RH negative

amy22882 · October 2011

Hi all. I had to go the hospital yesterday because my doctors office closes at 3pm on fridays. I called them earlier to get my blood test results from last week and found out that I am RH negative so they sent me in to get a rhogam shot. Has anyone else had this problem. I am a little nervous because I did some research and talked to the doctor at the hospital and found out that being RH negative basically means that my body is not cooperating with the baby. It is treating it as a virus and is building defenses against the baby and may attack the baby! I had the shot last night so hopefully all is well. Just nervous because I have had a miscarriage in the past and I went to the hospital last friday for spotting. The baby looked good then but now this

ELF4321 · October 2011

1. This is not a big problem, so please don't freak about it.

2. I'm assuming your husband's blood type is RH+, or do they just give the shot to all RH- moms without bothering to test the father? If you are - and the baby's father is +, there is a 50/50 chance the baby could be +.

3. Even if the baby is +, it usually is not a real issue for your first pregnancy because it will take your body the course of the pregnancy to build up the antibodies (and even that is not always triggered until you actually come into direct contact with the baby's blood like during labor). Unless there is some complication that involves bleeding during the pregnacy, there is no risk of harm to this baby at all (and the rhogam will prevent that risk anyway).

4. I believe they will also need to give you the shot around the time of labor, and then again during any later pregnancies right away, because the risk of the antibodies jumping into action is higher once they've been triggered by the first pregnancy. Again, though, because they caught it and you are getting the shots, there should not be any real problem as a result.

FroggyFarts · October 2011

ELF4321:
because they caught it and you are getting the shots, there should not be any real problem as a result.

This is absolutely right. No freaking out. Your doctors have already found out it's a problem. The shot is all you need for a viable pregnancy at this point. And since you know, it's all you need in future pregnancies as well. If you didn't know, hadn't been getting prenatal care, or the like -- then you should worry.

No stress now.

ACC0512 · October 2011

It's pretty standard if you're RH- to get the shot. No biggie!

amy22882 · October 2011

Thank you. I'm hoping at some point in this pregnancy I will not be so nervous/worried

It was tough to understand when no one really explained it. Using Google is not always the best answer especially when I'm nervous anyway. Thanks again.

LadySpeed3 · October 2011

I am too and everyone from this board that contributed to my thread made me feel more at ease. Basically my Dr told me if I bleed I have 72 hours to see him for the shot or to the hospital. He explained other things but at the moment my mind is a blank because I try not to worry about it.

had720 · October 2011

I am RH- and when Sophee was born she was 0+. I had to get the shot during my pregnancy and again after Sophee was born. Now that I am pregnant again, I have to do it again with this baby. I agree with PP in saying that it is nothing to worry about, just get the shots and all will be okay.

meeko1985 · October 2011

I am Rh-. You only need the shot if you are bleeding, and this prevents your body from forming the antibodies. Just make sure to get it within 72 hours of bleeding, but it sounds like if you just got it, you'll be good for awhile.

Mrs.DeliaMarieP · October 2011

Please do not freak over this! Nothing is wrong and giving Rhogam to Rh negative women is a completely normal process!

Ok, now that your blood pressure is going down, let me explain.

Your Dr. is giving you Rhogam to prevent problems, not because there is already a problem going on.

You are getting Rhogam early in your pregnancy because you have had a miscarriage in the past, and therefore it is possible that the baby that miscarried was Rh positive and your body was exposed to that baby's blood during the miscarriage.

All Rh negative women are given Rhogam to prevent the creation of antibodies to Rh positive blood and therefore to protect this baby and future babies from being attacked by your immune system.

Therefore, it is a very good thing that your Dr. is giving you Rhogam, and although it does require an extra couple of shots, is very well worth it in the long run.

FutureMrsDrew73110 · October 2011

I had to go to the hospital last night b/c I was bleeding. They did some blood work and discovered I am also RH-. They gave me the RhoGam shot as well. I asked a ton of questions to the nurses before they gave me the shot so I feel pretty confident that it's nothing to worry about.

ErinR2012 · October 2011

I'm RH negative too and this is my first pregnancy. I was told I need to get the shot around 28 weeks and again around the time of birth (but also that if I start bleeding now I need to get in for a shot ASAP, like others have said). I'm guessing your doctor wanted to give you your first shot now since you have a history of a miscarriage. Isn't it frustrating when doctors don't fully explain things to you? If they had just explained all this when they told you that you needed the shot you wouldn't have worried so much about it! Hope you're able to relax now! Smile

maybayb25 · October 2011

I am Rh negative as well, but the doctor's had my husband get a blood test and he is Rh negative as well so this means the baby is Rh negative and as a result does not matter.

reneekight · October 2011

I am RH- this is my second pregnancy I lost the first one because I did not go to the doctor until I was four and half months I do have to have this shot but I am not for sure when yet I am only almost 8 weeks this time. I have been to the doctor but he did not mention any thing about it but does know about my blood type he ran some blood test on me but I am not scheduled to go back to the doctor until next month.

lar1203 · October 2011

i am also Rh-. They didn't even test dh.

wheelsonthebus · October 2011

Not a problem and very common. I am RH-. With DS, we didn't know what my DH was so I had the shot at around 28 weeks or so. They ran several blood tests throughout my pregnancy and on the day I went into labor they discovered my blood had mixed with DS' (not sure how they knew this, but this is what they said. Hey, it was a little hectic!) and they just gave me another shot when he was born. It was a total non-issue. And come to find out DS is RH+. I'm having no problems with my current pregnancy. (Knock on wood.) It was all very routine.

wheelsonthebus · October 2011

amy22882:
Thank you. I'm hoping at some point in this pregnancy I will not be so nervous/worried It was tough to understand when no one really explained it. Using Google is not always the best answer especially when I'm nervous anyway. Thanks again.

It's not even a worry with your first pregnancy. It's more of a concern for the second. That is why you get the shot. :-) Good luck to you!

CharityNichole · October 2011

Sounds like the docs have you covered on the potentially scary part, so here's something fun: A friend from highschool is RH- & she was telling me about a new (just came out this year) panel of blood tests they do only on RH- people. One of the results that come back is gender, so you could find out before parts can even be seen! -

amy22882 · October 2011

Thank you everyone. You all made me feel a lot better. That is exciting about the gender test. I will have to ask on Thursday when I go back in.

Last night I started spotting again Sad don't know if this can happen because of the shot or not. At the hospital last week they told me I could spot on and off and they don't know why. It's still scary to see. Trying to remain calm and hope it goes away.

aknearem · October 2011

Yea I am RH- as well, I already knew going into this that I was and what to expect. My doctor told me that it didn't matter what my DH's RH factor was that at 28 weeks (or maybe a few weeks before if I started to have spotting) they would just give me the RHOGAM shot no questions asked and then I will get another right after I give birth. They told me as long as you get the shots there is very minimal of anything going wrong.

IsaacA · October 2011

It's normal. If you or your DH is - blood type and the other is + blood type then you get the shots. If your - and your DH is - then you don't need the shots.

Normally your first child has your exact blood type anyways, so it's no big deal.

It's 3 shots, 1 at 28 weeks, 1 before birth, and one after birth. Shot is in your butt and it hurts. Good luck, just remember that your doing it for the health of your baby.

P.S. If your - and your baby is + blood type. Then during birth your body will fight your babies blood like a virus. The shot stops your blood from doing that.

RH negative

Re: RH negative

Choose Another Board

Search Boards