Rh incompatibility

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Antibodies	Erythroblastosis fetalis, photomicrograph	Exchange transfusion - series	Jaundice infant
Rh incompatibility - series

It occurs several days after delivery and is characterized initially by loss of the Moro (startle) reflex, poor feeding, and decreased activity. Later, a high-pitched shrill cry may develop along with unusual posturing, a bulging fontanel, and seizures. Infants may die suddenly of kernicterus.

If they survive, they will usually later develop decreased muscle tone, movement disorders, high-pitched hearing loss, seizures, and decreased mental ability.

Rh incompatibility develops only when the mother is Rh-negative and the infant is Rh-positive. Special immune globulins, called RhoGAM, are now used to prevent this sensitization. In developed countries such as the US, hydrops fetalis and kernicterus have decreased markedly in frequency as a result of these preventive measures.

Review Date: 08/18/2006
Reviewed By: Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.