04/25/2014 08:41 AM EDT
04/25/2014 08:41 AM EDT
04/25/2014 08:41 AM EDT
04/25/2014 08:41 AM EDT
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of HealthThere are four major blood types: A, B, O, and AB. The types are based on substances on the surface of the blood cells. Another blood type is called Rh. Rh factor is a protein on red blood cells. Most people are Rh-positive; they have Rh factor. Rh-negative people don't have it. Rh factor is inherited though genes.
When you're pregnant, blood from your baby can cross into your bloodstream, especially during delivery. If you're Rh-negative and your baby is Rh-positive, your body will react to the baby's blood as a foreign substance. It will create antibodies (proteins) against the baby's blood. These antibodies usually don't cause problems during a first pregnancy.
But Rh incompatibility may cause problems in later pregnancies, if the baby is Rh-positive. This is because the antibodies stay in your body once they have formed. The antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells. The baby could get Rh disease, a serious condition that can cause a serious type of anemia.
Blood tests can tell whether you have Rh factor and whether your body has made antibodies. Injections of a medicine called Rh immune globulin can keep your body from making Rh antibodies. It helps prevent the problems of Rh incompatibility. If treatment is needed for the baby, it can include supplements to help the body to make red blood cells and blood transfusions.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Rh Incompatibility is theNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Start Here
- Rh Incompatibility
- Rh Incompatibility
Overviews
- Rh Disease(March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Rh Factor: How It Can Affect Your Pregnancy(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - PDF
Diagnosis/Symptoms
How Is Rh Compatibility Diagnosed?
- Red Blood Cell Antibody Identification(American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Rh Factor Blood Test(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Treatment
- How Is Rh Incompatibility Treated?(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
Disease Management
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Related Issues
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Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Erythroblastosis, Fetal
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Rh Isoimmunization
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- ClinicalTrials.gov: Erythroblastosis, Fetal
Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)Organizations
Children
- Hydrops Fetalis/Erythroblastosis Fetalis(Children's Hospital and Health System, Wisconsin)
- Rh Incompatibility (For Parents)(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
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Patient Handouts
- Fetal-maternal erythrocyte distribution
- Also available in Spanish
- Hemolytic disease of the newborn
- Also available in Spanish
- Rh incompatibility
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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