Why is the Rhesus factor important in pregnancy? What can be done about it?  

The rhesus system came about after experiments were conducted by Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener in 1937.
If you are a woman who is pregnant and Rh negative and the father of your childis Rh negative also, there is no need for any action to be taken. But if you are Rh negative and the father of your child is Rh positive, your blood may be incompatible with your baby's blood if the baby is Rh positive too. There is no way to know your baby's blood type until after he or she is born, and even assuming you were Rh incompatible it's not an issue during your first pregnancyanyway

Answered by pankaj , an ibibo Specialist, at 3:14 AM on October 09, 2008

YES IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT FACTOR . IT IS VERY MUCH HELPFUL TO SAVE THE LIFE OF NEW ONE .IF MOTHER IS Rh-ve THEN IT IS NECCESSARY TO TAKE CARE OF HER NEWBORN.TODAY THERE A MANY TESTS ARE ALSO ADVISABLE LIKE COOMBS ETC...... TO PREVENT SUCH TYPES OF COMPLICATIONS.

Answered by ARSHI KHAN , an ibibo Citizen, at 1:25 PM on October 08, 2008

rhesus factor is important in pregnancy when mother is having negative rh group and husband is having positive rh group when the child delivers if the child is having positive rh group the the mother should be given the anti d injection to prevent further damage to further pregnancies

Answered by Rajesh Goyl , an ibibo Advisor, at 8:05 PM on October 07, 2008

well tingtong !
Individuals either have, or do not have, the Rhesus factor (or Rh D antigen) on the surface of their red blood cells. This is usually indicated by 'RhD positive' (does have the RhD antigen) or 'RhD negative' (does not have the antigen) suffix to the ABO blood type. Unlike the ABO antigens, the only ways antibodies are developed against the Rh factor are through placental sensitization or translation. That is, if a person who is RhD-negative has never been exposed to the RhD antigen, they do not possess the RhD antibody.[1] The 'RhD-' suffix is often shortened to 'D pos'/'D neg', 'RhD pos'/RhD neg', or +/-. The latter is generally not preferred in research or medical situations, because it can be altered or obscured accidentally.

There may be prenatal danger to the fetus when a pregnant woman is RhD-negative and the biological father is RhD-positive. But, as discussed below, the situation is considerably more complex than that.
The term Rhesus (Rh) blood group system refers to the 5 main Rhesus antigens (C, c, D, E and e) as well as the many other less frequent Rhesus antigens. The terms Rhesus factor and Rh factor are equivalent and refer to the Rh D antigen only
for more inf check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhesus _blood_group_system

Answered by sanjay , an ibibo Guru, at 1:51 PM on October 06, 2008

well,If the blood of anyone who's Rh- comes into contact with Rh+ blood, it will react to it as 'foreign' and will develop antibodies to the Rh+ cells that will kill them off. This works in much the same way as when your blood develops antibodies to the cells of viruses, like colds and flu, in order to destroy them. And as with antibodies to colds and flu, once the antibodies to Rh+ cells have developed in the blood of someone who is Rh-, they stay there.

If a Rh- woman has a Rh+ partner, it's very likely that their baby will be Rh+. This means that if her blood comes into contact with her baby's, she'll develop antibodies to it. This is unlikely to happen during a first pregnancy, but can happen when the baby is being born, when some of its blood may get into her circulation. It can also happen if she has a miscarriage or a termination or, occasionally, after an amniocentesis or CVS test. If it does happen, the woman will produce antibodies to the Rh+ blood. They won't affect her first baby at all, but they'll stay in her blood and if she becomes pregnant again, problems can arise.

If a Rh- woman who has antibodies in her blood is pregnant with a Rh+ baby, it's possible for her antibodies to pass through to the baby and damage or even destroy the baby's red blood cells. This can lead to the baby becoming anaemic or developing jaundice, or occasionally to more serious complications.
Fortunately, Rhesus factor problems are almost entirely preventable. Women who are Rh- are routinely given an injection of a substance called Anti-D shortly after the baby is born (or after a miscarriage or termination). This destroys any Rh+ cells that may have got into the bloodstream so that they won't produce any more antibodies. In some areas, Anti-D is given to Rh- women during pregnancy, but this is not routinely done everywhere.

