Know How Different Blood Groups Of Mother And Child Affect The Pregnancy Journey: Process, Treatments; Expert Weighs In

When the mother is Rh negative and the father is Rh positive, the risk to the mother and child’s health significantly increases. We asked our expert, Dr Akanksha Allahbadia Gupta, MBBS MS Obstetrics & Gynaecology, about the reason behind this, its cure and solutions. Know all about it in detail in this article.

What Happens If The Mother Or Child Has RH Negative Factor?

The expert told us that in cases where the pregnant mother or the child is RH negative and the other one is positive, the first pregnancy of the woman can sensitise the mother, meaning that the mother’s body may perceive the opposite RH factor in the child’s blood cells as a foreign object and start producing antibodies. However, this is also the case when the pregnancy does not reach delivery such as a miscarriage, molar, or ectopic pregnancy. 

While the antibodies may not trouble the mother or the child during the first pregnancy, the previously produced antibodies can attack the baby during her second pregnancy and cause problems for the baby such as jaundice, fluid around the brain, damage to the baby's brain development, hydrops or damage to the baby's organs, and even intrauterine death.

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What Should Be Done If The Mother Or Child Has RH Negative Factor?

If in any pregnancy where the mother or the child is RH negative, Injection Anti D 300, the last known solution, is advised by the doctors to be given to the mother intramuscularly at 28 weeks of pregnancy (Pregnancy Habits That Promote Natural Birth). 

If the mother’s blood group is negative and the child’s blood group comes out to be positive after the birth, another dose of the Injection Anti D 300 is to be given to the mother ideally within  72 hours of the baby's birth.

The expert mentioned, “If the blood group of the baby is unknown or the RH negative mother undergoes a miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy, the Injection Anti D 300 is still recommended, however, the dose is to be discussed with a gynaecologist.”

“Anti‐D Injection aims to prevent the women from forming antibodies that would attack the red cells of a Rhesus positive baby in a future pregnancy thus protecting the baby from anaemia, jaundice, damage to the baby's brain and organs, and can be lifesaving,” Dr Akanksha added.

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