Rhesus negative - advice please

[mrsm22]

Hi All,

I have just one DS and it wasn't until my pregnancy with him that I found out my blood type, which is Rhesus negative. I was told by my midwife that if I had any kind of experience where I had a bleed that I should go to the hospital immediately for an anti D injection. Well I did have two bleeds during my pregnancy and did go and have anti D on two occassions and then at around 28 weeks ish I had anti D as standard at the hospital. I think I will have also had anti D after the birth but cannot actually remember (which concerns me a little) as I had a traumatic birth experience but I hopefully did get given anti D. My concerns are that I am wanting to try shortly for a second baby and I am worried that being rhesus negative might be a problem. I remember being told when I was pregnant with my DS that the reason they give anti D during your first pregnancy is because it affects your next baby or pregnancies after, and I am just unclear why this is. When I may be am pregnant for a second time, will I have blood tests again throughout the pregnancy to check for antibodies and if so will I be told? Am I more likely to miscarry if I am rhesus negative? And could it cause any problems that I had to have anti D a few times in my first pregnancy? I would be very grateful for any advice from people who are the same blood group as me and/or any midwives as I feel that my blood type could be an issue and i want another healthy pregnancy more than anything. Thanks

I've had three and am Rh negative. They only do the standard antibody checks that everyone has, then if you have any you get more.

I got M antibodies with my second and had extra blood tests to check if the levels were rising as well as an extra scan to check growth etc. All was fine, and the antibodies has disappeared by the next pregnancy... Oddly enough.

As far as postnatal injections go, they test baby's blood from the cord when they are born and if they are Rh positive you have the Anti D injection within 72 hours. You probably didn't need it, I know I didn't. I don't think they would give it straight away.

Hi mrsm22

I am also Rhesus Negative. I've had shed loads of Anti-D injections over the past 3-4 years.
I have had one DS and 2 PG's terminated due to abnormalities which meant the baby wouldn't survive beyond birth (if it got that far).
I had Anti-D after each termination and I had Anti-D at 28weeks however I didn't need Anti-D after I gave birth as it turned out my DS is also negative (if your child is positive you will need anti-d after the birth).

I understand it as this - if you are missing the Rhesus Antibody on your red blood cells you need Anti-D because should you have a bleed or the baby be found to be Rhesus+ after birth there's always a risk of babies blood getting into your system. Your immune system may identify this as a foreign body and attack it - the Anti-D helps to prevent this.

I am on my 4th pregnancy and pleased to say all is well with this one. I will be getting Anti-D at 28 weeks too. But after 4 pregnancies there have been no problems in this department and I wouldn;t expect you should experiencve any either should you have the anti-d injection as advised by your dr's/midwife.

I hope that helps and I'm sure someone will be along to either back me up or put me right.

Good Luck :)

Sorry X posted with Hawkmoth

You might not have to worry at all- Check if your dh/dp is rhesus positive or negative. The potential problems only arise when the mother is negative and the father positive. I'm negative but have had 3 children and 3 mc without having anti-d as dh is rhesus negative. Most of my med have been rhesus negative as well and they all made their husbands get tested so they only took the anti d if they needed it .

Mws not med. Stoopid phone.

I am also rh-negative, discovered at my 8 weeks bloods. I have the anti-d injection on Friday for the first time! A bit nervous as very needle phobic!!

Hopefully though it will prevent any future problems - so I guess I'll just have to cope!

Thanks all for your helpful advice. My DH is positive and I am rhesus negative and when my baby was born he was checked and he is same as his daddy. I think I probably was given anti d after the birth but it is such a blur now. It does scare me for future as me and DH want to start trying for second baby in the next few months. Is it an issue or am I ok as long as I get anti d in the event of a bleed?

Stormbird - I am very sorry to hear about your two terminations. Can I ask if these were anything to do with the rhesus negative blood group?

Stormbird - Congratulations on your 4th pregnancy and all the very best of luck x

I had 2 rh+ babies and then I think ds3 was rh-. I had no problems at all. As long as you follow medical advice then I don't think you would either.

If you're worried about whether you had the injection afterwards why don't you ask for your notes? It's a pretty straightforward request to get them afaik, there may be a small charge.

Btw my grandmother (also rh-) had 4 babies before anti-d was invented and she/they were fine - I think they used to do blood transfusions to sort things out.

I'm rhesus negative too, and and heavy bleeds in both my pregnancies so had a lot of anti-D injections. Both ds's are rhesus positive.

When I had injections after each birth, I was given them late at night as I remained in the hospital due to C-sections. There was found to be blood transferred from each ds after each birth, but the hospital worked out the dose they needed based on the amount of blood that was found to be transferred and I was given the appropriate dose.

If you are concerned, might it be worth a chat with your GP if nothing else, to put your mind at rest?

In a second Rh negative pregnancy where baby 1 was positive, you will be under a consultant anyway (at least I was as standard 5 years ago).

Hi there, as the previous posters have said you should be fine. I work in Haematology and there are a number of reagents/tested used to detect RhD and variants of it. As the previous posters said, as you are RhD- there are no RhD antigens on the surface of your red blood cells, however your baby being RhD+ would have these antigens.
If your blood comes in to contact with your babies blood (i.e., the babies blood crosses the plancenta (which is rare), your body will react to it as a foreign object and attack it by producing antibodies. Unfortunately your blood so to speak has a memory, and knows what antibodies to produce if this is detected again, and can attack more feircely, crossing the plancenta to the baby.
The anti-D injection prevents you from producing the antibodies to fight against the RhD+. The Anti-D works by destroying any blood from the baby present in the your circulation before your body can make the antibodies, thus making it safe.
Just make your midwife etc aware at the start and everything will be fine x

Even if you did have antibodies, they don't always increase, and they don't always affect the baby. And if they do, there are treatments and procedures established. I was terribly worried when I got them and read up on all the literature and worst case scenarios, as you do. There's a huge spectrum of severity.

