Publication:

Prevalence of rhesus negativity among pregnant women

Background Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), secondary to Rhesus D (Rh D) iso - immunization, contributes significantly to perinatal morbidity and mortality. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of Rh factor in this region, which would not only help in blood transfusion services but also eliminate the risk of Erythroblastosis fetalis in the neonates.

Methods A two year retrospective study of rhesus negative pregnant women was carried out at Tertiary care center, Modern Government Maternity Hospital, Petlaburz, Hyderabad, from January 2014 to December 2015.

Results The prevalence rate of Rh D negative women for antenatal care, were 895 (4.29%). Out of that 304 (33.96%) of the Rh D negative women were of blood group B followed by blood group O of 292(32.62%), blood group A of 218 (24.35%) and blood group AB of 81 (9.05%), respectively.

Conclusions The prevalence of Rh D negative women is low when compared to Rh D positive women.There is a need for adequate counselling of pregnant women on the importance of Rh D negative factor during the antenatal period in order to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn.