Rh-incompatibility

Hello everyone, how're you all doing?

Today I wanna discuss a little bit about Rh incompatibility. Rh is code for rhesus. Few weeks ago, one of my friend sent me short message asking me about that 'pregnancy problem' thing. So since it's quite important for every of us to know - especially for soon-to-be moms - then I will share a little knowledge about it.
Most of us know already that we have blood type, the A, B, AB, and O. But maybe some of us don't know (or even never heard) of Rh-blood type. One can have Rh-negative or Rh-positive. You can determine that by checking yours in the laboratory.

So, the important thing about this in pregnancy is: when a pregnant-mom has Rh-negative and the baby has Rh-positive (it must come from the father's) then it can bring Rh-incompatibility, because the mother will produce "Rh-antibody" to attack the 'foreign Rh-positive' inside fetal blood.
Usually the problem will not occur in the first pregnancy until the delivery (or miscarriage, abortion) when the blood of the fetus is exposed to mother's blood. So, generally the Rh-incompatibility problem will tend to happen in the second pregnancy with Rh-positive baby and Rh-negative mother.
When a mom has Rh-positive, the problem will never occur (no matter the baby has Rh-negative or positive), because the mother's immune system will not create any antibodies.

What is the danger of Rh-incompatibility? If an Rh-negative mother had delivered Rh-positive baby (without any interference from medical professional), then when she has her second pregnancy, her body will create some 'immune antibodies' and attack the baby's blood, creating an anemia condition inside the fetus. The mild one will have nothing to be worried, but the severe form of incompatibility will need blood transfusion for the baby.

How can we know our type of Rh? It means that every couple needs to have prenatal screening for that. And if the mother has Rh-negative, and the spouse has Rh-positive, then the couple can go to the doctor for further advise and management.

So, I hope my short explanation will give you all clear understanding about that problem. Prevention is much better than the cure. Stay healthy always..