Pregnancy And Baby Care Second Pregnancy Rh Negative Second Pregnancy

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Rh or Rhesus is basically a protein that is found on the surface of the red blood cells. If your blood has this protein, then you are Rh positive, which is basically the most commonly found blood type. However, if you lack this protein, it means you are Rh negative.

Rh Positive Factor

Now, in your day-to-day life, a positive or negative Rh factor does not pose any health concern. Until you decide to go the family way. If both you and your partner are positive, your child by default will have a positive factor. Similarly, if both of you are negative, the baby will be Rh negative. However, if you are Rh positive and your partner Rh negative, your child could turn out to be either, something that can be determined only after delivery. However, it will not cause any health risk to you or your child during and after the pregnancy.

The dynamics change if you are Rh negative and your partner is positive. Now if your baby is Rh negative, the pregnancy will proceed smoothly.

On the other hand, if he or she is Rh positive, your body will automatically start producing anti-bodies to fight the Rhesus protein found in your baby's blood.

The good news is that the anti-bodies won't surpass the placenta until well after 18 weeks and a case of their attacking your child usually occurs only during delivery when there is a likelihood of your and the baby's blood getting mixed. This means, it buys you enough time to factor this condition in during your prenatal tests and put a stop to it with the help of an Rh immune globulin injection. What it essentially does is to stop your body from recognizing Rh positive blood, thus preventing the production of the anti-bodies.

Rh Negative Second Pregnancy

An Rh negative and second pregnancy is a scarier combination than during the first pregnancy. Generally the anti-bodies formed during your first pregnancy are dormant and innocuous, although, as a safety measure, you would have be administered an immune globulin injection. However, an Rh negative second pregnancy has more possibilities of complications during delivery and pregnancy, since by then the anti-bodies are more active and can launch quite a brutal attack on your baby's blood.

If unmonitored, it could result in a miscarriage or your baby may develop a life threatening disease that would require him or her to undergo regular blood transfusion for survival.

Don't worry - it does not mean that you have to forgo this pregnancy or child. If you are unsure about the blood factor and are pregnant, get started on

prenatal care in consultation with your physician as soon as possible.

Remember, in the case of an Rh negative second pregnancy, early detection and treatment can save you and your child from any possible health risk or complications