In plain words
Anti-D immunoglobulin is a medicine made from human plasma. It is given to people who are Rh-negative, usually around events like bleeding, a procedure, or the birth of an Rh-positive baby. It lowers the chance that your immune system makes antibodies that could harm a future baby's red blood cells. Many clinicians offer it at about 28 weeks of pregnancy and after birth, when the baby is Rh-positive. It is a safety step, not a treatment for a current problem. Your blood type and Rh status are checked early in pregnancy. Ask your provider whether you need it, and when.
The deeper version
Anti-D immunoglobulin prevents Rh alloimmunization by clearing fetal red cells that have entered the maternal circulation before the mother makes her own anti-D antibodies. Standard US practice (ACOG Practice Bulletin 181, 2017, Prevention of Rh D Alloimmunization) recommends routine antenatal dosing at 28 weeks and within 72 hours after delivery of an Rh-positive infant, and dosing after sensitizing events such as bleeding, abdominal trauma, or invasive procedures. Dosing is adjusted to the estimated volume of fetal red cells. Routine prophylaxis since the late 1960s has sharply reduced hemolytic disease of the newborn. The controversy concerns cost and supply of the plasma-derived product, and the use of fetal DNA testing to avoid unnecessary doses in Rh-negative mothers carrying Rh-negative fetuses.
Where it comes up
- Rh factor and RhoGAMPregnancy: Your Body
- Placenta previa and other placenta findingsPregnancy: Your Body
What mothers here say about anti-D immunoglobulin
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Practice Bulletin 181: Prevention of Rh D Alloimmunization (2017)