Rhesus Factor

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 factor have “positive” (+) blood types,
such as A+, O+ or B+ while those who do not have the Rh factor have “negative” (-) blood types, such as
A–, O– or AB– . The “+” and “-” in front of 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. We have here what is medically
called Rhesus Factor Incompatibility. The baby would obviously be Rh+. During child birth, baby inherits
their Rh+ from the father. 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 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.