Your future pregnancies will be monitored more closely than usual, as will your baby after birth. If you have already developed anti-D antibodies in a previous pregnancy you won’t need another injection in your next pregnancy. The anti-D injection may also be recommended if there is concern about a sensitising event (see above). You will be offered an anti-D injection at 28 and 34 weeks of pregnancy if your blood is rhesus negative. The anti-D injection is safe for both you and your baby. When might I be offered an anti-D injection? if your baby is in a breech position and you have an external cephalic version (where doctors turn the baby around inside the womb).after an injury or accident to your abdomen.obstetric haemorrhage (heavy, frequent bleeding during pregnancy).during some tests you may have during your pregnancy (such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis).If you have RhD negative blood, you may also be offered an injection of this medication if there is any concern that your baby’s blood may have crossed the placenta into your bloodstream. You will be offered blood tests as part of your antenatal screening, so you will be told if your blood is RhD negative or positive at the start of your pregnancy. This is because it can usually be prevented with injections of a medicine called 'anti-D immunoglobulin'. Haemolytic disease of the newborn is uncommon these days. Can haemolytic disease of the newborn be prevented? Illustration showing how haemolytic disease of the newborn can occur. ![]() This may lead to serious complications for your baby, such as severe anaemia, brain damage and even death in some cases.ĭue to the potential serious effects of haemolytic disease of the newborn, prevention is the key. Your immune system, however, has a good memory, and can produce high levels of these antibodies if there is contact with RhD positive blood in a future pregnancy. If these antibodies develop, they will not normally affect your first pregnancy. This causes your immune system to react by producing antibodies to destroy your baby’s red blood cells. Haemolytic disease of the newborn is a condition in an unborn baby and newborn that can happen if a small amount of your baby’s red blood cells cross the placenta into your bloodstream. What is haemolytic disease of the newborn? This is called a 'sensitising event' and can lead to a condition in an unborn baby and newborn, called haemolytic disease of the newborn. If your blood type is RhD negative, and your baby’s RhD positive, problems can occur if a small amount of your baby’s blood enters your bloodstream during pregnancy or birth. However, in some cases, these differences can be very important. This is normal and usually not a problem. For this reason, a baby may have a different blood type to its parents. Your baby’s blood type is inherited from both parents. This can happen if the baby’s biological father is RhD positive.Īround 17 in every 100 people in Australia have a negative blood type. Why is your blood type important during pregnancy?īeing RhD negative isn’t usually a problem unless you are pregnant and your baby happens to be RhD positive. The ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ shows your 'Rhesus factor' (RhD), which identifies if you have a protein known as 'D antigen' on the surface of your red blood cells. For example, your blood type can be A positive or A negative. These blood types are further identified as being either positive or negative. You inherit your blood group from your parents.
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