Why prenatal antibody screening?

You may already have these antibodies in your blood if you've had a blood transfusion or you've had a baby before (you've had a second baby or later). Your body can also make these antibodies on its own if the baby's blood types don't match.
Some of these antibodies can be passed from you into your baby's bloodstream and cause significant trouble for both mother and baby. Antibody testing lets you and your doctor know if you know you have Rh antibodies in your blood and take the next steps to protect your growing baby.
Your immune system will produce antibodies to fight what it perceives as "invaders". That's great because antibodies usually target viruses and bacteria that cause disease. And when you're pregnant, your immune system will protect your baby, too. But if your red blood cells are different from your baby's, that could cause problems.

Many people are Rh positive, which means they have Rh protein on their red blood cells. Rh negative people do not. So, in someone with Rh- blood type, the body makes antibodies to attack any Rh-positive blood cells that enter the body.
If you are Rh negative and your baby is Rh positive, your body may be able to make Rh antibodies. These antibodies can pass into the baby's blood and destroy the baby's red blood cells. This can cause a very serious and possibly fatal type of anemia.

You should have your blood type checked early in your first prenatal visit. If you are Rh negative, then you should have an antibody test during the first 3 months of your pregnancy. (If you are Rh positive, your doctor may still want to do an antibody test during your first trimester.)
The technician will first use a needle to take a vein blood sample from your elbow or back of your hand. yours. You may see a small sting in the skin and some bleeding or bruising where the needle was inserted.
They will then send the sample to a lab to do an indirect Coombs test, which checks for antibodies in red blood cells in your blood.

3.1 The test result is negative When the test result is negative, you do not have harmful components in your blood. Two things can happen:
If you are also Rh- positive, you can safely get pregnant as long as the baby has + or - blood type. So relax and enjoy your pregnancy! If the test is negative and you are Rh-negative, but it's likely that your baby is Rh-positive (like the baby's father) - you'll need another test about 28 weeks into your pregnancy. If the results are still negative, your doctor will likely give you an injection of a medicine called Rho(D) immune globulin (RhoGAM, RhIG, WinRho) to stop your immune system from making Rh antibodies. These antibodies shouldn't cause trouble for your first baby, and the shot will also help prevent trouble if you get pregnant again. 3.2 Test result is positive A positive test means you already have antibodies in your blood and. If they are Rh antibodies, the above shot will not help because there may be a mother-child blood group incompatibility. Your doctor will monitor you and your baby closely. If there are problems while you are pregnant, your baby may need to be born early or receive a blood transfusion through the umbilical cord.
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Articles refer to the source: webmd.com