Are you pregnant and considering abortion? Do you know your blood type? This is an important question to answer BEFORE you get an abortion. Determining your Rh factor is just one reason why an abortion consultation and certain medical services are needed before beginning any abortion procedure.

The Rh factor test is a simple blood test (called a Type & Screen) that is often overlooked as a necessary lab test before receiving an abortion.

Each blood type has a positive or negative factor, known as Rh. The Rh factor is a type of protein found in red blood cells, also called antigens. 85% of people have the Rh factor present in the blood type – so they are Rh positive. If that protein is not present in their blood, they are Rh Negative. Blood types are inherited, so knowing your type and your partner’s type is helpful to figure out the fetus’ blood type.  

If you have Rh negative blood type and the fetus is Rh positive, problems can arise if you develop antibodies to the Rh positive baby you’re carrying. If a small amount of the baby’s blood mixes with your blood, which often happens during abortion or delivery, then your body responds as if it were “allergic” to the baby.

Your body may then make antibodies to the Rh antigens in the baby’s blood. This means you have become “sensitized,” and your antibodies can cross the placenta and attack your baby’s blood. 

Usually, you experience the ramifications of this when you get pregnant with your next baby. If that baby also has Rh positive, your antibodies will attack the baby’s red blood cells and can cause life threatening anemia for the pregnancy.

If you’re Rh negative, getting RhoGAM injections after every possible contact with Rh positive blood between you and the fetus reduces the risk of the fetus getting Rh disease. Rh immune globulin (RhoGAM) is a medication that stops your body from making Rh antibodies. 

These injections are only helpful if your body hasn’t already made Rh antibodies. You receive it as an injection, and it is proven to be successful in treating Rh incompatibility during pregnancy.

Finding out if you have Rh factor incompatibility early in your pregnancy and receiving the RhoGAM injection is the best way to ensure the fetus stays healthy.

A woman with Rh negative blood has nothing to worry about if her baby is also Rh negative; a woman with Rh positive blood need not worry at all. Problems only arise with Rh negative mothers and Rh positive babies. Usually, the first pregnancy goes fine. It’s the subsequent pregnancy who may be at risk.

Part of informed consent is understanding all the ramifications of a procedure. Understanding how your blood type could cause an incompatibility with your future pregnancies is a big deal!

Some situations in which a woman’s blood can mix with the fetus’ include: miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, delivery, trauma, some prenatal blood screening tests, and external version of the baby.