The Truth About 'Ogbanje' Spirit

Ogbanje spirit

I can still remember my growing up years watching Nigerian movies. They release about 20 movies a week.
Hardly will a week go by without them publishing a movie on ogbanje (a spirit child destined to be born and die and be born again just to punish the parents). In some cases, they make it seems the problem started when the parents seek the help of a Juju priest to provide them with their own child and at the end are blessed with an ogbanje. The solution to conquering those children always rest in the hands of another spiritual healer and in many cases a man of God.
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 These storyline's did more harm than good to many Nigerians. The reason was simple. There are so many Nigerians living in such kinds of conditions. Since the movies they watch portray seeking spiritual help as the only solution, some end up enslaving themselves in the hands of some spiritual men and women even spending money. But with education and enlightenments Nigerians are gradually winning the fight against such misleading movies. Even though it has been long I watched Nigeria movies, I can say they will not prescribe spiritual solution to it in this modern world. This is the reason.

The Truth Behind Ogbanje

All humans have different blood groups. They are blood group A, B, AB and O. However, some persons have an antigen attached to their red blood cells. They are called rhesus positive. For those that don't have, they are simply referred to as rhesus negative. There is a long history on how this discovery came about but let us skip that part.

Majority of persons are rhesus positive. Rhesus positive persons have nothing to worry about. So too with rhesus negative  men. Who should worry and be concerned are rhesus negative women of child bearing age. In fact they should know their rhesus factor before getting married.

The problem with rhesus negative  mother's is that it can  affect their baby before birth or when young. This can be  avoided or treated from the onset.

How To Prevent Rhesus Disease In Children

If the father and mother are rhesus positive, the baby will be positive. In this case, the child is safe. If the father is negative and the mother is positive, the child will be safe. Rhesus negative babies don't have enough manpower to produce antibodies that will affect the mother who is positive in this case. This is because this disease is not triggered by the mother. Also, if the father is negative and mother negative, the child is also safe because the child will be negative. The problem may arise when the father is positive and the mother is negative. I use the word 'may' because the child may pick the gene of the mother that is rhesus negative. In that case, the child is safe. Problem will arise when in this case the child picks the gene of rhesus positive from the father when the mother is rhesus negative. So fathers and mothers can do well to check their blood compatibility before thing of parenting if possible.

What Cause Rhesus Disease

A rhesus negative woman who is pregnant for the first time with a rhesus positive child will be fine throughout the pregnancy and even after birth. The child will be safe. The reason is that the problem occur when the blood of the baby mix with that of the mother during pregnancy or at birth. Since the blood of mother and child  are negative and positive, they are incompatible. This will lead the mother's body system to react. It will consider  the unborn baby in the womb as a foreign invader and act other wise. The mother's body will start producing defense chemicals that will target the intruding invader known as antibodies. But fortunately, this process takes more than nine months to be effective. Before then, the baby must have been delivered if the mix up of blood was not at birth. That makes the first pregnancy to be safe. This is the reason some Nigeria movies portray a child born and is shown to be a evil child preventing his mother from bearing more children especially if the first child lived on.

One thing to note is that the first pregnancy may not necessarily have triggered the mother's immune system. In some cases, the trigger may be in the second pregnancy which means the mother will have two healthy  babies. In other cases, the baby may also be negative thereby preventing the mother from making antibodies against the next child coming. Problem starts from the second pregnancy if the mother have been sensitive by the first pregnancy. Any slight mix of blood between mother and baby will trigger the already sensitive mother to release the already produced antibodies targeted at the baby. Depending on when it happens during pregnancy, it can lead to lose of that baby at a very early stage. If it happens during the end, the baby may be born with jaundice and anaemia. But still some children have survive when there was no mix of blood between the mother and child throughout pregnancy. Another means of sensitivity is blood transfusion and previous abortion by the mother. In that case, from the first baby to the last is at risk.

Treatment of rhesus disease in children is phototherapy and possible blood transfusion. Blood transfusion can either be in the womb is the mother reproduce antibodies very early or at birth. If left untreated, the child will grow with learning disabilities, deafness and blindness.
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Solution To Rhesus Disease

There is an injection known as anti-D immunoglobulin which was introduced in 1977 to prevent sensitisation of the mother during first pregnancy with a rhesus positive child when the mother is rhesus negative. It is given based in the clinical assessment of the medical doctor during pregnancy, at birth or before 72 after delivery. This injection destroys the fetal rhesus D positive erythrocytes before the immune system of the mother can discover them. This immunity only last for four to six weeks. However, by then the fetal rhesus is out of the mother's blood stream. This will make the next pregnancy safe because the body have not produced any antibody against positive babies coming. The injection is given at week 28, or 34 and before 72 hours after child birth.

Rhesus Negative Mothers Who Have Not Be Given

For rhesus negative mothers who already have a child or more but have not receive the shot will only have to be closely monitored during their next pregnancy. They may have been sensitive without knowing or are still safe. The reason is to prevent mix of mother and child's blood during pregnancy and childbirth. However, any slight mix will result to death of the baby or a baby born with jaundice and anaemia. However, the mother will have to receive the injection shot at the right time during this pregnancy . This is claimed may reduce the development of the anitbody by the mother. However, the rationale behind this is not very clear. Some claim at this stage, the mother will be desentisize and next pregnancy will be safe. But there was no scientific backing to this claim. I guess this shot in this pregnancy only help to reduce the number of antibody produced by the mother. Imagine having many sensitisation from different pregnancy. It will lead to many antibodies. But this shot at each pregnancy will only prevent further development of more anitbody increasing the chance of successful birth in the future.

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