What happens if a baby is Rh-negative?
If the mother is Rh-negative, her immune system treats Rh-positive fetal cells as if they were a foreign substance. The mother’s body makes antibodies against the fetal blood cells. These antibodies may cross back through the placenta into the developing baby. They destroy the baby’s circulating red blood cells.
How does Rh factor affect babies?
If your next baby is Rh positive, these Rh antibodies can cross the placenta and damage the baby’s red blood cells. This could lead to life-threatening anemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than the baby’s body can replace them. Red blood cells are needed to carry oxygen throughout the body.
Is Rh disease serious?
Rh disease is a dangerous kind of anemia. Anemia is when a person doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen to the rest of the body. Rh disease (also called Rh incompatibility) happens when your blood is Rh-negative and your baby’s blood is Rh-positive.
How is Rh disease treated?
Treatment for rhesus disease after delivery can include a light treatment called phototherapy, blood transfusions, and an injection of a solution of antibodies (intravenous immunoglobulin) to prevent red blood cells being destroyed.
What are the long term effects of Rh disease?
Rhesus disease causes a build-up of excessive amounts of a substance called bilirubin. Without prompt treatment, a build-up of bilirubin in the brain can lead to a neurological condition called kernicterus. This can lead to hearing loss, blindness and vision loss, brain damage, learning difficulties, or even death.
Can Rh disease be treated?
Treating rhesus disease Treatment for rhesus disease after delivery can include a light treatment called phototherapy, blood transfusions, and an injection of a solution of antibodies (intravenous immunoglobulin) to prevent red blood cells being destroyed.
How do I know if my baby has rhesus disease?
Your baby may have the following symptoms:
- Yellow coloring of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
- Pale-coloring because of anemia.
- Fast heart rate (tachycardia)
- Fast breathing (tachypnea)
- Lack of energy.
- Swelling under the skin.
- Large abdomen.
How many babies are born with Rh disease?
How Common is Rh Disease? But not all Rh-negative mothers with Rh-positive babies get the treatment, and a small number of women can’t be helped by the injections. As a result, some 4,000 babies still develop Rh disease each year.