Why pregnant women should know their blood group.

  

Date Posted: 9/30/2018 9:28:56 AM

Posted By: ellahirush  Membership Level: Bronze  Total Points: 12

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While it is very important for one to be aware of their blood type,it is very important for a pregnant women to be aware of their blood group.The blood groups we have are, A,B,O,and AB.These are further classified as either positive or negative.Most people fall under the Rhesus positive. Let's say that you are a woman who is rhesus positive and you have a spouse who is also rhesus positive,then your children will have a blood type that contains the rhesus positive.If you and your spouse have the negative rhesus factor then your children will carry the negative rhesus factor too.

The problem comes in when a woman has the negative rhesus factor and she is pregnant for a rhesus positive partner. The combination can produce a rhesus positive baby which is a potential health risk because blood from the baby can enter the mother's system and cause her to create antibodies against her child's rhesus factor since it is treated as an intruder in the mother's body.This is called sensitization and it can happen during blood transfusion,abortion,miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

If it happens that the mother's body becomes sensitized in any of the above procedures,her antibodies attack the baby's rhesus positive red blood cells.This can cause anemia,in severe cases illness,brain damage and even death.There is however a way to prevent sensitization and that is by getting an injection of a blood product known as Rh Immunoglobulin which minimizes the mother's reaction to the positive red blood cells.This injection is recommended for pregnant women at 28 weeks of pregnancy and at 72 hours of birth if the child is Rh positive.It is important to note that this rarely causes problems in first pregnancies so it is very important that as a pregnant woman you insist on finding out your blood group

and follow your medical doctor's advice to prevent any disasters.

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