High-Risk Pregnancy

Rh sensitized mamas?

Hello ladies! I recently posted within my birth month but then realized that this board existed and my question might be more appropriate here. I just learned that I'm rh sensitized (they found low levels of antibodies in my blood). I'm 10 weeks pregnant and would love to hear from other mamas who have the same situation.

My OB did not mention seeing a specialist. Did you go to a specialist?  

If you have already had your baby, did you go to full term or did you deliver early?

Will having this baby compromise my ability to have another one?  I.e. Will my antibodies increase after delivery?

Would love to just hear stories in general. I'm freaking out a bit. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
August: IVF#1, BFN
September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
It's a girl!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
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Re: Rh sensitized mamas?

  • I found out that my antibodies were elevated at 11 weeks. I was with a midwife and was transferred to a maternal fetal medicine specialist but I was told an OB could monitor as well. At first I had blood work and ultrasounds every two weeks. Then at 25 weeks my levels went up so my appointments went to weekly. At 28 weeks the ultrasound was showing anemia in the baby and I had an intrauterine transfusion. I have another scheduled for the 25th. I was told that I probably won't make it to term but it all depends on what is happening.
    If your partner is homozygous for the Rh factors this will happen every pregnancy. If he is heterozygous there is always the chance the baby could be negative and this wouldn't be an issue.
    Every case is different so there is no clear cut progression. I hope everything works out well for you. I know it can be overwhelming and scary. The good news is they can do so much today to keep baby safe.
    Good luck.
  • lizzie1027lizzie1027 member
    edited November 2014
    I am 18 weeks (FTM) and am also RH sensitized. Like you, we found out early on (9 weeks) that my antibody count was through the roof (in the 200s). I've also been pretty stressed/sad about it, but at least we were prepared for this possibility because of blood work done for a previous M/C (my husband is heterozygous, so for us each pregnancy has a 50/50 change of being problematic). My OB sent me to a MFM Dr, and starting at 20 weeks I'll be going in every two weeks for Doppler scans to make sure baby doesn't get too anemic. By 30 weeks (or earlier if things look bad), I'll be going in every week for a scan. If baby does become anemic, we will get a fetal blood transfusion. My understanding is that antibodies don't start crossing (at least in large numbers) the placenta until 20 weeks, so that's when the going starts getting rough. My MFM Dr plans to induce me somewhere between 34-38 weeks, depending on how bad off baby is. Generally for a first pregnancy, my MFM Dr says baby does fine. However, with each RH+ pregnancy your antibody levels increase, putting potential future RH+ babies at higher risk for problems. :(

    I don't know why your OB didn't refer you to a specialist--perhaps ask/push them for a referral at your next appointment? My MFM Dr is MUCH more knowledgable on this issue than my OB (which makes sense, since they are a specialist) and it was really nice to have a consultation session with my MFM Dr and ask all the questions I had/discuss all the options, etc.

    Best of luck to you both--will keep you in my prayers!
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  • @lizzie1027‌ thank you. Sorry that you are going through this too. It's nerve racking to know that something might be going wrong with the baby and we won't feel a thing (at least that's what I understand, we won't feel any different). I have my 12 week appt on Monday so I will ask about seeing a specialist. In the meantime, is there anything that we can do to ensure the levels don't increase? I think the answer is no.

    How did you become sensitized?  Mine may have been either my ectopic or the resulting blood transfusion I needed (it was a bad situation) but I did get 1 rhogam shot at the time. 

    If the baby starts becoming anemic and you deliver early, will the baby be fine from that point forward or will there be lasting effects from being anemic during that time? (Of course there are so many other complications with delivering early). Should I be concerned about being associated with a hospital with a top notch NICU?

    So many questions. :)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • I know you didn't specifically address me, @daydreamernyc‌ but I thought I would respond since I'm already going through a lot of what you are asking about.
    I am 30 weeks now and my baby has become anemic. I do not feel any different, physically, thanks I did with my two previous pregnancies. I became sensitized after my second and they don't know why as I had rhogam after he was born.
    I've been told that as needed the baby will get transfusions until 34-35 weeks and then delivery will be likely 2 weeks after that. There can be lasting effects after birth if you aren't followed closely. But the cause of the anemia will stop at birth. Depending on how early baby is born will determine the level of care needed after birth.
    I know this is all very scary and there is nothing to keep antibodies low. They seem to do what they want. As I am getting close to the end I know it's been nice to be followed closely and when things started changing it was nice to have a plan.
    Good luck to both of you. Take it one day at a time and ask lots of questions.
  • Thanks, @BrianneDC...its really nice to hear from someone who is a little further along.  If you don't mind me asking, what was the fetal blood transfusion like? 

