Planning a Baby  Discussion Forum

My blood group is B -ve and my husband' s bloodgroup is B +ve?? IS this called RH Incompatibility?? Does this cause any problem in pregnancy? Pratheeksha replied. Hi Ritu,

Yes, if a woman has an Rh-ve blood group and a man has an Rh+ve group, this is called Rh incompatibility. 85% of the children born to such a couple will have Rh+ve blood group. However, this is not a concern for the first pregnancy as there is no chance for the baby' s blood to enter the mother' s circulatory system. However, during delivery the blood may intermingle in case of which the mother' s body would start producing antibodies against the Rh+ve factor. Still, there is no danger in the case of the first baby and the antibodies are harmless until the mother' s second or later pregnancies in case she is carrying another Rh+ve child.

In the case of later pregnancies also, there is no problem today. When a woman with the potential to develop Rh incompatibility is pregnant, doctors administer a series of two Rh immune-globulin shots during her first pregnancy. The first shot is given around the 28th week of pregnancy and the second within 72 hours after giving birth. Rh immune-globulin acts like a vaccine, preventing the mother' s body from producing any potentially dangerous Rh antibodies that can cause serious complications in the newborn or complicate any future pregnancies.

Since you are aware of both yours and your partner' s blood groups, inform your doctor about this once you are pregnant with your first child and there should be no concerns once the shots are administered at the right time to you.