Negative blood types

[cinderella08]

I always get the shot at 28wk and post birth. Will do so again this time.

[RainandRedemption]

My main question was how to know whether this baby is affected... if there are any symptoms I should look out for, and whether I should consider homebirth to be a safe option at this point. I didn't really clearly say that, but that's what I was trying to search for and couldnt find, so I asked here.

Thanks to the PPer who mentioned the blood test to check antibodies and babys blood type. That's what I was looking for and what I was asking.

[bdhutier]

Originally Posted by RainandRedemption My main question was how to know whether this baby is affected... if there are any symptoms I should look out for, and whether I should consider homebirth to be a safe option at this point. I didn't really clearly say that, but that's what I was trying to search for and couldnt find, so I asked here. Thanks to the PPer who mentioned the blood test to check antibodies and babys blood type. That's what I was looking for and what I was asking.

I am not sure if it would effect a homebirth or not but my dd got really sick after she was born ,she was koombs+ and became extremely jaundiced. She had to stay in NICU a few days,I was told the koombs was related to the rh negativity. I don't know much about koombs(maybe someone can chime in) but even if it doesn't effect the birth (it didn't effect my birth) you may want to find a pediatrician to follow the baby right after the birth if you do decide to do a homebirth. There is a blood test they can do after the baby is born to see if they are koombs - or +.

[RainandRedemption]

Originally Posted by bdhutier I am not sure if it would effect a homebirth or not but my dd got really sick after she was born ,she was koombs+ and became extremely jaundiced. She had to stay in NICU a few days,I was told the koombs was related to the rh negativity. I don't know much about koombs(maybe someone can chime in) but even if it doesn't effect the birth (it didn't effect my birth) you may want to find a pediatrician to follow the baby right after the birth if you do decide to do a homebirth. There is a blood test they can do after the baby is born to see if they are koombs - or +.

Thank you.

Ideally I want a homebirth but the only CNM Im able to find who does homebirths has only been out of school for 3 years. We had dd at home but our midwife had SO many years of experience I really just trusted her. I'm reading as much as I can to try and figure out how to KNOW if this midwife would respond well to an emergency, and the more I read the more I'm thinking I don't trust a homebirth this time around. Not with someone with 3 years experience... you know? There are so many things that don't come from an inner gift or from intuition and I just don't want to be someone with a problem thats not caught.

So I'm starting to think we will go to the birthing center here after all. They work really closely with an OB and have a lot of equipment and technology in their office, and of course many years of experience.

That's more of a rant than a response. But thank you for another thing to consider in this.

[bdhutier]

Originally Posted by RainandRedemption Thank you. Ideally I want a homebirth but the only CNM Im able to find who does homebirths has only been out of school for 3 years. We had dd at home but our midwife had SO many years of experience I really just trusted her. I'm reading as much as I can to try and figure out how to KNOW if this midwife would respond well to an emergency, and the more I read the more I'm thinking I don't trust a homebirth this time around. Not with someone with 3 years experience... you know? There are so many things that don't come from an inner gift or from intuition and I just don't want to be someone with a problem thats not caught. So I'm starting to think we will go to the birthing center here after all. They work really closely with an OB and have a lot of equipment and technology in their office, and of course many years of experience. That's more of a rant than a response. But thank you for another thing to consider in this.

After I posted I was just thinking back and I can't think of anything specifically related to the rh issues that effected the birth . All of the concerns were related to the baby after the birth. But again most of that could be assessed with the antibody screen and blood type. I have had terrible hospital births so I wouldn't want to talk anyone out of a birthing center unless it was necessary.

[karlitacat]

I became rH positive with my first pregnancy; I think my blood somehow mixed with the baby's. I only found this out when I went in for the shot of rhogam! That sent me on the track for high-risk pregnancies with weekly ultrasounds to monitor the baby; I was devastated and very scared about what it would mean.

I'm currently pregnant with #3 and have had no issues, though with the first two there were seemingly unrelated issues that weren't serious (baby #1 was small for gestational age and with baby #2 I had excess amniotic fluid). I think I'm an exception, though, as my midwives often say this is a first for them. From what I hear, each pregnancy could potentially get worse for the baby, healthwise.

Before continuing with testing during the second pregnancy, my husband was able to get a blood test to determine whether his blood type was +/+ or +/-. If the former, we would always make a baby with a positive blood type; if the latter, it was possible that it might be negative. In any case, we discovered that he's +/+ so we don't need to get the baby tested in utero or anything like that.

[karlitacat]

PS - My current specialist to whom I go for dopper ultrasounds says that checking the anti-body levels is really unnecessary as long as you're checking the baby regularly. My anti-body levels are the highest they've been this pregnancy, but the baby hasn't been affected (so far). The main thing they look for during the ultrasounds is blood flow through the main artery in the brain and accumulation of fluid around the body.

[Hillargh]

I would be cautious of any trauma, if you plan on a homebirth and out of office care. For example, I have recurring cysts that bleed when I'm pregnant. I'm not sure why, but they get huge and bleed. With my oldest, his father and I were both negative, so it wasn't an issue. With my youngest, we weren't sure if he was positive or negative, and early on in the pregnancy I had a bleed, and got very ill. Our blood had mixed (to the confusion of the doctors, we couldn't figure it out based on where the blood was pooling, but the antibodies came back that it had), and I got the shot. Had I not known what the cyst pain felt like, I would've just thought I had some awful cramping/abdomen pain, and not even thought to check for a bleed. I got the shot afterward as well, but not at 28w. I hadn't intended in getting it at all for various reasons, but you didn't ask that bit, so I'll spare you that lol. So I would be on point with anything out of the ordinary, just in case. Hyper-aware, as it were.

[cinderella08]

Originally Posted by cinderella08 I always get the shot at 28wk and post birth. Will do so again this time.

Funny we were just discussing this. I had severe bleeding a few days ago - 13+4 - u/s shows complete placenta previa which is the cause. I received a Rhogam shot that day. I do plan on asking about the fetal blood typing to avoid the 28wk shot if baby is (-).