    @daydreamernyc‌, mine is the result of a blood transfusion I received as a child (I was super sick with pneumonia). The blood was mislabeled, so never got a rhogam shot.

    To answer your question about the NICU, my OB group delivers at a specific hospital so we are going there and did not pick out our hospital based on the NICU (though it sounds like they have a great delivery ward/NICU, so we are lucky). Rather we are going to that hospital because of the good OB/MFMs I am seeing.  Our insurance also covers us for that hospital/OB/MFM, which is really important as each doppler scan is expensive and I will be having a lot of those (and obviously cost goes up depending on the number of other procedures/potential time in the NICU you have).

    I know one potential long-term risk that is tied to the baby being anemic is the build up of bilirubin in the baby's brain, which can lead to different mental/developmental problems :( (Google Kernicterus). That's why, as @BrianneDC noted, its nice to be followed closely by your MFM and have a plan. That's also why I'm going to be induced early (or have an early c-section)--the less time the baby spends anemic inside, the less bilirubin is able to build up in the brain (tho bilirubin build up is also dependent on how severely anemic the baby is).

    Sorry--hope that doesn't make you worry more.  But I did want to answer your questions to the best of my ability (since I know for me at least, having answers was a comfort).  Best to really talk this through with your Dr, since they will be able to answer your questions based on your specific situation :)

    I hope you both will keep us posted going forward!  It's comforting to know there are others in the same boat who understand/can relate.


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  • @lizzie1027 the transfusion was not as bad as I was expecting.
    My doppler went from always being completely normal, I was having them every week since 24 weeks and was every other week before that, to 20 points over the upper limit. I had to go to a different hospital because only a few in Canada do the procedure. I was set to do it in the morning and then the numbers were normal again. I went back two days later and they were high again so they did the transfusion.
    I was not asleep but heavily sedated as they don't want you to move at all. It was all guided by ultrasound and luckily baby was in the right position and they could quickly get to the right spot on the baby. The ultrasound was on a screen that I could see if I wanted to and my husband was allowed in the room.
    There were a lot of people which made it a little overwhelming at first but they all had a job.
    They had someone from the lab that did an immediate test for the hemoglobin which showed that baby did have some anemia, not severe though. Then they put in the new blood and retested and the level was double what is was to begin with. The whole thing took 21 minutes. Then I went to a room and had an NST for 2 hours and antibiotics for possible infection.
    I have my next one on Tuesday. I feel a lot more comfortable since I've been through it once. I was very overwhelmed the first time since I had no idea what to expect. I hope this helps you if you do get to this point, hopefully not though!
  • @BrianneDC‌ thank you for sharing more details about what you are going through. It's so comforting hearing from both you and @lizzie1027‌. This is so overwhelming. I really appreciate it, this must be so hard for both of you and I fear I will experience this all first hand shortly. 

    I suspect that perhaps this is a result of the blood transfusion as well which is crazy as you would assume that process is so well monitored. 

    My OB has a very relaxed attitude. When she called me to tell me about my results, she said she's had many women in this position and there is nothing to worry about. Then she said that if it makes me feel better, she will measure my levels at each appt (which is only monthly). Almost as if she wasn't planning on it but would to make me feel better. I feel like I should have closer monitoring, that feels almost too relaxed. Did your monitoring increase once your levels reach a certain threshold?  If so, what number?  I don't know my levels right now and plan on asking on Monday when I have my 12 week appt. 

    Do you see an MFM after your levels get to a certain point or should you see a specialist regardless of your levels?  I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I think I can speak for all of us in saying we want healthy babies!!!  It's scary!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • BrianneDC!  Definitely helps to know what to expect (tho hopefully I won't get to that point this pregnancy, you're right!).  Will be thinking of you on Tuesday!

    daydreamernyc, I'm glad you have your OB appt on Monday--hopefully you will be able to get lots of answers to your questions/answers that address your specific situation :) IMO, it's important to be your own advocate when dealing with your Dr (my husband, who is a physician himself, also agrees with this).  Would definitely push to have your blood work followed.  Would potentially also ask about doppler scans after 20 weeks (if your numbers continue to rise), and/or at what point your OB would send you to an MFM. If you would feel better being referred to an MFM just to have a consultation session about RH-sensitization, I would encourage you to ask your OB for a referral.

