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Theme : Facts About Rhogam

#Case
I am O-ve blood group with AA genotype what are the danger to the first fetus and she is now in her 25 week please advise her

#Discussions

Blood grouping and compatibility are very important in pregnancy.
Rhesus factor is an important aspect of blood grouping every woman MUST know.
There are two categories
• Rh-negative and Rh-positive,

This might sound like a math class, but far from it. It is just a mere classification.
In a simple term “Rh" refers to a particular protein, the Rh factor, that sits on the surface of red blood. About 85 percent of the population carries the Rh-factor protein on their cells. That makes them Rh-positive. However, in some folks they lack this protein and are Rh-negative.

The next question is; does this make any difference in your daily life? The answer is not, not at all. However, when you're pregnant, your Rh status can matter, under some circumstances. That's because your immune system, which monitors your body and bloodstream for foreign cells, recognizes invaders based on the proteins they carry on their surfaces.

So, when cells are littered with proteins that are unfamiliar to the immune system, it will eye those cells more carefully, and, perhaps, attack and destroy them. To your Rh-negative immune system, then, Rh-positive cells look suspicious even if they belong to your fetus. (Remember a Rh-negative mother can have a Rh-positive fetus if the baby's father is Rh-positive.) The situation is called Rh incompatibility.

The next BIG question is, how and when does this incompatibility issue create problems?

Normally during the pregnancy, the maternal and fetal blood systems are totally separate. Your blood and your baby's blood don't mix, so your immune system has nothing to react to. But during labor and delivery, drops of the baby's blood with those Rh-positive cells can get in your body, and your immune system will begin to mount an attack and treat the baby’s blood as an invader.

The good news is, it makes no difference to the baby just born (it won't, for example, have any impact on breastfeeding). But now that your immune system is sensitized and ready to attack Rh-positive cells, it will do so all the time most importantly, during any future pregnancy with another Rh-positive baby, leading to anemia or jaundice in the baby. Or worse, including death.

Inasmuch as it sounds dire, but the situation can be avoided. This is where Rhogam comes in. This is a vaccine-like compound, also known as Rh immunoglobulin, is a blood product that can stop your immune system from attacking Rh-positive cells.

When do you receive this drug?

When a Rh incompatibility is identified, Rhogam will be given, as a shot, during week 28 of pregnancy (it will also be given after the following procedures: chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, uterine bleeding, or any trauma during pregnancy that could leak some of the fetal cells over to you) and then again within 72 hours after delivery, ensuring that subsequent pregnancies are as safe as the first.

Please if you have concerns about getting Rhogam because it is a blood product, keep in mind that there's no evidence that a disease like AIDS or hepatitis has ever been transmitted through the shot. Meanwhile, its benefits are enormous. This is an amazing, lifesaving drug.
Thank you.

Dr Chudi Godsons

Www.askthegynaedoctor.com

References and Photo Credit

Www.schoolbag.info

WebMD

Mayo Clinic