Conference moira::parenting_v3

    I think they're referring to the RH factor differences between yours
    and your husband's blood.  Since you are RH-negative and your husband
    is positive, there is a chance that the baby is RH-positive also.  This
    could create some problems because your body might make antibodies
    against the baby's blood.  (I'm sure the biologists among us can be
    more specific). 
    
    Anyway, I don't know exactly what an RH-gram is, but that's undoubtably
    what they mean.

    I forget the proper name of the drug, but I had to have it.  I'm A- and
    my husband is O+.  There is "something" (I forget what) in people who
    have positive blood.  The "something" is totally absent in those with
    negative blood.  If your baby has positive blood, and when you deliver
    him/her some of it's blood get's into your blood stream, you will
    produce anti-bodies against the positive blood.  It wouldn't harm the
    baby you are carrying now, but could cause severe problems with other
    babies if they have positive blood.
    
    You will get a shot of the drug at about 28 weeks.  What they did with
    me was I went the day before my scheduled 28 week checkup, and got
    blood drawn.  This tells them how strong to make the shot.  I then
    recieved the shot the next day.  Fairly painless.
    
    Then when your baby is born, they will test his/her blood type.  If the
    baby has positive blood, you will get a second shot before you leave
    the hospital.
    
    Hope this helps....
    
    marianne
    

    I, too, have had RhoGAM "Rho(D)Immune Globulin (Human)".  I am A- and
    John is O+.   First time after a miscarriage, and then during my 
    pregnancy with my daughter, and once again after her birth.
    
    .2 is correct in stating that if the baby you are carrying has a 
    different factor than yours, your body will build up antibodies... 
    this means if you get pregnant again and the fetus is again a different 
    factor your body will begin fighting it.  The RhoGAM is administered 
    to ensure that this does not happen... 
    
    Good luck!
    

    
    Well....it looks like I jumped the gun once again. I went home last
    night and talked to hubby, and he says he is O- after all (I'm O-),
    so I guess we won't need the Rogam after all (I SWEAR he told me he was
    O+ !!!  Maybe its these preggo hormones messing with my mind:-). We are
    going to have him tested again, just to be sure, if he can't find his
    Red Cross card)
    
    But from what I read last night, and in talking to my aunt (who is a 
    delivery nurse), .3 is correct in everything she described. It wouldn't
    effect THIS baby, but could effect future children.
    
    Now...whats next??  ;-)
    
    Thanks again,
    Chris
    
    

    Chris, 
    
    Check with your OB before you have your husband tested.  Mine
    insists on Rhogam for all Rh- mothers, unless they themselves have
    tested the father to be sure he's Rh-, too.  So, if he's tested
    somewhere else, he may have to be tested again.
    
    Susan

    If you are O- that means you do not have the Rh factor in your blood.
    If your husband is O- he doesn't either and chances are your baby will
    be a - also because blood type is inherited.
    
    But if you are negative and your husband is positive the baby may be
    positive.  If the baby is positive and the blood supplies (yours and
    the baby's) intermingle, your body may build antibodies against the
    positive factor from the baby's blood, recognizing it as a foreign
    agent to you.  This will not affect your current pregnancy, but in the
    future if you conceive another baby with a positive blood type your
    body may recognize it as foreign and reject the fetus.
    
    I'm A+, my husband is O- I believe, so we don't need to worry.  It's
    only with negative mothers and positive fathers.  My mother is A-, my
    father O+, she carried eight children to term without a problem so it
    doens't necessarily become a problem.  This was way before they
    developed a shot to counteract the Rh factor.
    
    

>    If you are O- that means you do not have the Rh factor in your blood.
>    If your husband is O- he doesn't either and chances are your baby will
>    be a - also because blood type is inherited.

If her husband really is Rh-, then (barring a mutation or infidelity) it is
a certainty that the baby will be Rh- and there will not be a problem.  Rh+
is dominant, so two Rh- parents cannot have an Rh+ child.  (Whereas two Rh+
parents can have an Rh- child, but it doesn't matter if they do.)

    In the UK they give you the injection (called anti-D) if you are
    Rh -,  whatever blood group your partner is. They didn't even ask me 
    (I'm O-) what group my husband was. When I asked them, they 
    pointed out they had no way of knowing for sure who the father was, so 
    it was best to be on the safe side.   I didn't feel insulted but I
    suppose some people might!
    
    The baby is Rh- so I didn't have an injection after the delivery.
    