    You were asking about numbers--I am big D/big C sensitized.  When I had my M/C about 2 years ago (@ 10 weeks), my antibody levels were only slightly elevated (both D & C were below 10).  My OB was concerned at that time, but since it was a M/C she did not send me to the MFM--we decided I would go early on in the next pregnancy. This time around, by 10 weeks my antibody numbers shot up into the 200s.  A number at or above 35 is considered "extremely high".  

    Hope this helps!! Like BrianneDC said, I agree that it's important to take things one day at a time. It's too much to handle/too upsetting otherwise!
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  • @daydreamernyc‌ my initial blood work was 1:64 for big D, I'm also big G but it wasn't as high. I saw the MFM every other week from 12 weeks until 24 weeks. At that point my Titres went from 1:64 to 1:128 to 1:2064. My appointments then went to every week. They did blood work at almost every appointment and I had an ultrasound at every appointment to check the blood flow in baby's brain. I am back in the hospital today waiting for my next transfusion as the doppler results increased a bit faster than they expected. I would definitely want monitoring throughout the pregnancy as the doppler can change without the blood work numbers being really high. Although the doppler showing anemia is much greater if your Titres are high.
    @lizzie1027‌ have you had any dopplers done yet? Thanks for thinking of me. It is no fun but healthy baby is the main plan!
  • @BrianneDC sorry to hear you ended up in the hospital early :( Hope everything goes well for you and baby today!

    No dopplers for me yet--first one is on 12/2 (the day before I hit 20 weeks--also the day of my anatomy scan!). MFM told me that baby is too small before then for Doppler to be effective. My MFM/OB haven't been monitoring my Tirtres anymore either, as they were so high at 10 weeks (1:200 something--they said it would be too depressing to keep following them haha). So we will see what happens on the 2nd!
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  • @lizzie1027‌ everything went well with the transfusion. It was a little hectic because I was at one hospital and was transferred to an another hospital an hour away and I had my two kids with me. So my husband had to meet me and then take the kids another hour away in rush hour and then come back to the hospital. He missed the procedure bit was there when I came out. My next one is scheduled for December 16 so hopefully I will make it to that date!
    Good luck with your ultrasound. Fx everything is normal!
  • @BrianneDC‌ and @lizzie1027‌ I had my appt yesterday. I have anit-k antigens at a 1:4 level. My dr assured me there was nothing to worry about. But then in another part of the conversation she said there was a 50-50 chance the baby is rh- I said, oh, but DH doesn't have the recessive gene so that means the baby is definitely positive. She said, that what she learned was that it's 50-50 no matter what.

    That confused me because I read that positive is dominant and negative is recessive. If one person has both dominant, then it's not possible for the recessive to win, right?  If I'm right, then this makes me loose faith in her. 

    I also read last night that anti-d is the most common and you only need to monitor more closely once your titers reach 1:32 but anti-k is more unpredictable and you should start measurements once you reach 1:8 ( which does not feel that far away from 1:4).   If my OB is going to monitor me, I want to ensure she is following the 1:8 guideline and not just a blanket 1:32 guideline.  I'm feeling uneasy and DH thinks I'm overreacting and I shouldn't worry about it and to just follow what my OB says. 

    What do you guys think?

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • You have to do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable.

    You are right about the dominant versus recessive genes. If you husband is homozygous dominant, big k big k, the baby will be positive. They did genome testing on my husband to find out if he was homozygous or heterozygous. Has your husband had blood work done?

    With the titres, I'm not especially familiar with anti-k. You said that you are 1:4 and that 1:8 is the point to start monitoring more closely. That is only one step. As each step doubles, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on. So they are very close.

    I was already above the 32 with my original blood work but it was nice to have the monitoring to make sure things were going ok. Whatever the plan is you have to be comfortable with it. My doctor likes to keep up with everything because it can change so quickly and they want to catch the anemia before the baby is really affected.

    I hope everything continues normally for you and you don't have to worry about anything!
  • I agree, you have to do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I think you have every right to kindly ask your OB for an MFM referal for your peace of mind (then you can have a second, specialist opinion on the 1:8 vs 1:32). Your OB *should* know what the standard of care is for your condition, and *should* be following that standard, but there may be things that a MFM has more understanding/experience with.

