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It is true that a White woman that is rh negative should probably find another White man who is also rh negative as well.

This are the factual and true reasons…

Rh incompatibility:

Rh incompatibility is a condition that develops when a pregnant woman has Rh-negative blood and the baby in her womb has Rh- positive blood.

Causes:
During pregnancy, red blood cells from the unborn baby can cross into the mother’s blood through the placenta.

If the mother is Rh-negative, her immune system treats Rh-positive fetal cells as if they were a foreign substance. The mother’s body makes antibodies against the fetal blood cells. These antibodies may cross back through the placenta into the developing baby. They destroy the baby’s circulating red blood cells.

When red blood cells are broken down, they make bilirubin. This causes an infant to become yellow (jaundiced). The level of bilirubin in the infant’s blood may range from mild to dangerously high.

Firstborn infants are often not affected unless the mother had past miscarriages or abortions. This would sensitize her immune system. This is because it takes time for the mother to develop antibodies. All children she has later who are also Rh-positive may be affected.

Rh incompatibility develops only when the mother is Rh-negative and the infant is Rh-positive. This problem has become less common in places that provide good prenatal care. This is because special immune globulins called RhoGAM are routinely used.

Symptoms:
Rh incompatibility can cause symptoms ranging from very mild to deadly. In its mildest form, Rh incompatibility causes the destruction of red blood cells. There are no other effects.

After birth, the infant may have:

Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice)
Low muscle tone (hypotonia) and lethargy
Exams and Tests:
Before delivery, the mother may have more amniotic fluid around her unborn baby (polyhydramnios).

There may be:

A positive direct Coombs test result
Higher-than-normal levels of bilirubin in the baby’s umbilical cord blood
Signs of red blood cell destruction in the infant’s blood
Treatment:
Rh incompatibility can be prevented with the use of RhoGAM. Therefore, prevention remains the best treatment. Treatment of an infant who is already affected depends on the severity of the condition.

Infants with mild Rh incompatibility may be treated with phototherapy using bilirubin lights. IV immune globulin may also be used. For infants severely affected, an exchange transfusion of blood may be needed. This is to decrease the levels of bilirubin in the blood.

Outlook (Prognosis):
Full recovery is expected for mild Rh incompatibility.

Possible Complications:
Complications may include:

Brain damage due to high levels of bilirubin (kernicterus)
Fluid buildup and swelling in the baby (hydrops fetalis)
Problems with mental function, movement, hearing, speech, and seizures
When to Contact a Medical Professional:
Call your health care provider if you think or know you are pregnant and have not yet seen a provider.

Prevention:
Rh incompatibility is almost completely preventable. Rh-negative mothers should be followed closely by their providers during pregnancy.

Special immune globulins, called RhoGAM, are now used to prevent RH incompatibility in mothers who are Rh-negative.

If the father of the infant is Rh-positive or if his blood type is not known, the mother is given an injection of RhoGAM during the second trimester. If the baby is Rh-positive, the mother will get a second injection within a few days after delivery.

These injections prevent the development of antibodies against Rh-positive blood. However, women with Rh-negative blood type must get injections:

During every pregnancy
After a miscarriage or abortion
After prenatal tests such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus biopsy
After injury to the abdomen during pregnancy
Alternative Names:
Rh-induced hemolytic disease of the newborn; Erythroblastosis fetalis

Patient Instructions:
Newborn jaundice – discharge:
Your baby has been treated in the hospital for newborn jaundice. This tells you what you need to know when your baby comes home.

When Your Child Was in the Hospital
Your baby has newborn jaundice. This common condition is caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood. Your child’s skin and sclera (whites of his eyes) will look yellow.

Some newborns need to be treated before they leave the hospital. Others may need to go back to the hospital when they are a few days old. Treatment in the hospital most often lasts 1 to 2 days. Your child needs treatment when their bilirubin level is too high or rising too quickly.

To help break down the bilirubin, your child will be placed under bright lights (phototherapy) in a warm, enclosed bed. The infant will wear only a diaper and special eye shades. Your baby may have an intravenous (IV) line to give them fluids.

Rarely, your baby may need treatment called a double volume blood exchange transfusion. This is used when the baby’s bilirubin level is very high.

Unless there are other problems, your child will be able to feed (by breast or bottle) normally. Your child should feed every 2 to 2 ½ hours (10 to 12 times a day).

The health care provider may stop phototherapy and send your child home when their bilirubin level is low enough to be safe. Your child’s bilirubin level will need to be checked in the provider’s office, 24 hours after therapy stops, to make sure the level is not rising again.

Possible side effects of phototherapy are watery diarrhea, dehydration, and skin rash that will go away once the therapy stops.

What to Expect at Home
If your child did not have jaundice at birth but now has it, you should call your provider. Bilirubin levels are generally the highest when a newborn is 3 to 5 days old.

If the bilirubin level is not too high or not rising quickly, you can do phototherapy at home with a fiber optic blanket, which has tiny bright lights in it. You may also use a bed that shines light up from the mattress. A nurse will come to your home to teach you how to use the blanket or bed and to check on your child.

The nurse will return daily to check your child’s:

-Weight
-Intake of breast milk or formula
-Number of wet and poopy (stool) diapers
-Skin, to see how far down (head to toe) the yellow color goes
-Bilirubin level
You must keep the light therapy on your child’s skin and feed your child every 2 to 3 hours (10 to 12 times a day). Feeding prevents dehydration and helps bilirubin leave the body.

Therapy will continue until your baby’s bilirubin level lowers enough to be safe. Your baby’s provider will want to check the level again in 2 to 3 days.

If you are having trouble breastfeeding, contact a breastfeeding nurse specialist.

When to Call the Doctor
Call your baby’s health care provider if the infant:

-Has a yellow color that goes away, but then returns after treatment stop
-Has a yellow color that lasts for more than 2 to 3 weeks
Also call your baby’s provider if you have concerns, if the jaundice is getting worse, or the baby:
-Is lethargic (hard to wake up), less responsive, or fussy
-Refuses the bottle or breast for more than 2 feedings in a row
-Is losing weight
-Has watery diarrhea
Alternative Names
Jaundice of the newborn – discharge; Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia – discharge; Breastfeeding jaundice – discharge; Physiologic jaundice – discharge

Sources: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001600.htm#:~:text=If%20the%20mother%20is%20Rh,baby’s%20circulating%20red%20blood%20cells.
Second source: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000296.htm

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