at an accelerated pace, therefore, they increase in size, which leads to anemia, a change in the appearance and functioning of internal organs, especially the liver. When a baby is born, you may be surprised yellow his skin. This is due to the fact that the blood produces a large number of bilirubin, which causes jaundice.

7. How to treat a child?

Most effective method stabilization of the baby's health after birth - replacement blood transfusion. During the first 36 hours, a large amount is administered Rh negative blood. But this is the last resort. It is in your power to take care of the health of the crumbs even before his birth.

8. Is a caesarean section always necessary?

9. Can Rh problems be avoided?

While waiting for the second (third, fourth) child, the risk of antibodies in your blood increases. But after the first pregnancy, 10% of women in labor are immunized. If you avoided this, then in time next pregnancy also with a “positive” fetus, you again have a chance to get immunity. Modern advances in medicine can protect the baby from the consequences of the Rhesus conflict. Every woman with a negative Rh factor at the most early dates During pregnancy, an anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin vaccine is administered, which destroys all the erythrocytes of the embryo that could enter it in the blood of the expectant mother. Therefore, it is very important to register at the antenatal clinic as early as possible so as not to miss optimal time for this procedure. Listen to the advice of experts - and the Rhesus conflict will be quickly resolved.

For couples planning to have a baby, doctors advise checking their blood types in advance, their compatibility. This manipulation will eliminate possible manifestation incompatibility in the blood type of partners during pregnancy, because such a pathology of the immune system can lead to complications of various kinds, both during conception and during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period.

If the tests were not passed, then the girl, when she comes to the doctor for a consultation with a gynecologist, will receive a referral for a diagnostic examination, which will include a study on partners during pregnancy. The fetus receives any of the four blood types, because four are formed during the development of the embryo, however, the probability of getting the same as that of one of the parents is slightly higher than the rest. In the case of the presence of one-group blood, the probability of both parents is high.

Absolutely accurate is the fact that the blood different groups does not have important role into a child. Consider the main thing about the Rh factor. What is Rh-conflict in partners and its effect on the fetus. Ideally, both parents should have the same Rh factor, since with different indicators there is a high probability of problems occurring throughout the entire period of pregnancy and even in the postpartum period.

If the parents found out about it in advance, it is recommended to undergo a special course of treatment that will help prevent various complications, for example, rejection of the fetus by the mother's body.

If you do not take all possible measures to prevent the Rh conflict, you must constantly monitor the dynamics of the state of the fetus throughout all 39 weeks of pregnancy.

modern medicine allows you to establish the presence of a Rh conflict in time and can eliminate it by introducing a special serum - anti-Rh immunoglobulin at the 26th week of pregnancy.

Rhesus conflict in mother and fetus

If the mother is positive, and the child is positive, then this situation does not pose a danger. In no case should this cause panic among parents. It is much more dangerous if the opposite is true: the child is the owner of a positive, and the mother is a negative Rh factor. In this case, most likely, there will be. What is the danger?

Fetal blood cells, when released into the mother's blood, will be erroneously identified as a protein of foreign origin, which will be displayed in an immune-type response. In this case, it is necessary to constantly monitor the level of mother's Rh antibodies.

Before the period of 28 weeks of pregnancy, it is necessary to take an analysis for Rh-monthly, and after 28 weeks - every 2 weeks.

It is also necessary to pay attention to the liver of the unborn child: if it is enlarged, sometimes there is a need for intrauterine, and sometimes you even have to terminate the pregnancy.

Therefore, when planning the conception of a child, most parents should be concerned about the possibility of developing an Rhesus conflict. Few people know about the danger posed by incompatibility in the blood type of partners during pregnancy.

We know that the I blood group contains alpha and beta antibodies, while there are no antigens (A, B). Others contain antigens, this is due to the fact that the first blood group, meeting these antigens, provokes a fight, as a result of which the destruction of red blood cells occurs. This situation is called an immune conflict, or blood incompatible with each other, and in our case, incompatibility according to the blood type of partners during pregnancy. Strictly speaking, this is the reason for the incompatibility.