    The good news is that you have some time to figure things out--the way to monitor fetal anemia is via Doppler scan, and they can't effectively start that (b/c the baby is too small) until at least 20 weeks.

    Good luck! I hope the baby stays healthy and you recieve the care you need :) Keep us posted!
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  • @lizzie1027‌ and @BrianneDC‌ thanks ladies. I spoke with my OB and said I've read that anti-k is a bit more challenging, what's your plan. At that point we talked for quite a while and she leveled with me saying she did not want to overwhelm me therefore she didn't go over everything. Now she did and I will start bi-weekly scans at 20w since titers are not a good indicator for this type. I feel so much better now. She was just trying to protect me by not going over everything but it turned out that it made me more nervous and I questioned her judgement. So glad I had the conversation, I feel better now that I know there is a plan/playbook. 

    let's keep each other posted on how things progress. Would love to see updates on how you are doing and eventually hear about the beautiful births!!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • @daydreamernyc‌ I'm glad that you were able to talk to your doctor and make a plan. I know I always feel better when I have all the information and a plan. The internet can be a scary place when you don't have your doctor's guidance.

    I will update on this thread as things move along.
  • Had our first MCA Doppler yesterday and happy to report that everything was normal!! :) I have them every week this month so fingers crossed that nothing changes!

    Also found out (we had our A/S) that we're having a girl!
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  • @lizzie1027‌ I was just going to ask how everything went. So glad to hear you had a normal scan. Congratulations on the little girl!
  • Oh congrats, that's awesome news! And having scans each week will give you piece of mind! Congrats on a girl (girls rock!!)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • @BrianneDC‌ and @lizzie1027‌ did either of you decide to go through and confirm your baby's blood type? I think the only option is amino which scares me. Or are big D and G directly associated with RH+?  

    DH will be going for blood work this week to see if he is kell+ or -. (It's independent of your standard blood type tests since we know he's rh+ but he could still be kell-).  This will just show us a probability of what the baby might be. 



    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • lizzie1027lizzie1027 member
    edited December 2014
    @daydreamernyc I was offered an amnio but declined (I usually choose the least invasive route possible when it comes to medical things, but that's just my personal preference).  Based on my super high titers/how much they had gone up from my previous M/C, my MFM told me there is a 98% chance baby is rh+.  The risks that come with an amnio, tho they're small, were not worth it to me just to confirm a 2% possibility that baby is not +.  I prefer my weekly Dopplers :)

    I would encourage you to do what will make you the most comfortable. That is all that I did! 
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  • My husband had genome testing done and was only positive for D and G so baby has to be. I wasn't sure if I would have had the amnio. I have had two previous home births and I usually choose the least intervention. If that was my option I would have had to really think about it.

    I'm having transfusions now which is the same process as the amnio but I knew they were needed. So many tough choices.

    Good luck.
  • Just a little update.
    This week I had a third transfusion for my baby and it didn't go as planned. The needle came out of the baby's vein and the blood went into the belly. This wasn't too bad except that it caused the heart rate to drop and then accelerate. So I had to stay overnight and do three hours of NST. Now I go back Friday and then Monday. They need to see if the anemia has improved or if they have to do another transfusion.
    It's been a stressful week and I'm just hoping that things stay stable and baby stays put until after the holidays. If everything goes as planned we 're looking at an induction at 37 or 38 weeks.
    Hope all is well with you ladies and that you have a great holiday.
  • I was just diagnosed with Antigen E positive. My husband has tested positive for EE blood type. (Well that's what the nurse said...from the online record it said E positive). At this time 12 weeks along (my last bloodwork), my titer levels are still really low.
  • BrianneDC said:

    Just a little update.
    This week I had a third transfusion for my baby and it didn't go as planned. The needle came out of the baby's vein and the blood went into the belly. This wasn't too bad except that it caused the heart rate to drop and then accelerate. So I had to stay overnight and do three hours of NST. Now I go back Friday and then Monday. They need to see if the anemia has improved or if they have to do another transfusion.
    It's been a stressful week and I'm just hoping that things stay stable and baby stays put until after the holidays. If everything goes as planned we 're looking at an induction at 37 or 38 weeks.
    Hope all is well with you ladies and that you have a great holiday.


