Rhesus factor and pregnancy

Do you now your Rhesus factor?Aside knowing your genotype,it is also very important to know whom your Rhesus matches with.........

ASIDE KNOWING YOUR GENOTYPE BEFORE MARRIAGE THERE'S NEED FOR A WOMAN TO KNOW HER RHESUS FACTOR - RHESUS FACTOR INCOMPATIBILITY IS A LEADING CAUSE OF MISCARRIAGE! NOT ALWAYS "YOUR VILLAGE PEOPLE!"*

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS: 
Rhesus Factor is an antigen that exists on the surface of red blood cells in most people (about 85% of humans). It is also referred to as Rh Factor. People who have the Rh have “positive” (+) blood types, such as A+, O+ or B+ are said to be rhesus Factor positive, while those who have the Rh “negative” (-) blood types, such as A–, O– or AB– are said to be rhesus factor negative .

The “+” and “-” after the blood group is the Rhesus factor. Generally, we have A+, A–,B+, B–, AB+, AB–, O+ and O–. Rhesus factor is genetic in nature. It is inherited from the parents, emphatically the father.

*How does Rhesus Factor cause miscarriage?*
If a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with Rh–, there wouldn’t be any problem. However, if a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with Rh+, there would be a problem if the baby inherits Rh+ from the father . We have here what is medically called Rhesus Factor Incompatibility. The baby would obviously be Rh+. During child birth, once the baby’s Rh+ comes in contact with the woman Rh- during delivery, the antibodies are immediately activated by the woman’s body’s immune system.

The activated antibodies would see the new Rh+as foreign body or a threat and consequently they would be at alert to attack and get rid of the foreign body. Unfortunately as such, after this particular child birth, the woman would keep having miscarriages because the activated antibodies would see subsequent Rh+ pregnancies as foreign bodies and would keep fighting and taking them off.

Women with Rh activated antibodies are said to be Rh sensitized and once these antibodies are activated , they can never be deactivated until the woman dies. Rh induced antibodies are activated in a Rh- woman by child birth, abortion,miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

If a Rh– woman commits an abortion for a Rh+man and the antibodies are activated in her system, the woman might end up childless throughout her life except if she later marries another man with with the same Rh–. The possibility of a Rh– woman finding a Rh– man is slim as about 85% of human beings are Rh+.

This is a warning to our young girls who commit abortions all in the name of boyfriend-girlfriend relationships.

If you’re a woman with Rh– and your fiance is Rh+, and you haven’t committed abortion for him and you don’t want to leave him, then, you need to take note of the following: 

In order to prevent the activation of the antibodies, doctors would give women in this category an injection called Rhogam during and after pregnancy to prevent spontaneous abortion due to Rhesus factor incompatibility.  

The injection is normally administered 28 weeks into pregnancy, 72 hours after delivery, after ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion. If the injection is not administered and the antibodies are activated, they would never be deactivated
again!

In many African cultures up till today, women who are so unfortunate to find themselves having serial spontaneous abortions due to Rhesus factor incompatibility are considered witches by some of their people. Some of the women would accuse their in-laws of being behind their predicament.

So, if you’re a woman with Rh– , you need to be very careful. It might be difficult for you to get a husband with a Rh– because about 85% of human beings are Rh+. So, in order not to find yourself in the aforementioned problem, put all that have been said at the back of your mind and go for genetic counselling. If you have a daughter or a sister with Rh–, counsel them on

Rhesus Factor Incompatibility and the dangers lying therein.

#copied from Spontaneous post.