Table of compatibility and incompatibility of blood types

risk zone

Let's see who is at risk? Risk groups include mothers and children who have different groups from each other (see table above).

  • Mother I, III, and fetus II;
  • Mother I, II, and fetus III;
  • Mother I, II or III, fetus IV.

Himself big risk women with alpha-beta blood type who carry babies with antigens A or B are susceptible. This combination can lead to a condition that manifests itself in a disease such as hemolytic jaundice. Pay particular attention to the following combinations:

  • Mother I - father II, III, IV;
  • Mother II - father III, IV;
  • Mom III - dad II, IV.

To be additional features to avoid this pathology, it is necessary to find out what influences the conflict and its development?

If the pregnancy period proceeds without features, it is likely that there will be no conflict, for which it is worth saying thanks to the placental barrier, which maximally excludes the possibility of mixing the blood of the mother and the fetus. If the blood is still mixed, there is a possibility of developing hemolytic jaundice of the newborn.


Photo of the occurrence of Rhesus conflict

Identification and treatment of incompatibility

You need to keep in touch with your doctor at all times. It is at close connection doctor and patient, if the patient asks a lot of questions, he will be able to understand how to identify the incompatibility of the Rh factor, methods of treatment and prevention of pathology.

Medical examination of pregnant women reveals the incompatibility of blood groups, in favor of which high levels of antibodies speak. The occurrence of this conflict in a newborn child is manifested by the following symptoms: pallor and jaundice skin, hepatosplenomegaly.

In order to prevent and cause complications, doctors recommend taking an analysis for hemoglycins.

When hemoglisins appear, the woman will be in the hospital department long time under the supervision of doctors. Hemolytic jaundice newborns should be treated to avoid various kinds of complications. The intensity of the conflict will tell the symptoms of the disease.

To establish the diagnosis and verify the presence of Rh conflict, it is necessary to regularly take tests for liver tests, and, if high performance- start therapy.

Therefore, young parents, in order to avoid emotional stress during pregnancy, are recommended to conduct all kinds of examinations in advance, and only then proceed to take action.

Video: Blood type and Rh conflict

Surely all people have heard about the Rh factor, but, most likely, most of them do not really understand what it is. It does not affect human health in any way. Everyday life, but during pregnancy, the incompatibility of the Rh factors of the father and mother sometimes provokes a Rh conflict. It is about the Rh conflict during pregnancy with her husband that we will talk today on the website www.site.

The Rh factor is determined by the presence of a special protein on the surface of red blood cells (erythrocytes). It characterizes the immunological properties of blood. It was discovered relatively recently, in 1940. This was done by scientists Landsteiner and Wiener. In their research, they dealt with monkeys and described Rhesus macaques, it was from here that the universal term arose. The Rh factor is denoted by the Latin symbols Rh+ or Rh-.

According to statistics, the majority (85%) of people on Earth have a positive Rh factor, i.e. this protein is present in their body. 15% of people do not have this protein and are Rh negative. Rh affiliation is determined along with the blood group, but it does not depend on it in any way, this is a genetic sign of a person, his idiosyncrasy, as well as eye or hair color. It is inherited from one of the parents, remains unchanged throughout life and does not mean any physiological disorder or disease.

Rhesus conflict can occur during blood transfusions if it is incompatible with Rh, also during pregnancy, when the mother is Rh negative and the child is Rh positive.

With a combination of a “negative” mother and a “positive” child, the occurrence of an Rh conflict is more likely than in the opposite case, as well as the consequences of such a combination can be more serious. This is known from many years of observation of pregnant women.

What is dangerous different Rhesus during pregnancy?

When positive red blood cells enter the blood of a person with a negative Rh factor, the body immediately reacts to them as if they were a foreign object and begins to produce antibodies to neutralize the uninvited guests. These "protectors" enter the blood of the unborn child through the placenta and cause hemolytic disease, because. they destroy his red blood cells, which carry oxygen. Due to the lack of oxygen in the fetus, pathological condition, oxygen starvation, the consequences of which are not difficult to predict.

