NICE recommends routine anti-D injections for all pregnant RhD-negative women just in case sensitisation occurs (NICE, 2021). If you’re rhesus negative and your partner is rhesus positive, you might be offered a couple of extra midwife appointments for your anti-D injections. These treatments might include phototherapy (light therapy), sometimes intravenous antibodies from healthy donors and rarely a blood transfusion (NHS, 2021). Others may be born early so they can have treatments. Rarely, the baby may need a blood transfusion while they’re in the womb. Around half of all cases of rhesus disease are minor and may need little treatment, with the baby simply being monitored regularly during pregnancy (NHS, 2021). Rhesus disease is uncommon because usually it can be prevented with injections of anti-D immunoglobin (Qureshi et al, 2014 McBain et al, 2015 NHS, 2021). At birth a baby’s blood will be tested to see whether they have any anti-D antibodies in their blood (NHS, 2021). If a baby is at risk of developing rhesus disease, extra monitoring during pregnancy will be offered. Sometimes, a blood test from the father will also be able to rule out rhesus positive blood in the baby (NHS, 2021). If your baby is rhesus negative, then they are at no risk of rhesus disease and they will not need extra monitoring or treatment (NHS, 2021). This can affect future pregnancies with rhesus positive babies.Īt around 12 weeks of pregnancy, it might be possible to determine your baby's blood group via a blood test taken from you. It can become an issue if the pregnancy or birth causes the mother to become sensitised to their baby's rhesus positive blood and create antibodies. Even without the anti-D immunoglobin, it is unlikely that antibodies would be produced quickly enough to harm the baby (NHS, 2021). This will reduce the likelihood of you developing an immune response to your baby’s rhesus positive blood during pregnancy (Qureshi et al, 2014 NHS, 2021).īeing rhesus negative is unlikely to cause a problem in a first pregnancy. If you do not have these antibodies, you will be offered injections of anti-D immunoglobin throughout your pregnancy. If your blood is rhesus negative, your blood sample will be checked for anti-D antibodies (NHS, 2021).
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