    Heather

    It could be a threat on a first pregnancy if the mother previously
    had:
    
    * an abortion
    * a misscarriage
    * a transfusion of RH+ blood (which probably would have caused
    	medical problems at the time)
    
    Any of those can trigger the body to start producing the
    antibodies against the Rh+ "invasion," which the Rh- person's body 
    perceives as an infection.  
    
    According to a friend who's a nurse, one of the reasons many
    doctors automatically administer the Rhogam is that many women who
    as teenagers had an abortion (or sometimes even a previous
    pregnancy) simply will not admit it to their doctors for fear
    their present husbands will find out. 
    
    --bonnie

It's also neccesary to have RhoGam after amniocentesis, for Rh+ women with Rh-
partners.

Also, be aware that RhoGam is a blood-product.  Therefore, there is a small
risk of HIV contamination.  You may wish to ask your doctor about that before
accepting an "automatic" injection.
she asked what the father's blood type was and would I find out.

    I would also question an automatic shot. I'm A-, my husband is O+ (he
    was tested for blood type when we married, because he didn't know). 
    Anyway, my doctors insisted on a shot at 28 weeks, as well as after
    the baby was born. (I think it's because some fetuses develop problems
    because of the incompatibility around the 30th week; so the shot was
    a preventative). Anyway, the point is, they have to run a lab test to
    determine something about the shot (strength?). The cost of that plus
    the shot itself was either $200 or $300. For me, that was just covered
    as lab work, not part of the pregnancy "package". 

    This is my friend's situation, she is A- , her hsuband is +. 
    Only, unfortunately for her, as previously mentioned, she most likely 
    had an early miscarriage and didn't realize it and developed the
    antibodies to her next (successful) babies blood. So basically went
    she went in to get her shot of Rhogam, it was too late her blood had
    the antibodies. From then on it was a scary situation and she was in
    constant risk of aborting the baby. From 5 months of pregnancy on
    they did many amnios to measure the antibody (titre) level and also
    check the baby's lung development. After the baby was born, he received
    a blood transfusion. Now for any new pregnancy my friend undertakes,
    first of all it's a scary thought for her now, she was advised to 
    wait at least two years to allow the antibody level to drop in her
    blood. And she will definitely have to go through the same procedure
    again and live in constant fear of losing the baby. 
    
    I have a question about the timing of the Rhogam shot, why do they
    wait until week 28, if they give it right away would it have made
    a difference for my friend? Probably not since they suspect a previous
    unknown pregnancy. 
    

They do shots at 28 weeks and a couple days after delivery.  The one at 28
weeks is to prevent antibody formation prior to delivery (so it will prevent
antibodies during delivery).  I think it's in case of premature labor, since
the protection lasts about 6 weeks (I think.  It was definitely not going to
protect me if I went full term - 40 weeks).

The one after delivery is to prevent antibody formation that could result from
the actual delivery.

The blood test they do before the shot is to see if you are already sensitive
to Rh+ blood.

They don't wait until the 28th week if there is a reason not to.   If a Rh-
woman has amniocentesis early in pregnancy, then she would receive a RhoGam 
within 24 hours.  (I did).

In the case of your friend, the antibodies were already there; it probably
happened when she had the miscarriage. RhoGam prevents your immune system
from becoming sensitive to Rh+ blood;  it can't desensitize an already
sensitive immune system.

And, yes, unfortunately, she may have to go thru the same thing the next time 
she is pregnant.  I think they can determine a baby's blood type (from
amniocentesis, maybe?).  If the baby is also Rh- (inherited from her), then 
she would not be sensitive to him/her and it would be ok.  If s/he inherits the
father's Rh factor (so it's Rh+), then they would have to monitor the baby 
again.  So, there is a 50-50 chance that it will be ok the next time.

    
    Another update...
    
    My doctor called me this afternoon, to explain...(and all of you are
    right on the money!!!)....and since I told him that my husband says 
    he's negative after all, we shouldn't have a problem. We're going to
    have his blood "typed" next month at my next visit, just to make sure.
    
    At first I thought this would be a stupid question to ask, but from the
    information given by everyone, I guess it wasn't so stupid after all.
    
    I knew the PARENTING community would give me answers!!
    I wonder what I would do throughout this pregnancy without this file!
    
    Chris :-)
    

    Why we're on the topic:
    
    I was in a minor car accident around week 24 of my pregnancy. After
    checking for placental separation with the office mini-ultrasound 
    they sent me to the lab for the blood test to determine if my blood
    had become sensitive due to miniscule tears in the placenta. Turned
    out everything was fine. Just another wrinkle in the Rh- saga....