Rhesus haemolytic disease for the baby
Taking cord blood, the baby's blood group
Giving anti-D immunoglobulin injections
A blood test for the woman
What if the father of the baby has a negative blood group?
What if I decline to have anti-D?
Negative and positive blood groups
About 1 to 15% of the human race (depending on their ethnicity) will have a negative blood group, as opposed to a positive blood group. The 'positive' or 'negative' component of your blood is referred to as the 'Rhesus Factor' (or Rh Factor). The Rhesus factor describes the type of blood you have. The blood group component is expressed as A, B, O, or AB.
A pregnant woman's blood group and Rhesus factor are determined by a blood test in early pregnancy and recorded on her pregnancy record card. For example the blood group and Rhesus factor can be written as 'A negative' (or A Neg), 'O positive' (O Pos), 'B negative' (B Neg), A positive (A Pos) or 'AB negative' (AB Neg) etc.
Not many people are aware of the term 'Rhesus factor'. But are aware of their blood being 'positive' or 'negative'. For simplicity we will refer to this component of the blood as being a 'negative' or 'positive' blood group.
Pregnant women with a
negative blood group will: