Almost all women will have a blood test to learn their blood type early in pregnancy. Rh incompatibility occurs when a woman who is Rh-negative becomes pregnant with a baby with Rh-positive blood. Anti-rhesus antibodies usually develop in the mother after birth, meaning that her first baby is typically not affected by rhesus disease. These antibodies help drive an immune system attack against the baby, which the mother’s body views as a foreign object. Everyone also has an Rh factor (positive or negative). Rh disease or Rh hemolytic disease is defined by maternal–fetal Rh (D) antigen incompatibility and the consequences associated with maternal sensitization (see Web appendix I-iii for details and references).

Rh disease occurs during pregnancy. Can Rh disease be prevented? With Rh incompatibility, the woman’s immune system reacts and creates Rh antibodies. It happens when the Rh factors in the mom’s and baby’s blood don’t match. If you’re Rh negative and have not been sensitized, you’ll get a medicine called Rh immunoglobulin (RhoGAM). Rh disease occurs in approximately 13 percent of pregnancies, and if not identified and treated by medical professionals, it ... while blood lacking the Rh antigen is referred to as Rh negative (Rh-). If your baby is Rh positive, you’ll get a second dose of medicine within 72 hours of giving birth. This was the most common and severe cause of fetal and neonatal hemolysis in Europe and the United States until about 60 y ago; it is now rare in countries where Rh prophylaxis is … It may also happen if the mom and baby have different blood types. Many women get RhoGAM around week 28 of pregnancy. If your baby is Rh negative, you won’t need a second dose. Rh disease can be prevented. This medicine can stop your antibodies from reacting to your baby’s Rh positive cells. Rh Disease What is Rh disease? What causes Rh disease? Each person has a blood type (O, A, B, or AB).