HEALTH-MATTERS MATTER
ASIDE KNOWING YOUR GENOTYPE BEFORE
MARRIAGE, THERE'S NEED FOR A WOMAN TO
KNOW HER RHESUS FACTOR! RHESUS FACTOR
INCOMPATIBILITY IS A LEADING CAUSE OF
MISCARRIAGE! NOT ALWAYS YOUR VILLAGE
PEOPLE! PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS:
Rhesus Factor is an antigen that exists on the
surface of red blood cells in most people (about
85% of humans). It is also referred to as Rh
Factor. People who have the Rh have
“positive” (+) blood types, such as A+, O+ or B+
are said to be rhesus Factor positive, while those
who have the Rh “negative” (-) blood types, such
as A–, O– or AB– are said to be rhesus factor
negative . The “+” and “-” after the blood group
is the Rhesus factor. Generally, we have A+, A–,
B+, B–, AB+, AB–, O+ and O–. Rhesus factor is
genetic in nature. It is inherited from the
parents, emphatically the father.
How does Rhesus Factor cause miscarriage?
If a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with
Rh–, there wouldn’t be any problem. However, if
a Rh– woman is impregnated by a man with Rh+,
there would be a problem if the baby inherits Rh+
from the father . We have here what is medically
called Rhesus Factor Incompatibility. The baby
would obviously be Rh+. During child birth, once
the baby’s Rh+ comes in contact with the
woman Rh- during delivery, the antibodies are
immediately activated by the woman’s body’s
immune system.
The activated antibodies would see the new Rh+
as foreign body or a threat and consequently
they would be at alert to attack and get rid of
the foreign body. Unfortunately as such, after
this particular child birth, the woman would keep
having miscarriages because the activated
antibodies would see subsequent Rh+
pregnancies as foreign bodies and would keep
fighting and taking them off.
Women with Rh activated antibodies are said to
be Rh sensitized and once these antibodies are
activated , they can never be deactivated until
the woman dies. Rh induced antibodies are
activated in a Rh- woman by child birth, abortion,
miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
If a Rh– woman commits an abortion for a Rh+
man and the antibodies are activated in her
system, the woman might end up childless
throughout her life except if she later marries
another man with with the same Rh–. The
possibility of a Rh– woman finding a Rh– man is
slim as about 85% of human beings are Rh+.
This is a warning to our young girls who commits
abortions all in the name of boyfriend-girlfriend
relationships.
If you’re a woman with Rh– and your fiance is
Rh+, and you haven’t committed abortion for him
and you don’t want to leave him, then, you need
to take note of the following:
In order to prevent the activation of the
antibodies, doctors would give women in this
category an injection called Rhogam during and
after pregnancy to prevent spontaneous abortion
due to Rhesus factor incompatibility. The
injection is normally administered 28 weeks into
pregnancy, 72 hours after delivery, after ectopic
pregnancy, miscarriage or abortion. If the
injection is not administered and the antibodies
are activated, they would never be deactivated
again!
In many African cultures up till today, women
who are so unfortunate to find themselves
having serial spontaneous abortions due to
Rhesus factor incompatibility are considered
witches by some of their people. Some of the
women would accuse their in-laws of being
behind their predicament.
So, if you’re a woman with Rh– , you need to be
very careful. It might be difficult for you to get a
husband with a Rh– because about 85% of
human beings are Rh+. So, in order not to find
yourself in the aforementioned problem, put all
that have been said at the back of your mind
and go for genetic counselling. If you have a
daughter or a sister with Rh–, counsel them on
Rhesus Factor Incompatibility and the dangers
lying therein.
It should also be noted that a Rh– person(man
or woman) cannot receive blood donation from a
Rh+ person even if they have the same blood
group. The consequence of such blood
transfusion is fatal. It would lead to death as the
blood would clot. This is due to the
incompatibility in their Rhesus factor.
GOD Bless.
Know your Rhesus factor today!
share this knowledge with your friends, because
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
