Rh Blood Types

About __% of Rh- mothers who carried Rh+ children become __________ with in __ months of delivery

20, sensitized, 6 Because the anti-Rh antibodies are not produced in significant amounts until after delivery, a womans first infant is not affected.

Does an Rh+ mother carrying an Rh- fetus require a RhoGAM injection?

An Rh+ mother carrying and Rh- fetus does not require a RhoGAM injection because the fetus is not at risk of Rh incompatibility. The fetus is not at risk because its RBCs lack Rh surface antigens, and the mothers plasma lacks anti-Rh antibodies.

What blood disorder does HDN cause?

Anemia

A newborn with erythroblastosis fetalis has a high concentration of what?

Circulating bilirubin

What causes hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)?

During pregnancy, when fetal and maternal vascular systems are intertwined, the mother's antibodies against RBC surface antigens may cross the placenta, attacjing and destroying fetal RBCs.

What happens if the fetus with erythroblastosis fetalis does not receive treatment before delivery or shortly after?

Death

What is HDN also known as?

Erythroblastosis fetalis, because the immature RBCs are erythroblasts.

What happens when the Rh- mother gives birth to her 2nd Rh+ child?

If a future pregnancy involves an Rh+ fetus, maternal anti-Rh antibodies produced after the first delivery cross the placenta and enter the fetal bloodstream. These antibodies destroy fetal RBCs, producing a dangerous anemia. The fetal demand for red blood cells increases, and they leave the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream before completing their development.

What are the physical characteristics of an HDN newborn?

Jaundice

What commonly happens when the Rh- mother gives birth to her first Rh+ child?

Problems seldom develop because very few fetal cells enter the mathernal bloodstream, and thus the mothers immune system is not stimulated to produce anti-Rh antibodies.

Why is RhoGAM administered to Rh- mothers?

When RhoGAM is injected into a pregnant Rh- woman, the anti-Rh antibodies circulate in the mothers bloodstream, where they destroy any fetal RBCs there. This prevents the mothers immune system from making antibodies against the developing fetus's RBCs.