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Rubella titer?

huntjulhuntjul member
in Natural Birth

So I'm kind of caught between two providers on whether to do a rubella titer or not.  First, I have been vaccinated as a child and again in middle school, an odd requirement of the school district I lived in.  So the chance of me not having protective antibodies is very small.

I live abroad and have an OB here who is doing my prenatal care until 36 weeks, then I'm flying to the US to have my baby so I can be near my family.  My OB practice stateside asked for a rubella titer to be done.  I asked my OB here and he refused to run it, saying there's nothing that can be done if it's not protective since I am already pregnant and can't be vaccinated (which is true). He said if they want the test done, they can run it when I get home.  He is a good OB, trained in the UK, but doesn't believe in extra testing for the sake of testing--a stance that actually mirrors mine.

Which leads me to ask, did all of you have the titer done?  What really is the justification for doing this test when nothing can be done now about it--besides telling me not to hang out with all my rubella-infested friends?

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Re: Rubella titer?

  • PrincessPeach13PrincessPeach13 member

    I didn't, and never heard of it being done.

    I know some people get boosters before getting pregnant, but once you're pregnant, I don't know what the test would help wtih.  

    But maybe I'm just ignorant on the subject. 

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  • oliversmommy32912oliversmommy32912 member

    I think they just "need' to know your immune status in case you are exposed because it can cause serious birth defects, preterm birth, and stillbirth. If you're immune you don't need to worry if you were exposed but if you aren't immune they might want you to see a specialist.

    With that being said, the risk to the baby is very low if you were exposed to rubella after the first trimester. There is still a risk, but it's pretty minimal. They are probably insisting you get it because it's on their checklist of tests they run on pregnant women in their practice. It's less likely that they are insisting because there is significant risk. 

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  • bleusimpbleusimp member
    They can run it here. It also helps with knowing what to look for in the infant if complications arise, which FX they won't. You should be good though.
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  • tokenhosertokenhoser member

    I had it done before I TTC for the obvious reason that if it was low, I wanted to fix it before I was pregnant, not after.

    I wouldn't worry about doing it now. If your American provider really wants to do it, let them do it when you're there. Rubella is pretty hard to find, and there's not much you can do if by some chance you're a low responder to the vaccine. 

    I think it's part of the standard first round of blood work, so even people that aren't aware that they had it done probably did. 

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  • tantdylftantdylf member
    I believe it was past of the standard blood testing at the first appointment.
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