I had lots of extra injections due to falls and violent toddlers, not the nicest jab.

I'm also rhesus negative and have had loads of injections over the past 6 years due to miscarriages and two healthy births.

I'd assume that due to having the injections after every bleed your body will not have been sensitised to positive bloods so it is pretty much safe for you to have another baby.

Being rhesus negative doesn't increase your chances of birth defects or miscarriages. It's just a blood type and nothing more. I really wouldn't worry yourself about that.

Thank you ever so much. I intend to start trying for my second baby in a couple of months so will be coming off the pill and starting to take folic acid. I can't remember what i took before, I think it may have been Pregnancare folic acid and multi vitamins. Does this sound correct? And is it ok to start trying before speaking to my doctor? How can you request your hospital notes?

I'm Rh -ve and have had 3 DCs.
I had to have more frequent blood tests during the last one as I had been sensitised and had Anti-D antibodies.It never caused a problem though,I just had to have slightly more frequent blood tests to check the levels weren't rising.I still had all the anti-D injections as usual.
In terms of what to take if TTC,pregnacare is fine.It's the comic acid that is key but that has everything in.Recommendations are to start taking it 3 months before TTC so start now.
Your GP will have a hospital discharge letter with all the info in so ask them.
Good luck & don't worry.

Obviously I meant FOLIC acid (bloody autocorrect)!

Thanks Babouche and great to hear that you have had 3 healthy children.

CornishFirstTimer- just wanted to say good luck for your anti D injection tomorrow! I too am not a fan of needles but found after my first pregnancy that I had no choice but to get over it. You'll be fine tomorrow, just tell the midwife that you'd prefer not to see and just look the other way as I did and you'll be fine. Let us know how u get in tomorrow x

is your ds rh negative?do you know your dhs blood type?

Mrsm22 - hi and thank you. No my dear the terminations were not.in anyway related to my blood group. They were to do with chromosomal defects. Sorry if I worried you x

I am rhesus negative and have 3 rhesus positive children.

Was fine with first and second. Anti-d antenatally and after delivery. Had anti-d during pregnancy with ds2 (3rd). Also after he was delivered. But somehow there was a transfer between us, and he developed haemolytic anaemia. Was picked up by haemotology at hospital who referred to gynae and paediatrics, both departments contacting me independently - apparently I had excessively high levels of anti-d in my bloodstream. The gynae referral was just to discuss options should I get pregnant again (undertones of how it would be a much more interesting pregnancy than previous ones I've had - interesting medically), The paediatricians called me at home when he was 3 weeks old to ask after him. He was getting a bit sleepy and was very pale but his older sister was very fair and I was enjoying more sleep - bit gutted I hadn't realised.

He had very low iron levels - think was about 6.1.

All fine in end though - he had a small transfusion at 4 weeks old, crossmatched with his and my blood. I now have a card to carry as have anti-C and anti-D antibodies apparently. He also took folic acid for I think 3 months.

When I was 38 weeks pregnant I did sort of knock my bump on a door handle but thought nothing of it. No one is quite sure what happened, but it could also have been a transfer during labour (though had 1.5 hr labour).

Sorry you are worried, it is probably not necessary.

I had an excellent gyno-obstetrician who explained to me that it is not a big deal. I needed the anti- d injection once, after the birth of my first one, and then would be fine for all the next ones, if i remember correctly.

He also explained it is extremely unlikely for your blood and the baby's blood to mix.

Since the anti-d injection was invented, being rhesus negative is not a risk or danger.

I am sorry you have not been given a proper chat with a doctor to put your mind at ease.

Don't worry.

Your baby?s circulation is completely separate to yours so in a healthy pregnancy, the chance of the blood mixing is very, very slim.

May I thank you all so much for your reassuring advice. I am a worrier and am not even pregnant yet with my second but wanted to know if it was anything to really worry about in your second pregnancy as i do plan to start trying soon. Exciting stuff!

Ringaringarosy - my DH is positive and my DS has his daddy's blood type so just me who is rhesus. This doesn't mean the next baby will be the same though, does it? Can you have two babies with different blood types?

I must say as well that what must have happened years ago when our great grandma's were having babies, surely there must have been no anti D at one time and people must have been ok?

Parmarella - Thank you. And yes that is reassuring to know that my blood may not even mix with baby's blood.

I was careful to have anti d twice during ym first pregnancy as i had spotting on one occasion and panicked and a big scary bleed on my birthday (after having sex which must have brought it on) so think i will be giving that a miss with the next pregnancy.

Stormbird - I am very sorry and hope that your pregnancy is going well! How are you feeling and how many weeks are you?x

I am rh negative and husband is positive. I had an Anti D injection immediately after D1 birth, but don't remember having any during pregnancy, although it is over 25 years ago now. I didn't have any problems with D2 and assume that she is rh negative???

D1 is now pregnant and her tests have confirmed that she has the same blood group as my husband ie rh positive.