    I'm so sorry! Please keep us updated
  • @BrianneDC‌ I'm so, so sorry that happened--I can't imagine how stressful that must have been!!! :( Are you and baby doing better now?
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  • Thanks. My follow up appointments went really well and all the blood was absorbed. I'm going in for my final transfusion tomorrow. Hopefully it goes better than the last. My induction has been booked for January 15. I'm so glad this is almost over. Hope all is well with the rest of you.
  • Just had my last appointment before my induction next week. Everything is going well and I hope it continues that way when babe is on the outside! Hope everything is going well for you mommas. This thread has really helped me over the course of this pregnancy. I'm happy to have been able to share what is going on. Thanks!
  • @briannedc oh, I'm so glad! Did everything during your appt check out ok? Would love to hear about your baby arriving next week! I'm starting to mentally prepare for starting the scans and monitoring. Im 18 weeks now and we will start at 20 weeks. Seeing your success gives me great comfort and I'm happy for you. I know how stressful this process has been!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • I will be think of you on the 15th, @BrianneDC‌!! Let us know when the baby arrives :) I'm so glad everything has turned out well for you!

    @daydreamernyc‌ I'll be thinking of you too in 2 weeks when your scans start! I remember being in your place--I was so excited for the A/S and to really see the baby, but afraid at the same time since I knew things were getting more serious. I'll keep you in my prayers :)

    I'm 25 weeks now, and so far so good! Baby's MCA Doppler peak velocity is still in the normal, healthy range! Next appt is Friday.

    Happy new year to everyone, btw!

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  • @lizzie1027‌ thanks! Just this past week it's all hit me and I've been a little bit of a roller coaster on emotions. I will feel so much better once the monitoring starts. I was googling (should never do this) and read about ppl having issues at 18 weeks and got freaked out.

    I have a consult with my MFM on Monday so I will be able to ask all my remaining questions :).   Update us after your appt on Friday!  So glad to hear that things are in normal range. That's the best we can all hope for :)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • Hello Ladies. I wanted to thank you for all the information you have provided here.
    I am just over 7 weeks preg with my 3rd child and was found to have positive antibodies in my blood. I saw my OB yesterday (a very long 7 days after she called to tell me what my blood work showed); my levels were at 16 and I am waiting to here what yesterday's blood work showed. Unfortunately they do not seem to know why this happened because I had two prior pregs without antibodies and received all my rhogam shots. She was able to answer some questions but I have a consult with MFM on Jan 19th. In the mean time the info you ladies have provided has been so helpful. Best of luck to all of you!
  • stefimar said:
    Hello Ladies. I wanted to thank you for all the information you have provided here. I am just over 7 weeks preg with my 3rd child and was found to have positive antibodies in my blood. I saw my OB yesterday (a very long 7 days after she called to tell me what my blood work showed); my levels were at 16 and I am waiting to here what yesterday's blood work showed. Unfortunately they do not seem to know why this happened because I had two prior pregs without antibodies and received all my rhogam shots. She was able to answer some questions but I have a consult with MFM on Jan 19th. In the mean time the info you ladies have provided has been so helpful. Best of luck to all of you!
    Sorry that you find yourself in this situation. I found it a bit overwhelming at first and was not quite sure what everything meant. 

     Your MFM will provide you with all the best information you need. 

     As a high level, RH is just one set of proteins that some ppl build antibodies against. There are other proteins independent of RH that ppl can also build antibodies against (that's my situation). So the rhogam shot is not full, 100% protection since it's only for select proteins.

    You can develop antibodies from exposure to blood, typically through childbirth or blood transfusion. If you are on baby #3 I assume one of you previous births exposed you. 

    Let us know what you find out. 

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • @lizzie1027‌ and @BrianneDC‌ so I'm writing my list of questions for my MFM appt tomorrow as I don't want to forget anything and I thought I would check in with you guys to see if there were any questions or specific info you thought was helpful and that you'd recommend I ask the expert?

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • Had my third round of bloodwork done on Thursday. Today i have my 16 week spot. Hoping my levels are still low!
  • @daydreamernyc‌ I hope your appt went well! Honestly, I don't really remember what I asked at my MFM consultation. We met with her for over an hour and were given so much info that I just felt overwhelmed and emotionally drained when I left (this is my first baby and we talked a lot about negative implications for future pregnancies). She basically wrote a memo for us tho, with all the info, so I have that to reference whenever I need it. For me, the the important take aways from that meeting were to know what to expect for this pregnancy, and all the potential risks/procedures that might have to be done. I can only take one step at a time, so wanted to know what to prepare myself for this go around. Not sure of that helps answer your question... :-/
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  • @daydreamernyc‌ my main concern was what would or could happen during this pregnancy. I don't plan on more children as this is number 3 so that wasn't that huge for me. It's all very overwhelming and you will get a lot of information. I was seeing my MFM every other week so it wasn't urgent to ask all my questions. As I have had 2 previous home births I have had a lot of questions about what to expect with labor and delivery. I am still seeing my midwives as well so I ask them questions as well. Hope everything goes well.
  • Sorry for the delayed post but things have been pretty busy for the last few weeks.

