How your rhesus factor can affect your pregnancy and cause a miscarriage

Have you ever heard of the word Rhesus factor?

Rh-factor is a protein that can be present on the surface of the red blood cell. People with the Rh factor are Rh positive +, those who do not have the Rh factor are Rh negative. Just as we have different blood groups, we also have different Rhesus factors or Rh factors.

The + and - before the blood group is the rhesus factor. So we have A +, A-, O +, O-, B +, B-, AB +, AB-.

How does a person get the rhesus factor?

The Rh factor is genetically determined. In other words, it is inherited. Passed by parents' genes to their children. If the mother is Rh-negative and the father is Rh-positive, the fetus or baby can inherit the Rh gene from the father and can be either Rh-positive or Rh-negative. If the mother and father are both negative, the baby will also be negative for the Rh. This would mean that Rhesus Factor was basically given to the man.
If you are Rh positive, for example (a +, b +, o +, ab +), you are safe, but if you are negative, eg (A-, B-, AB-, O-), you are not that. If you are a male, you are safe, if you are a woman, you are not. And if a Rh woman gets pregnant for a man who is Rh, she is safe. But if she gets pregnant for a man who is Rh +, she is not.

Keep in mind that most people are Rh-positive. Only very few are negative. And the possibility for a Rh woman to find a Rhman is rather small.

You must read how a miscalculation in your blood groups can affect your children. Because in the same way a miscalculation in your Rhesus factor can seriously affect your children!

Can the Rhesus factor cause problems during pregnancy?

The Rh factor can cause problems if you are Rh-negative and your fetus is Rh-positive. This is called incompatibility with Rh. These problems usually do not occur during a first pregnancy, but can occur in later pregnancy.

Let's assume that a woman is Rh and that she once broke off a pregnancy. If the man who has her pregnancy is Rh +, her baby would have been clearly Rh +.

During abortion, the Rh + blood may have been in contact with her Rh blood. And that may be the beginning of her problems.

Once Rh-in comes into contact with a Rh +, certain antibodies are activated. These antibodies are activated to prevent something that they think is threatening to enter the body. For example, a baby. A Rh woman with activated antibodies would continue to have miscarriages. This is because the antibodies continue to fight and remove every fetus. The woman can end childless and if she is not well informed she may think she is under a demonic oppression.

A person with Rh-negative blood that makes Rh antibodies is called "Rh-sensitive".

Women with activated antibodies are sensitive to Rh and once these antibodies are activated, they can never be deactivated until the woman dies.

Antibodies are activated in a Rh woman by abortion, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and birth of a child.

How does Rh sensitization occur during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the woman and the fetus do not share blood systems. However, a small amount of blood from the fetus can penetrate the placenta through the female system. This can sometimes happen during pregnancy, childbirth and birth. It may also occur if a Rh-negative woman has had amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CFS), bleeding, manual rotation of a baby in a breech before delivery or blunt trauma to the abdomen during pregnancy.

Do you usually experience problems during pregnancy that cause Rh sensitization?

During the first pregnancy of a Rh-negative woman with a Rh-positive fetus, serious problems usually do not occur because the baby is often born before the woman's body develops many antibodies. If no preventive treatment is given during the first pregnancy and the woman later becomes pregnant with a Rh-positive fetus, the baby runs the risk of Rh-disease.

Can a woman still develop antibodies if my pregnancy is not sustained?

If a Rh-negative woman becomes pregnant after an abortion, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, she will not receive treatment and Rhus will be positive, the fetus may be at risk for Rh-related problems.

How does Rh sensitization kill the fetus (baby) during pregnancy?

Problems during pregnancy can occur when Rh antibodies from a Rh-sensitized woman pass the placenta and attack the blood of a Rh-positive fetus. The Rh antibodies destroy some of the red blood cells of the fetus. This causes hemolytic anemia, in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the body can replace them.

Red blood cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Without sufficient red blood cells, the fetus will not get enough oxygen. Hemolytic anemia can lead to serious illness. Serious haemolytic anemia can be fatal to the fetus.

How can a woman find out if she has become Rh?

A blood test called antibody screen can show whether you have developed antibodies against Rh-positive blood and how many antibodies have been made. If you are Rh-negative and your baby may have Rh-positive, your doctor may request this test during your first trimester and again during week 28 of the pregnancy.

Can Rh Sensitization be prevented or cured?

The antibodies can be stopped to be activated by administration of an injection known as Rh Immunoglobulin (Rhlg) to a negative woman. RhIg is made from donated blood. When administered to a non-sensitized Rh-negative person, it targets any Rh-positive cells in the bloodstream and prevents the production of Rh antibodies. When administered to a Rh-negative woman who has not yet made antibodies against the Rh factor, RhIg can prevent fetal haemolytic anemia in later pregnancy.

The injection is administered 28 hours during pregnancy, 72 hours after delivery, after an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion. If it is not administered and the antibodies are activated, it would never be deactivated.

What if a woman is sensitive to Rh and her fetus is Rh-positive?

If you are Rh photosensitive, you will be monitored during pregnancy to check the condition of your fetus. If tests show that your baby has severe anemia, it may be necessary to deliver your baby early (before 37 weeks of gestation) or to give a blood transfusion while your baby is still in your womb (via the umbilical cord). If the anemia is mild, your baby can be delivered at the normal time. After delivery, your baby may need a transfusion to replace the blood cells.