Can a RH negative mother successfully deliver second baby?

Question

Hello doctor,

I want to know how RH factors affect second pregnancy. Since I am RH positive, my wife has RH negative, and our first baby has A positive. Now my wife is seven months pregnant.

Last week, the CTI test showed a positive 1:1, but after her first pregnancy, we took an anti-D injection. Can you please suggest what further treatment we can get to have a safe delivery and how it comes to positive since we already took anti-D? Kindly suggest.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It is good to know about family rhesus sensitization for better care. If both parents have a negative blood group, then there would be no problem, but if the mother is negative and the father positive with a rhesus-positive child, and the baby's blood enters the mother during injury, birth, or bleeding, sensitization occurs, and the mother's immune system can develop antibodies (infection-fighting protein) against the rhesus antigen. This is known as rhesus sensitization.

As I told you, this sensitization occurs at birth, an injury, or a bleed. When the mother becomes pregnant with a second baby with a positive blood group, she already has sensitization, so her blood's antibodies can attack the baby's blood cells and thus cause hemolytic anemia or jaundice in the newborn. Injection of anti-D antigens, if given to the mother, can reduce the risk of sensitization by preventing the production of antibodies and clearing the antigen from blood cells.

It is recommended for Rh-negative women to have an antigen if it gets sensitized, such as in case of bleeding or trauma. Still, at 28 and 32 weeks, an anti-D injection will be given for all negative asymptomatic women. I would suggest getting this test to check your wife's antibody level. Get your baby reviewed by a neonatologist at birth. I hope I have cleared all your doubts. Hope I have cleared all your doubts.

Thank you.