(^526) Medical-Surgical Nursing Demystified
Rh Incompatibility
WHAT WENT WRONG?
Rh incompatibility is assessed on each mother during pregnancy. An antigen, Rh,
may or may not be on the surface of the red blood cell. If a mother is Rh positive,
she carried the Rhesus antigen on the RBC. A fetus has antigens from its mother
and father. The Rh is problematic when the mother is Rh−and the father is Rh+.
When the mother is Rh−and the fetus is Rh+, she may develop antibodies that will
cross the placenta and attack the fetal RBCs, which are recognized as foreign.PROGNOSIS
Prognosis is good as all mothers are tested during prenatal care.HALLMARK SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
- Incompatibility with Rh of mother and baby
INTERPRETING TEST RESULTS
- Rh type.
TREATMENT
- RhoGAM is Rh IgG (immunoglobulin) to prevent an immune response by the
mother.
NURSING DIAGNOSES
- Safety
- Risk for injury
NURSING INTERVENTIONS
- Retest if unsure of antibody titer.
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