How Is Rh Incompatibility Found and Treated?
If you have Rh-negative blood, your pregnancy healthcare provider may screen you (through a blood test) for the presence of Rh-positive antibodies, especially if this isn’t your first pregnancy. This screening usually occurs during
- your first trimester,
- week 28 of pregnancy and
- at childbirth.
If you don’t yet have these antibodies, you’ll probably receive an injection of a blood product called RhIg (Rh immune globulin) at 28 weeks or within 72 hours of childbirth. This will prevent your body from producing those Rh antibodies. You’ll have to get the injections again in each subsequent pregnancy where the fetus has Rh-positive blood.
Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about your Rh factor and whether you’ll need RhIg injections. These are not helpful if your body has already produced antibodies to Rh-positive blood.
If you can’t have the injections, your provider will closely monitor your pregnancy and the fetus. It’s possible that your baby will get a blood transfusion —through the umbilical cord during pregnancy or immediately or within 72 hours of childbirth, if necessary—to replace any blood cells damaged by the antibodies.
Learn more about the Rh factor in pregnancy.
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