Rh- with positive antibody screen pp...

[momomom]

I had an undiagnosed placental abruption from 37 weeks on, baby born at 39 weeks. I am Rh- and had rhogam at 28 weeks. I had a premonition that my anti-D test would come back positive, and it did.

I will get retested in 6 months to see if this is for real or jjust a fluke.

We've had 4 Rh+ babies. We might be done, but if I have Rh+ antibodies, and we CAN'T conceive an Rh- baby (dh not a carrier), and we decide we want another- are we screwed?

Any Rh- mamas have positive Anti-D tests postpartum, and how did it work out for you?

TIA!!!

[momomom]

anyone???

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Not me personally, but a friend of mine had an rh- baby first pregnancy. She had a massive hemorrhage with that delivery (homebirth) and her midwives discouraged the shot bc they don't believe in vaccines. Fast forward to baby #2, she has severe issues as a result of having the antibodies. Baby is born prematurely and spends weeks in the nicu, almost doesn't make it.

I'd say with your partner being rh- you just have to take things one pregnancy at a time. Take all the tests and get your information from people who actually know what they're talking about. (AKA - a homebirth midwife with philosophical reservations about vaccines has ZERO merit in my book when it comes to understanding the actual risks).
If you end up with one baby who is rh-, then handle it when it comes, but don't shut out any tests or information that will help you make decisions about future kids.

My friends complications are a direct result of her midwife's gross negligence in discouraging the proper care.

[eliz7]

Originally Posted by BeccaSueCongdon Not me personally, but a friend of mine had an rh- baby first pregnancy. She had a massive hemorrhage with that delivery (homebirth) and her midwives discouraged the shot bc they don't believe in vaccines. Fast forward to baby #2, she has severe issues as a result of having the antibodies. Baby is born prematurely and spends weeks in the nicu, almost doesn't make it. I'd say with your partner being rh- you just have to take things one pregnancy at a time. Take all the tests and get your information from people who actually know what they're talking about. (AKA - a homebirth midwife with philosophical reservations about vaccines has ZERO merit in my book when it comes to understanding the actual risks). If you end up with one baby who is rh-, then handle it when it comes, but don't shut out any tests or information that will help you make decisions about future kids. My friends complications are a direct result of her midwife's gross negligence in discouraging the proper care.

This is confusing. Only rh- moms who have rh+ babies are at risk. If your friend is rh+ she would not be a candidate for rhogam which is the shot rh- women get during pregnancy and pp. Rh+ women can have as many rh- babies as they want without any negative effects.

[newtocloth2]

Originally Posted by eliz7 This is confusing. Only rh- moms who have rh+ babies are at risk. If your friend is rh+ she would not be a candidate for rhogam which is the shot rh- women get during pregnancy and pp. Rh+ women can have as many rh- babies as they want without any negative effects.

This. If her baby was rh - she would NOT need the rhogam shot, even if the mama was rh- (and if she were rh+ she would never need one).

OP- I was under the impression that the 28 week shot was for such cases as yours, to prevent problems with rh factor (I'm rh- myself, and spoke with my doctor about rh factor my first appt. this pregnancy).
If you would like more children, I would speak with a doctor about the risks.

[BeccaSueCongdon]

Sorry, I got it reversed. Mom was rh- and both babies were rh+

[momomom]

yes, the shot is for cases like mine, but after 4 births, this is the only 1 to come back positive, so i feel worried. my midwife (cnm) did say that they see false positives relatively frequently, hence the retest at 6 months pp. Mostly I was just wondering if anyone on here had the 72 hour test come back a false positive, as I have never b4 heard of that being common.

OP, really sorry about your friend. I am against vaccines as prophylaxis, but in the case of an rH- mommy, the shot really is a blessing of modern medicine.

The negative blood type is becoming more rare, so much so that I have heard/ read that it should disappear within 2 generations.

[Emmers22185]

Originally Posted by momomom yes, the shot is for cases like mine, but after 4 births, this is the only 1 to come back positive, so i feel worried. my midwife (cnm) did say that they see false positives relatively frequently, hence the retest at 6 months pp. Mostly I was just wondering if anyone on here had the 72 hour test come back a false positive, as I have never b4 heard of that being common. OP, really sorry about your friend. I am against vaccines as prophylaxis, but in the case of an rH- mommy, the shot really is a blessing of modern medicine. The negative blood type is becoming more rare, so much so that I have heard/ read that it should disappear within 2 generations.

I don't have any advice since I haven't had a positive antibody test, but I am in the same camp as you and feel that the Rhogam is worth it, at least for me. DD1 was RH+ and I had to get a second round of Rhogam while still in the hospital, but DD2 was RH- and I did not. Hopefully you can talk to your doctor and get some answers about the future.

[Hillargh]

I'm - and so was ex, so DS was as well.

This pregnancy, I don't know what most recent ex was, but I opted to get the shot after birth. The way it was explained to me, is that it helps for future pregnancies and afterward in case of blood mixing.

I did have a bleed early on in this pregnancy, and had antibodies show up in a blood draw. They kept a check on it and the next draw they were gone. I'm not sure if it was a false positive or if they just poofed. But I also got my 2nd draw a month later, not 6 months. I don't know if that helps any :/ Sorry!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using DS Forum

[rohirette]

I'm Rh-, married to a homozygous Rh+ man, have carried 3 + babies and even though I've had Rhogam and Rhophylac, my last baby had a positive Coombs test at birth.

Originally Posted by momomom The negative blood type is becoming more rare, so much so that I have heard/ read that it should disappear within 2 generations.

I'm not sure where you got this information, but Rhesus factor negative blood types make up about 10 -14% of the US, and more in more homogenously Caucasian nations. It will take much longer thaan 2 generation to breed that out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type

The Blood Types table includes too many references to post, so I took a shortcut and just posted the Wiki link.

As for pregnancy post-sensitization, medicine does have more tools than in the days when women might lose half a dozen babies to hemolytic disease of the newborn, fetal hydrops and other nasty stuff.

http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/rh-s...xams-and-tests

In a sensitized pregnancy, docs will continue with blood testing to determine if antibody levels are increasing. Amniocentesis & specialized ultrasound available in tertiary care centers can monitor anemia caused by destruction of the fetal RBCs. In bad cases there are of course intrauterine blood transfusions and post delivery transfusions.

I don't seem to turn up much accessible-to-laypeople information on how many sensitized pregnancies are uncomplicated (treatable newborn jaundice) vs complicated (transfusions or worse.)

Best of luck. I'll be facing the same questions soon.