Surely, all future mothers heard about thisphenomenon as a rhesus conflict during pregnancy. However, few people have an accurate idea of what it is and what it is eaten with. As a brief introduction, it is worth recalling where the concept of rhesus-conflict came from. If you try and remember the school curriculum in biology, you can remember that Rh is the name of the breed of monkeys. It was their scientists who first discovered a certain factor in the blood, which got its name in honor of these monkeys. And if future mothers in biology at school had a "five", they probably will remember that the Rh factor is a certain type of proteins that are located on the surface of red blood cells - a certain group of blood cells. However, these proteins are not present in all people. In the event that they are - in humans, Rh factor is a positive factor, if not, the Rh factor is negative. By the way, the most common Rhesus - positive group is found in representatives of the Caucasian ("white") race - about 87% of all people. And only 13% - negative Rh factor. Starting around the tenth week of intrauterine development of the fetus, he develops antigens of the Rh system. It is at this point and it becomes clear whether a Rh baby will have a positive, or a Rh, negative blood factor.
At what point does the Rh syndrome develop?
In the event that the future mother Rhesus factordiffers from the Rh factor of blood, during pregnancy there is a very high risk that during the course of the pregnancy a rhesus will develop a conflict. Moreover, the doctors established the following regularity: in the event that the child has blood rhesus - a positive factor, the risk of developing Rh - conflict is much higher than if the mother of the Rh factor is a positive factor. And the consequences of such a rhesus - the conflict may not be more serious. That is why practically in all cases, when talking about a rhesus conflict, doctors mean a combination of "Rh-positive blood group in a child and Rh-negative blood group from a mother". Typically, a similar combination of "mom + baby" occurs if the mother of the child has a Rh factor - the blood factor is negative, but the father - positive. Rhesus conflict in this case is observed in about 80% of all pregnancies.
What is the danger of rhesus - conflict?
Let's try to figure out - what is so dangerousthis rhesus is a conflict and why is such a hype rising around it? In fact, the explanation is quite simple - in the event that the body of a person who has a rhesus - a negative factor of the blood, and in his blood will get RBC red blood cells - the positive blood, the body will treat them as alien agents. The human immune system will not slow down the immediate development of antibodies, which are designed to destroy these foreign agents. And as you can guess, if such antibodies fall into the body of a pregnant woman, her body will begin to fight the future baby. And this is very, very dangerous both for the mother's organism and for the fetal organism. There is it as follows. Almost instantly, antibodies produced by the mother's body through the placenta penetrate the circulatory system of the child's body. Penetrating into it, the antibodies immediately begin to destroy the red blood cells of the child, and, as a consequence, entail a number of very serious consequences. Erythrocytes stop performing their function in full - disrupting the full transport of oxygen to the cells of the child's tissues. This pathological state of the child, which develops as a result of the penetration of Rhesus antibodies into his blood, was called in medicine the hemolytic disease having several forms of flow:
- Anemic form. This form of the disease is the easiest. The first sign that appears in the first week after the birth of the child to the light is the pronounced pallor of the bluish covers. In addition, the child has a slightly enlarged size of the liver and spleen. The general health of the child is not particularly affected.
- Jaundice form. This form of hemolytic disease is most common. It manifests a significant increase in the size of the liver and spleen, the appearance of primary jaundice. With the disintegration of bilirubin, the child's condition worsens, a strong enough anemia develops.
- Edematous form. If the conflict of Rh factors is very strong, the course of the disease is most severe. So, in the early stages of such a pregnancy is spontaneously interrupted. But even if the pregnancy can be saved, the child will be born in a very serious condition. Body tissues are very swollen, in the abdominal and thoracic cavities fluid accumulation takes place. Such babies are extremely sluggish, their reflexes and general tone are very depressed. In addition, most children have serious cardiopulmonary insufficiency.
Factors provoking the production of antibodies
However, not in all cases of rhesus -conflict pregnancy is the development of the above-described rhesus - the conflict between mother and baby. Sometimes with such pregnancies, the amount of antibodies produced by the female body is so small that it can not bring any significant harm to the child's organism. And sometimes they are not produced at all. So why in some cases these antibodies are produced in a huge amount, and are a danger to the future child's body, and in others - either produced in small quantities or absent altogether? This is precisely what will be discussed below:
- Penetration of children's blood into the circulatory system of the maternal organism
In the event that the blood of a baby is somehowhas penetrated into the bloodstream of the mother, begins a rapid development of antibodies. This can happen in a number of cases, for example, with the spontaneous termination of pregnancy in its early stages, or surgical abortion, during childbirth, during an amniocentesis - puncture of the abdominal wall and uterus, in order to withdraw the amniotic fluid. In addition, the likelihood of getting children's blood in the mother's circulatory system greatly increases the presence in the future mother of certain infectious diseases, which at times increase the permeability of the placenta, as well as its minor damage, for example, hemorrhages.
