Introduction: Why Your Blood Type Matters in Pregnancy
Did you know that something as simple as knowing your blood type can help save your baby’s life?
Every person belongs to one of four blood groups: A, B, AB, or O. Each of these can be positive or negative, depending on the presence of a protein called the Rhesus (Rh) factor.
If the Rh factor is present, the blood type is positive (e.g., A+); if it’s absent, it’s negative (e.g., A−). While Rh status doesn’t impact your health in everyday life, it can become a serious concern during pregnancy.
This happens when a mother with a negative blood group carries a baby with a positive blood group, inherited from the father. When an Rh-negative mother is carrying an Rh-positive baby, her immune system may identify the baby’s red blood cells as foreign and start producing antibodies to destroy them — a condition known as Rh incompatibility. This can lead to serious complications such as fetal anemia, jaundice, or even stillbirth.
Thankfully, there’s a simple and effective way to prevent this. The Anti-D injection, usually administered around the 28th week of pregnancy, stops the mother’s body from producing these harmful antibodies — helping ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy.
This blog covers everything an expectant mother needs to know about the Anti-D injection — when it’s needed, how it works, and its role in ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy.
What is Rh Incompatibility?
Rh incompatibility is when the mother has a negative blood group and the baby has a positive blood group inherited from the father. In that case, the mother and the baby are Rh incompatible, meaning the mother lacks the Rh protein and the baby has the Rh protein.
What Happens If the Mother’s Body Produces Her Own Antibodies?
When the mother’s immune system detects the presence of Rh-positive cells in her bloodstream, it starts producing anti-D antibodies against the Rh protein. These antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the baby’s red blood cells. This process is called Rh sensitization. It can lead to serious complications such as fetal anemia, jaundice, and, in severe cases, even stillbirth.
How to Treat Rh Incompatibility?
To manage Rh incompatibility, doctors usually recommend a test called the ICT (Indirect Coombs Test) around the 28th week of pregnancy. This test checks whether the mother’s body has already started producing antibodies against the Rh protein.
In most first pregnancies, the mother’s body has not yet produced these antibodies. However, if the mother has a history of miscarriage, abortion, or blood transfusions, there’s a chance that her body may have already become sensitized and started producing anti-D antibodies.
If the ICT test is positive (meaning antibodies are already present), the Anti-D injection will not be effective because the immune system is already sensitized, and giving the injection is of no use.
But if the ICT is negative (no antibodies found), the Anti-D injection can be safely given to prevent sensitization and protect the baby.
What is the Anti-D Injection?
An Anti-D injection, or Rho(D) immune globulin, is made of IgG antibodies. IgG, or Immunoglobulin G, is one of the five main antibodies that the human body produces when it encounters infections or foreign substances.
This injection is given to mothers with a negative blood group who are carrying an Rh-positive baby in order to prevent the mother’s body from producing her own anti-D antibodies. Without this injection, the antibodies she produces can destroy the baby’s red blood cells, leading to serious complications including fetal anemia and jaundice.
When is the Anti-D Injection Given?
The Anti-D injection is ideally given around the 28th week of pregnancy. This is because the risk of the baby’s blood entering the mother’s bloodstream increases after 28 weeks.
Also, the protective effect of the Anti-D injection lasts for about 12 weeks, so administering it at 28 weeks ensures protection through the rest of the pregnancy.
Another dose of Anti-D is also given within 72 hours after childbirth if the baby is Rh-positive. This is because the chances of the mother’s and baby’s blood mixing are highest during delivery.
If the mother doesn’t receive Anti-D at this point, her immune system may start producing anti-D antibodies, which will be readily available in the body and attack the red blood cells of future pregnancies and cause serious complications.
How Does Anti-D Injection Work?
Ideally, small fragments of the baby’s blood flow into the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy.
But when the mother has a negative blood group with no Rh protein, and the baby has a positive blood group with the Rh protein, the small amount of blood from the baby will still contain Rh.
When this enters the mother’s bloodstream, the mother’s body treats it as a foreign substance and starts producing antibodies against the Rh protein, leading to the destruction of the baby’s red blood cells.
This can lead to severe complications, including fetal anemia and jaundice.
In order to save the baby, an injection called Anti-D is given to the mother. When an Anti-D injection is given, it acts as antibodies against the Rh protein and destroys any Rh-positive cells found in the mother’s bloodstream.
As a result, the mother’s immune system is not “informed” or activated, and it doesn’t produce antibodies of its own.
Do I Need the Anti-D Injection Even in My First Pregnancy?
Yes, even during your first pregnancy, the Anti-D injection is important. While blood mixing between mother and baby is less likely to occur in most first pregnancies, the mother’s body can become sensitized during delivery or due to blood transfusions. Hence, an Anti-D injection is given even in the first pregnancy to prevent the production of Rh antibodies.
Conclusion
Understanding your blood type might seem like a minor detail, but it can make a life-saving difference during pregnancy. Early diagnosis, routine prenatal tests, and timely interventions are crucial in managing Rh incompatibility.
Regular scans and prenatal checkups help detect potential complications early and help expectant parents make informed decisions.
At Jammi Scans, we specialize in managing high-risk pregnancies with care. Our expert team, led by Dr. Deepthi Jammi, a renowned fetal medicine specialist, provides personalized counseling and guides expectant mothers with high-risk pregnancies to have a safer pregnancy and childbirth.
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Do I Need an Anti-D Injection?
Why Choose Jammi Scans?
- Led by Dr. Deepthi Jammi, a specialist in fetal medicine and high-risk pregnancies
- One-on-one counselling for mothers with Rh incompatibility and other pregnancy-related concerns
- Conveniently located in T. Nagar, ensuring easy access and transportation
- Same-day reports with accurate interpretations
For appointments and consultations, call Jammi Scans at 7338771733.
FAQ
1. What is the Anti-D injection for?
Anti-D injection is given to expectant mothers with Rh incompatibility to prevent their bodies from naturally producing antigens against the baby’s Rh protein in the blood. This is because if the mother’s body produces the antibodies naturally, the dosage cannot be controlled, and it may eventually kill the baby’s red blood cells, leading to various complications, including jaundice and fetal anemia.
2. Is Anti-D injection necessary in the first pregnancy?
Yes, Anti-D injection is required even during the first pregnancy. Although most first pregnancies aren’t affected by Rh incompatibility because the baby is usually delivered before the mother’s body starts producing antibodies, there is still a risk.
Blood mixing can occur during delivery, miscarriage, or certain procedures, which may trigger the mother’s immune system to develop antibodies. These antibodies can stay in her body and attack the red blood cells of the baby in future pregnancies, leading to serious complications.
That’s why doctors recommend giving the Anti-D injection during the first pregnancy as a preventive measure.
3. What is the cost of Anti-D injection?
The average cost of an Anti-D injection ranges anywhere between ₹2500–₹5000 based on the dosage and brand.
4. Is Anti-D injection safe for the baby?
Yes, Anti-D injections are safe for both the mother and the baby. This injection only destroys the Rh cells found in the mother’s body, and it doesn’t cross the placenta, thereby not affecting the baby.
5. Is Rh Sensitization Dangerous?
When the mother and the baby are incompatible, and when the baby’s blood enters the mother’s bloodstream, the mother’s body produces antigens to destroy the baby’s red blood cells, leading to severe complications including fetal anemia and jaundice.