At the first antenatal appointment a blood test if carried out and Rh- women are checked to see whether they have any antibodies. They may also be offered more frequent blood tests during pregnancy to make sure that they haven't started to produce any.

If antibodies do show up, they may be at a low enough level not to cause any problems to the baby. If there's reason to think that they could be affecting the baby, it may be necessary to run tests to see how severe the effects are. In the most serious cases, it may be possible to give the baby a blood transfusion before it's born. In other cases, the baby may need to have its blood exchanged after the birth.

Answered by Debashis , an ibibo Master, at 6:35 AM on October 05, 2008

The Rhesus factor, also known as the Rh factor, gets its name from experiments conducted in 1937 by scientists Karl Landsteiner and Alexander S. Weiner. These revolutionary case studies involved rabbits which, when injected with the Rhesus monkey's red blood cells, produced an antibody present in the red blood cells of many humans--the Rhesus factor. The Rhesus factor is an antigen, or more specifically a protein, that exists on the surface of red blood cells.

There are four general categories of blood: A, B, O, and AB. But each blood type is further labeled as positive or negative which is a reference to the Rhesus factor of the blood. People with the Rhesus factor, that is, people with the antigen present in their blood, are Rh-positive. So if a person has a blood type of A and has the Rhesus factor, she is A-positive, or A+. More than 85% of people are Rh-positive. People without the Rhesus factor, that is, people that don't have the antigen in their blood, are Rh-negative.

A person's Rh type is basically significant only with respect to pregnancies. Specifically, a Rh-positive child born to an Rh-negative woman runs the risk of developing Rh disease. Only Rh-negative women risk having children with the Rhesus factor disease; Rh-positive women do not. So, for a Rh-negative woman to have a Rh-positive child, the father must have been Rh-positive. A Rh-positive man has a 50% chance of passing on his Rh-positive blood type to the child.

If the mother is Rh-negative and the child is Rh-positive, and the child's blood enters the woman's bloodstream during the pregnancy, labor, or delivery, the woman's immune system may respond by producing antibodies to fight off the child's antigens which are foreign to the woman's system. That is, the woman's body may naturally produce antibodies which attack the baby's blood, causing the baby's red blood cells to break down. The result of this incompatibility will not affect the health of the mother but it can affect the child's health. Potential health problems include jaundice, anemia, brain or heart damage, and in severe cases Rh disease can be fatal.

The Rhesus factor is less likely to affect the first-born child because the woman's system will have had less time and is therefore less likely to produce the antibodies to fight off the antigens in the child's Rh-positive blood. If the woman has become sensitized, that is, her immune system responded by producing antibodies, those antibodies will be present in her system for the rest of her life. Therefore, disparate Rhesus factor types between a woman and her child can increase the potential for Rh disease in each subsequent pregnancy.

Preventative measures to protect against the Rhesus factor disease and their devastating effects are available. Women should be tested early in their first pregnancies to determine whether they are Rh-negative and whether they are sensitized. Sensitization may not only occur through normal pregnancies, but at any time a woman and her child's blood mix, including miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and blood transfusions.

If a woman is Rh-negative, and has not yet been sensitized, she will likely be given an injection of a blood product known as Rh immunoglobulin (Rhlg) at about seven months into the pregnancy. This should prevent sensitization for the rest of the pregnancy. The Rhlg shot seeks to destroy any antigens present in the bloodstream before the mother is able to create antibodies. Additionally, it is generally recommended that the newborn be tested for his or her Rhesus blood type. If the child is positive, the mother is often given another Rhlg shot shortly after birth to prevent her from becoming sensitized. Rhlg injections only last for a given pregnancy. Subsequent pregnancies will likely require separate Rhlg injections.

