23/07/2025
RHESUS INCOMPATIBILITY
Men, imagine a situation where your wife keeps miscarrying because you don’t know your Rhesus status.
A lot of complications start from really simple things, and this is one of them
What role does Rhesus factor play in pregnancy?
What is Rhesus factor?
What is Rhesus factor all about?
Rhesus factor is a protein that can be found on the surface of red blood cells.
There’re 4 blood groups; A, B, AB and O.
These blood groups carry either a positive or negative sign.
A positive sign means Rhesus factor is present (+). 👇🏼
A negative sign means Rhesus factor is absent (-).
On a good day, your Rhesus factor doesn’t pose any risk.
However, it rears its head when a woman is pregnant.
How so?
A woman’s rhesus status is already known, however the baby’s status can only be determined.
The fetus has its own distinct blood group and Rhesus status, inherited from one or both parents.
In a situation where the Rhesus status of the child and mother don’t match, it’s called Rhesus incompatibility.
What are the options?
Rhesus positive mom + Rhesus positive baby ✅
Rhesus positive mom + Rhesus negative baby ✅
Rhesus negative mom + Rhesus negative baby ✅
Rhesus negative mom + Rhesus positive baby ❌.
Rhesus factor becomes a problem if the mum is negative and the child, positive.
Why?
This is because, when the blood of fetus mixes..
.with that on the mother, the body recognizes it as a foreign object.
It will then try to destroy this foreign object by producing antibodies to attack it.
The antibodies can cross the placenta, to destroy the fetus’s red blood cells.
This can cause hemolytic anemia, and in..
.worse cases, the baby can die or be stillborn.
What can be done about this?
- The first step is preventative.
Know your Rhesus status and that of your partner.
There’s a possibility of giving birth to a positive child, as a negative mom, if your partner is positive.
- The second step is taking a Rhesus Immunoglobulin.
Rhesus Im
