Prevalence

• According to the March of Dimes, RH disease still affects 4,000 infants each year.
  
  

Cause

• RH negative disease occurs when the RH-positive blood of a fetus mixes with the RH-negative blood of the mother.
  
  

Function

• When a woman becomes pregnant, her antibodies will attack the red blood cells of the baby, leading to destruction.
  
  

Considerations

• Exposure to RH-positive blood in a woman with RH-negative blood type causes her body to produce antibodies to protect her blood cells from a foreign substance. A woman is sensitized and produces these antibodies after a first pregnancy if the father is RH-positive.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Unsensitized women are given Rh immune globulin, a purified blood product, at week 28 during the pregnancy and within 72 hours of delivery to prevent sensitization and antibody formation. Sensitized women will have periodic tests to determine the health of the baby, receive blood transfusions during pregnancy if the condition develops early on, and sometimes have induced labor if anemia is detected near term.