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Rh incompatibility - Prevention

Alternative Names

Rh-induced hemolytic disease of the newborn

Prevention:

Rh incompatibility is almost completely preventable. Rh-negative mothers should be followed closely by their obstetricians during pregnancy.

Special immune globulins, called RhoGAM, are now used to prevent RH incompatibility in mothers who are Rh-negative.

If the father of the infant is Rh-positive or if his blood type cannot be confirmed, the mother is given an injection of RhoGAM during the second trimester. If the baby is Rh-positive, the mother will get a second injection within a few days after delivery.

These injections prevent the development of antibodies against Rh-positive blood. However, women with Rh-negative blood type must receive injections:

During every pregnancy
If they have a miscarriage or abortion
After prenatal tests such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus biopsy
After injury to the abdomen during pregnancy

Erythroblastosis fetalis, photomicrograph

Jaundice infant

Antibodies

Exchange transfusion - series

Rh Incompatibility - series

Reviewed last on: 8/30/2011
A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, and David R. Eltz. Previously reviewed by Kimberly G Lee, MD, MSc, IBCLC, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (2/10/2011).

References

Stoll BJ. Blood disorders. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 103.

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Rh incompatibility - Prevention

Alternative Names

Prevention:

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