- Previously produced antibodies
In some cases, a woman who hasnegative Rh factor of blood, antibodies were developed long before the onset of pregnancy, sometimes for many years before it. This can happen in a number of cases, for example, if once a woman was given a blood transfusion without taking into account the Rh factor. Many are puzzled how the antibodies developed years ago can affect the course of the Rhesus - conflict pregnancy. In fact, everything is very, very simple - only once in the body of a woman to get foreign red blood cells, as the active development of not only antibodies, but also original memory cells, which, unlike antibodies, remain in the body of a woman for the rest of her life . And in the subsequent it is enough just one erythrocyte to get into the bloodstream of the body, in order to start the process of active development of antibodies. By the way, this is why the rhesus - conflict situations are so rare in the case of the first pregnancy - 70% less often than in the case of a child's repeated expectation. It is necessary to take into account and take certain methods of prevention. Otherwise, during subsequent pregnancies in case of Rhesus - conflict, serious problems can not be avoided, because during childbirth the contact of the blood of the child with a positive Rh factor will inevitably enter the body of a mother with a negative Rh factor of blood. The same applies to those cases, if the first pregnancy results in miscarriage or artificial termination of pregnancy.
What to do in this situation?
But very often it happens that a woman has everythingthere is a very high likelihood of developing Rh - conflict during pregnancy. What to do in this situation? Is it possible to avoid a tragedy? However, doctors give a very favorable prognosis for the course of such a pregnancy. Of course, if you approach this issue with all seriousness and responsibility. And the first thing to do is to carefully approach the issue of pregnancy planning. Knowing about the peculiarities of one's body, the expectant mother should carefully avoid all situations in which the occurrence of Rh-incompatible blood in her body can occur. Typically, this can happen in the following cases: abortion, miscarriage, blood transfusion. In all these cases, it is necessary to introduce into the body of a woman as soon as possible a special drug that will prevent the production of antibodies to the Rh factor by the female body. After a woman learns about her pregnancy, she should try to be registered with a doctor - a gynecologist as soon as possible. And she should, on her first visit, inform the doctor about this particular peculiarity of the organism. The doctor will treat your pregnancy with special care. In particular, you will have to regularly take blood tests to determine if there are antibodies in it - in the first trimester of pregnancy - once in two weeks, in the second trimester - once a week, and in the third - twice a week. In the event that everything will proceed smoothly and without complications - antibodies in the blood of the future mother will not be detected, at about 28 weeks of pregnancy the doctor can decide on the need to introduce a special antiresusive immunoglobulin. This so-called "vaccination", which connects the red blood cells of the baby, got into the bloodstream of the mother. Due to this fact, the possibility that the mother organism in response to this penetration will begin to produce antibodies and develop a rhesus conflict is almost completely excluded. In the same case, if a blood test shows an elevated antibody titer, urgent hospitalization in special maternity homes or perinatal centers that specialize in the management of such rhesus - conflict pregnancies, or at least in the hospital where doctors are familiar with this problem. This hospitalization is simply vital for both mother and baby. In the perinatal center, doctors will be able to provide all necessary assistance to a woman. In addition, both mom and baby will be under vigilant careful monitoring of doctors. They will control:
- Changes - a decrease or increase in the level of antibodies in the blood of a pregnant woman.
- Dimensions of the liver of the future baby, the thickness of his placenta, the presence of polyhydramnios.
- The condition of amniotic fluid and cord blood, if necessary.
In the event that the efforts of doctors to a womanit will be possible to inform the baby before the due date, delivery will be made by means of planned cesarean section. In the same case, if the situation becomes critical and the gestational age does not allow the child to survive outside the mother's body, the doctors will resort to blood transfusion. This allows you to extend the course of pregnancy. Natural delivery, as a rule, doctors try not to allow, as with Rh-conflict pregnancy it is very important to exclude as soon as possible the possibility of penetration of the mother antibodies into the body. In the same case, if everything worked out in the most favorable way, and during pregnancy there was no development of antibodies, despite the fact that the maternal Rh factor is negative and the child is positive, in the first 24 hours after the birth it is necessary to introduce a special injection of anti -resus-immunoglobulin, which binds the Rh-positive red blood cells, thus preventing the development of antibodies by the female body. This measure will help reduce the risk of possible problems in subsequent pregnancies. Therefore, do not let this matter take its course, but be sure to check it, despite the fact that doctors of any maternity hospital should do it without a reminder, it is not out of place to remind them about it. And do it before the beginning of childbirth, because after it you will be completely absorbed in your baby, which you may well forget about it. Moreover - the most reasonable will be to buy this drug yourself, and take it with you to the maternity hospital. In the event that your first rhesus - incompatible pregnancy was completed safely, during it antibodies were not produced, and the injection was made in a timely manner, the second pregnancy will not differ from the first in the first place - the risk of developing a rhesus conflict will not exceed 10%. And remember about the most important thing - the possibility that the rhesus will develop a conflict, by itself should in no case be the reason for refusing the opportunity to become pregnant, as well as the presence of antibodies in the body. Of course, pregnancy, during which there is a risk that the rhesus will develop a conflict, requires a much more serious and responsible approach, but its successful outcome is very likely. Just take care to find a competent and competent doctor in this matter. And, of course, carefully follow all his recommendations. We advise you to read:
