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
Re: RH negative
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.
No stress now.
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BFP#1 EDD 11/8/11 - MC @ 9w6d, 4/15/11 we said goodbye
BFP#2 DD arrived 5/7/12
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.
BFP 12/19/08- DS born 8/25/09 9lbs2oz via Zavanelli Maneuver
BFP 8/26/11- Missed miscarriage discovered 10/19/11 at 11w2d, measured at 9 weeks gestation w/ no HB. D&C 10/21/11
BFP 3/17/12 at 12dpo CP 3/21/12
BFP 4/23/12 at 10dpo Stick my little one! Beta #1: 83.3 @ 13dpo Beta #2: 197.7 @ 15dpo
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BFP#1 10/8/11, Blightened Ovum 10/17/11, D&C 10/18/11 @ 7w4d
BFP#2 6/10/12, EDD 2/14/13 ~Team Green! Grow baby Grow! Stick baby Stick!! IT'S A GIRL!!! Abbigaile Mae 2/21/13 7lbs 6oz 21inches 4:15am
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!
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 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.
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.
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