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Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) is a disease in which there is hemolysis in a newborn or fetus caused by blood-group incompatibility between mother and child. There are a bunch of related terms: Immune hydrops (Hydrops means accumulation of edema fluid in the fetus during intrauterine growth.
What causes hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN)? HDN most frequently occurs when an Rh negative mother has a baby with an Rh positive father. When the baby's Rh factor is positive, like the father's, problems can develop if the baby's red blood cells cross to the Rh negative mother. This usually happens at delivery when the placenta detaches.