What is an Rh factor incompatibility?
Everyone has different blood types (A, B, AB or O). There is an additional blood typing system called Rh factor, which is a protein found on the red cells in our blood. If you carry this protein you are Rh positive and if you do not carry this protein you are Rh negative. A pregnant mother who is Rh negative with a father who is Rh positive could have a baby who is Rh positive. During the first pregnancy, this is not a problem. However, when the baby is being delivered, the mother’s and baby’s blood may mix. If this happens, the mother’s immune system will recognize the Rh protein as foreign and produce antibodies against this Rh protein. With future pregnancies (if the future baby is Rh positive) the reaction from the antibodies in the mother’s blood may attack the red cells in the baby’s blood making the newborn anemic and jaundiced. There are shots the pregnant mother can get called Rhogam, which prevents the mother’s immune system from producing the antibodies against the Rh factor