But this does not mean at all that a woman with a negative Rh factor will certainly have a difficult pregnancy. The Rh conflict is provoked by the antibodies produced in the mother's blood, it is on their quantity that everything depends. In most cases, antibodies are either completely absent, or their number is minimal and not dangerous for the child.

What affects the production of antibodies in a mother with a negative Rh factor?

The greater the number of births and abortions in a woman, the higher the likelihood of an Rhesus conflict. Everything is connected with the fact that in this case, foreign erythrocytes, most likely, have already entered the woman’s blood, i.e. the mechanism for producing antibodies has already been launched, her body already has experience in dealing with such foreign bodies.

With damage to the placenta and with infections that thin it, the penetration of red blood cells into the bloodstream also increases. The production of antibodies can also increase if the mothers had a blood transfusion without taking into account the Rh factor, even if this procedure was a very long time ago. As a rule, the first pregnancy in women with a negative Rh factor is normal, because. her body has never encountered "foreign" erythrocytes and defense mechanism, which is dangerous for the fetus, has not yet gained strength.

Definition of the Rh factor

In order to avoid Rh conflict with her husband during pregnancy, future parents first of all need to take tests to determine this blood factor. When a woman has the same Rh as her husband, then there will be no compatibility problems. If future father"positive", then the child is likely to genetically inherit positivity, as more strong sign. If the future father has a homozygous genotype, which is responsible for the Rh factor, then the child will be born 100% with a positive Rh. If the future father has a heterozygous genotype responsible for the Rh factor, then the probability of having a child with a positive Rh is 50%.


When, when carrying a baby, there is a risk of an Rhesus conflict, the expectant mother should regularly do a blood test for the presence of antibodies. This is usually especially important from the 35th week. From this gestation period, this is done weekly.

If the test results do not show an increase in the level of antibodies, then the doctor may administer an anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin vaccination for prevention so that it blocks the baby's red blood cells that have entered the mother's blood.

If the level of antibodies will rise and reach a critical state, then future mother will be sent to perinatal center to be under the constant supervision of specialists. They will need to control:

* the dynamics of the increase in antibodies in the mother's blood;

* the reaction of the baby - does the liver increase, does the placenta change, does fluid appear in the pericardium and abdominal cavity;

* state amniotic fluid and cord blood.

With a progressive Rh conflict, doctors do a caesarean section so that mother's protective antibodies do not harm the child. On short term pregnancy when artificial childbirth still impossible, one has to resort to intrauterine blood transfusion.

If there are no complications during pregnancy, and antibodies will not be produced, then after childbirth, within about 2 days, mothers should inject anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin. This will reduce the risk of Rh conflict in the next pregnancy.

Such vaccination for women with a negative Rh is also needed for miscarriages, abortions, ectopic pregnancies and blood transfusions.

Successful achievements in clinical immunology Lately show that a negative Rh is not a sentence at all, it only makes you approach the bearing and birth of a child more responsibly.

Rh-conflict during pregnancy: what should a woman with a negative Rh factor do to avoid consequences

Rhesus conflict during pregnancy occurs as a result of blood incompatibility according to the Rh (rhesus) system. According to statistics, this type of incompatibility occurs in 13% couples, but immunization during pregnancy occurs in 1 in 10-25 women.

Pregnancy of a woman with a negative Rh factor, in which the fetus has a positive Rh factor, leads to the production of antibodies by the mother's immune system to the child's red blood cells.

As a result of this, the fetal red blood cells "stick together" and are destroyed. This is a humoral immune response to the presence of a Rh factor protein foreign to the mother's body.

  • Rh factor - what is it
  • The likelihood of developing a Rh conflict during pregnancy: table
  • Causes
    • Feto-maternal transfusion
  • Rhesus conflict during pregnancy: the mechanism of occurrence
  • Consequences for the child
  • Risks
  • Diagnosis, symptoms and signs of Rh conflict during pregnancy
  • Treatment
    • Plasmapheresis in Rh-conflict pregnancy
    • Cordocentesis
  • Immunoglobulin for Rh negative
  • Can the Rh factor change during pregnancy?

What is the Rh factor

To understand what a Rh conflict is during pregnancy, you need to dwell on such a concept as the Rh factor.