If the woman is Rh-negative and has been sensitized, the Rhlg injection will not help. Close monitoring of the bab

Answered by Mohd Saqib , an ibibo Master, at 9:33 PM on October 04, 2008

Both the spouses being of either RH negative or RH positive is the ideal and would cause no trouble. But if one of them is negative and the other positive, then there can be trouble. ESp if the child and the mother have different RHes. As long as the child is in the uterus, ther woudl be not blood spillage. But at the time of delivery, there can be blood spillage causing the child or the mother to be affected, by the RHes mixing in the blood stream. This is so mostly during the second child's delivery because the blood contact will be there and allergic reactions will be developed when the two RH's meet. One would consider the other as an antibody and react against it by killing the RBCs in it.
When there is a miscarriage or termination, the dangers can be more for the mother.So the lady wil need Anti -D injection to prevent the growth of antibodies.
When the child develops complications due to mixing such as hepatitis or anemia(which may also happen), then the the doctor may well act fast and create conditions for induced labor to safeguard the foetus.

Answered by Vida Writer , an ibibo Master, at 5:00 PM on October 04, 2008

There are different Groups in human blood.It does not matter except for blood transfusion.
But in the case of Pregnancy and safe delivary,the Blood Rh FACTOR IS MOST IMPORTANT.The husband and wife if both are same Rh factor,ie,both Rh --ve or Rh +ve,there is no problem.If husband is Rh--ve and wife Rh +ve,still no problem.But if the husband Rh +ve and wife Rh --ve,then their is a problem of Eristoblastosis, There is a possibility of the new born child having the problem of Jaundice,and more yellow pigments appearing in the body and eyes of the new born.There is effective neutralising injection for this which is done with in 24 hrs after delivery.If not the 2nd delivery child will have more of the problem,even fatal

Answered by SUKUMARAN , an ibibo Master, at 3:16 PM on October 04, 2008

IF A LADY IS pregnant, it's important to know whether HER blood is Rhesus positive (Rh+) or Rhesus negative (Rh-). This will be checked from the blood sample that she gives at her first antenatal appointment. If she's Rh-, it's important to know whether her partner is Rh- too. If he isn't, there's the possibility that the baby will have a blood group which is incompatible with hers, and this can cause problems.

If the blood of anyone who's Rh- comes into contact with Rh+ blood, it will react to it as 'foreign' and will develop antibodies to the Rh+ cells that will kill them off. This works in much the same way as when her blood develops antibodies to the cells of viruses, like colds and flu, in order to destroy them.

Fortunately, Rhesus factor problems are almost entirely preventable. Women who are Rh- are routinely given an injection of a substance called Anti-D shortly after the baby is born This destroys any Rh+ cells that may have got into the bloodstream so that they won't produce any more antibodies.

Answered by SESHAN , an ibibo Master, at 12:25 PM on October 04, 2008

When you're pregnant, one of the first things your doctor will want to know is your blood group. If your blood group is negative, there may be risk factors.

If your blood group is positive, you have the "Rhesus factor," a marker on the red blood cells named after a similar substance found in the Rhesus monkey.

If your blood group is negative, you are said to be "Rh negative." This can be problematic in a second pregnancy - but rarely in a first. If a woman who is Rh negative has a Rh positive baby, she will develop antibodies to her baby if their blood mixes (if her baby's also Rh negative this will not happen.).

Luckily it's unlikely that the mother and baby's blood will mix during pregnancy. Mixing of the blood only occurs during childbirth and by then the baby is safely born. Unfortunately, if the woman falls pregnant again, she will already have the antibodies, which will attack her baby's blood cells, causing a breakdown of the red blood cells and severe anaemia in the baby.

Luckily doctors can prevent these antibodies from forming by giving the mother an anti-D injection within 72 hours of delivery. If a woman has not received this treatment and has fallen pregnant again, the foetus must be very carefully monitored.

An experienced sonographer may be able to detect on a scan whether the baby has been affected by it's mother's antibodies. If it is, the only way to help the baby is with a blood transfusion in-utero. If this doesn’t work, labour will have to be induced to prevent any further harm to the baby.

The risk in a first pregnancy comes if mother and baby's blood doesn't mix. This can happen if there is a premature separation of the placenta, or if the mother has an invasive medical procedure, like and amniocentesis, or if she has had a termination, a miscarriage or a blighted ovum. In any of these instances she would need an anti-D injection, which stops her producing antibodies.

Answered by Alok , an ibibo Master, at 12:16 PM on October 04, 2008