![]() Fortunately, Rh sensitization is very rare because women who are Rh negative can get a shot that stops their body from making antibodies to Rh-positive blood. Rh sensitization can cause fetal anemia (low iron in the blood), miscarriage, stillbirth, or a serious illness in the baby that is called hemolytic disease of the newborn. But in your next pregnancy, the antibodies that you made when you were exposed to Rh-positive blood at your first birth can cross the placenta and attack the Rh-positive red blood cells, if your next baby has Rh-positive blood. This is why being Rh negative will not harm your baby during your first pregnancy. The most likely time that you would be exposed to your baby’s blood is when you give birth. ![]() If your baby is Rh positive and you get a small amount of your baby’s blood into your circulation (bloodstream) when you are pregnant or when you give birth, your body can make antibodies that hurt and kill red blood cells that are Rh positive. What does this mean for my pregnancy?īeing Rh negative means that you do not have Rh proteins on your red blood cells. You can become very sick if you are given blood that is a different blood type unless it is O blood, which will not cause harm to people who have other blood types. If you ever need a blood transfusion, you should be given blood that is your same blood type. A test that tells you your blood type is done at your first prenatal visit and usually when you are admitted to the hospital for labor if you are planning a hospital birth. The letter of your blood group plus the Rh makes your blood type. Your blood can be Rh positive, which means that you have the Rh protein, or Rh negative, which means that you do not have the Rh protein. The red blood cells also have a protein that is called Rh on the surface of the cell. The red cells in your blood can be A, B, AB, or O. Your blood type tells you about markers on the surface of your red blood cells.
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