This is one of the reasons couples who are about to settle down are advised to know the blood group, Rhesus factor, genotype, etc of each other, so they would go about their lives smoothly and avoid future issues.


Before we deal with our topic, "Hemolytic Disease of New Born", let's define Rhesus factor and Blood group.


Rhesus factor (Rh):
The positive or negative sign next to the blood groups is known as the Rhesus (Rh) factor. The Rh factor is an inherited protein that can be found on the surface of the red blood cell. If your blood type is positive, then your blood cells have the Rh protein.




Blood Group:
Your blood group is determined by the genes you inherit from your parents.

There are 4 main types of blood groups, which are:

O, A, B and AB



A person's blood group can either be Rh+ or Rh-. Shown below:

O+ O-
A+ A-
B+ B-
AB+ AB-

Which means there are 8 blood groups.

Hemolytic disease of the newborn is also called erythroblastosis fetalis. This condition occurs when there is an incompatibility between the blood types of the mother and baby.

Erythroblastosis fetalis classically results from Rho(D) (Rhesus factor) incompatibility, which may develop when a woman with Rh-negative blood is impregnated by a man with Rh-positive blood and conceives a fetus with Rh-positive blood, sometimes resulting in hemolysis.

These antibodies usually don't cause problems during a first pregnancy. But Rh incompatibility may cause problems in later pregnancies, if the baby is Rh-positive. This is because the antibodies stay in your body once they have formed. The antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby's red blood cells.

In those days, when issues like this occur, they call the woman a witch that she's eating all her children.

Erythroblastosis Fetalis is that bad that if the woman is ignorant about it, she'll keep having miscarriages from her second pregnancy and other subsequent pregnancies, she'll never be able to have a child until she's been treated.


Preventive Treatment:
A preventive treatment known as RhoGAM, or Rh immunoglobulin, can reduce a mother's reaction to their baby's Rh-positive blood cells. This is administered as a shot at around the 28th week of pregnancy. The shot is administered again at least 72 hours after birth if the baby is Rh positive.