Attempts at Prevention of Intrauterine Death in Erythroblastosis Fetalis

THE prevention of intrauterine death in erythroblastosis fetalis continues to elude solution though attacks on the problem have been made from a number of directions. Fifteen to 20 per cent of fetuses with erythroblastosis caused by Rh incompatibility die in utero between the gestational ages of seventeen and forty weeks — about half of these die before thirty weeks. Fortunately, stillbirth is rare in the large group of cases of erythroblastosis caused by A and B and other blood-group antigens. Anemia is assumed to be the basic cause of intrauterine death, and it probably should be considered an anemia secondary . . .