CPM Certified Professional Midwife

Answer: D - Yellow to amber color found in Rh incompatibility

In cases of Rh incompatibility, the increased level of bilirubin causes the amniotic fluid to change to a “yellow to amber” color. When a mother has Rh-negative blood and the fetus has Rh-positive blood, Rh incompatibility results. The impact of the blood type incompatibility is that the mother’s blood makes antibodies against the fetal blood cells. These anti-Rh antibodies can then cross through the placenta into the bloodstream of the fetus (destroying the circulating red blood cells in the fetus), and causing a fetal build-up of bilirubin. Red-tinged amniotic fluid indicates blood from the mother or fetus. Green-tinged amniotic fluid may indicate that meconium (first stool of the fetus) has been released into the amniotic fluid; this is an unusual occurrence.