    I went in to be induced on Thursday January 15. I wanted to do things with the least intervention as possible so they broke my water and let me walk around for about 5 hours. I had to keep stopping for heart rate checks which usually ended up with me hooked back up to the monitor for 20 minutes. That was not very helpful for getting labor started. I ended up on pitocin around 4 in the afternoon. My labor was not progressing as they kept having me lie on my side to monitor the baby and then it got to the point where I had constant monitoring. This was very different from my two home births. I was only at 5 cm at around 1130 and they started talking c-section. I ended up getting the epidural put in but only had the test dose as my doctor came in right when I laid back down and said it was time to push. My new baby boy was born at 12:36 am after two pushes.

    What I wasn't ready for was what might be wrong with him after birth. He ended up in the nicu for 5 days due to anemia. He ad the lights and IVIG treatments to help clear the bilirubin. Since coming home he is being followed by our family doctor. He is gaining weight and the bilirubin levels are going down. Overall he is doing very well.

    I hope things continue on this path. After all the pre-birth anemia his hemoglobin is actually high right now so they are watching that.

    I hope that everything is going well for you ladies. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for all the support during this crazy time. Oh, his name is Griffin Thomas and he was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 1/4" long.

    Good luck everyone!
  • BrianneDC said:
    Sorry for the delayed post but things have been pretty busy for the last few weeks. I went in to be induced on Thursday January 15. I wanted to do things with the least intervention as possible so they broke my water and let me walk around for about 5 hours. I had to keep stopping for heart rate checks which usually ended up with me hooked back up to the monitor for 20 minutes. That was not very helpful for getting labor started. I ended up on pitocin around 4 in the afternoon. My labor was not progressing as they kept having me lie on my side to monitor the baby and then it got to the point where I had constant monitoring. This was very different from my two home births. I was only at 5 cm at around 1130 and they started talking c-section. I ended up getting the epidural put in but only had the test dose as my doctor came in right when I laid back down and said it was time to push. My new baby boy was born at 12:36 am after two pushes. What I wasn't ready for was what might be wrong with him after birth. He ended up in the nicu for 5 days due to anemia. He ad the lights and IVIG treatments to help clear the bilirubin. Since coming home he is being followed by our family doctor. He is gaining weight and the bilirubin levels are going down. Overall he is doing very well. I hope things continue on this path. After all the pre-birth anemia his hemoglobin is actually high right now so they are watching that. I hope that everything is going well for you ladies. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for all the support during this crazy time. Oh, his name is Griffin Thomas and he was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 1/4" long. Good luck everyone!
    Congrats!  I'm really happy for you and glad to her that he is now home with you. I can't imagine how stressful it must have been for you. Thank you for offering to help with questions. This is a scary process and I'm relieved to hear your success story. I'm now 22 weeks and have already started my scans which everything looks just fine so far. FX. 

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    January & February: 2 IUIs, BFN
    March:  IUI, ectopic, 2 surgeries with 1 tube removed
    May - July: 3 more IUIs, all BFN, on to IVF
    August: IVF#1, BFN
    September:  FET#1, BFP!!!
    It's a girl!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lilypie Pregnancy tickers
  • @BrianneDC, so glad you and Griffin are doing well!! I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that, especially the NICU, but happy everything turned out to be fine.  

    @daydreamernyc, glad to hear you're also doing well! Hope things continue to go smoothly :)

    I had my last MCA doppler 1.5 weeks ago (at 26 weeks) and baby's peak velocity, while still in the normal range, had shot up by 10 points.  Peak velocity had been holding steady before, so such a big increase was a surprise and definitely disconcerting. My next doppler is tomorrow morning (I'm 28 weeks now) so we'll see how it goes--can't lie, I'm definitely feeling nervous about it!
    Daisypath Anniversary tickers  Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker   Pregnancy Ticker
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