Erythroblastosis fetalis, obstetrical management

Abstract

The anemia of erythroblastotic infants can be predicted antenatally by the indirect Coombs test, amniotic fluid pigment levels and maternal excretion of chorionic gonadotrophin. The only effective therapy for fetal anemia is delivery before the development of fetal hydrops. This may be accomplished by focusing attention on factors indicative of fetal anemia and by delivering potentially anemic fetuses as soon as they are sufficiently mature to escape the problems of prematurity.