Rh (+) is a special protein - agglutinogen - a substance that can stick together red blood cells and damage them when they encounter an unfamiliar immune agent.

The Rh factor was first discovered in 1940. There are about 50 varieties of antigens of the Rhesus system. The most mutagenic dominant is the D antigen, which is found in the blood of 85% of people.

Antigen C is found in 70% of people, and antigen E is found in 30% of people on the planet. The presence of any of these proteins on the erythrocyte membrane makes it Rh positive Rh (+), the absence - Rh negative Rh (-).

The presence of agglutinogen D has ethnicity:

  • people of Slavic nationality have 13% of Rh-negative people;
  • among Asians 8%;
  • in people of the Negroid race, there are practically no people with Rh negative factor blood.

Recently, more and more women with negative Rh factor blood, according to the literature, this is associated with mixed marriages. Consequently, the frequency of Rh conflict during pregnancy in the population increases.

System D antigen inheritance

Types of inheritance of any traits are divided into homozygous and heterozygous. For example:

  1. DD, homozygous;
  2. Dd, heterozygous;
  3. dd is homozygous.

Where D is the dominant gene and d is the recessive.

Rhesus conflict during pregnancy - table

If the mother is Rh positive and the father is Rh negative, then one out of three children will be born Rh negative with a heterozygous type of inheritance.

If both parents are Rh-negative, then their children will be 100% Rh-negative.

Table 1. Rhesus conflict during pregnancy

Man Woman Child The likelihood of Rh conflict during pregnancy
+ + 75% (+) 25% (-) No
+ 50% (+) 50% (-) 50%
+ 50% (+) 50% (-) No
100% (-) No

Causes

The cause of the Rh conflict during pregnancy is:

  • transfusion of incompatible blood through the AB0 system is extremely rare;
  • feto-maternal transfusion.

What is a feto-maternal transfusion?

Normally, in any pregnancy (physiological or pathological), a small amount of fetal blood cells enters the mother's bloodstream.

A negative Rh factor during pregnancy in a woman definitely poses a danger to the baby with positive Rh factor. Rhesus conflict develops, as well as any immunological reaction. At the same time, the first pregnancy can proceed without complications, but subsequent (second and third) lead to Rh-conflict and severe symptoms. hemolytic disease fetus and newborn.

Mechanism of immunization (development of Rh conflict)

Rh-negative mother and Rh-positive fetus exchange blood cells, the immune system mother perceives the baby's red blood cells as foreign proteins and begins to produce antibodies against him. For the development of a primary immune response, it is enough for 35-50 ml of fetal erythrocytes to enter the mother's bloodstream.

The volume of blood that comes from the baby's bloodstream to the mother increases with obstetric invasive procedures, caesarean section, childbirth, and other obstetric manipulations.

The first immune response begins with the appearance of immunoglobulins M - these are large pentagram molecules (polymers) that hardly penetrate through placental barrier and do not destroy the erythrocytes of the fetus, thus they cannot harm him. Therefore, the first pregnancy most often proceeds without consequences.

Secondary fetoplacental transfusion entails consequences for the child. It occurs during repeated (second, third, fourth) pregnancy.

Cellular memory works in the body of a pregnant woman and, as a result of repeated contact with the Rh factor protein, protective antibodies are produced - immunoglobulins G - a Rh conflict develops. Immunoglobulin G molecules are small monomers that can penetrate the placental barrier and cause hemolysis - the destruction of fetal and newborn erythrocytes.

What contributes to the development of Rh sensitization?

The first pregnancy in an Rh-negative mother with an Rh-positive fetus in most cases ends successfully and ends with the birth of the fetus. Any subsequent pregnancy, regardless of outcome (early miscarriage, abortion, miscarriage) Rh negative woman becomes an impulse for the development of a secondary immune response and the appearance of immunoglobulins that destroy the baby's red blood cells in utero.

The cause of the Rh conflict during pregnancy in an Rh-negative mother can be:

  • In the first trimester:
    • medical abortion (surgical or medical), provided that these complications arose for a period of 7-8 weeks.