Anti D injection - will it harm the baby?

[Workalldayworkallnight]

Hello, I’m back again with another thread about anti D injections.
My dog jumped up on me earlier and it was painful and it hurt for about 5-10 mins after, so I rang my midwife just to ask her advice on it and she rang the antenatal clinic to ask them and they said to come in for an injection just incase, I explained that my partner also has a negative blood type and all that, they just said to still come in though, so I’m going in an hour or so to get the injection but my question is that if it’s not needed as I don’t know if it was a big enough blow and I have negative blood and my partner has negative blood so baby must have negative blood too, would it harm the baby if it’s not needed would it leave the baby with any side affects? Sorry just wondering if anyone has been in this situation? Like they had the injection but baby came back to have negative blood and was totally fine?
Sorry just have a little worry to myself here.

The injection will do no harm to baby.

It is impossible for baby to have a positive blood group if both parents are negative as neither of you can be carrying the gene for Rh+. They offer you it just incase the dad is not the dad, nice I know lol. You can decline it if you like.

We are both Rh- and all our kids are a mix of mine and dh's blood groups, I still have the anti-D at 28 weeks.

No. And the injection is to protect you and not baby

@Chelyanne that’s good to know! I didn’t think to ask the midwife cause I was in a bit of a worry about it all so I came straight to mumsnet haha, ahh so your babies are negative too and you still have the injection? I don’t know wether to ring my midwife back and ask her to cancel the appointment I don’t know!

They often give the injection out without knowing what blood group the father is, so if it did any harm to two parents with negative blood groups then they wouldn't operate that way. I'm A- but my partner doesn't know his and I had the injection last week.

You may as well go in, they may check you over at the same time so worth going.

Yes they are but I do still have it, it doesn't take long and they usually do it when I have bloods and other checks anyway. They test babys blood after birth to check if you need an extra dose, nice to find out their blood groups so early. It's how we knew our twins were fraternal, one has the same blood group as me and the other same as their dad.

As PP says if both parents are definitely rhesus negative the baby cannot be positive. So you probably don’t need it but as a midwife I would want to be very clear how sure dad is about his blood group (eg is he a blood donor). In the past some tests could miss that someone was weakly positive. We also have to be aware that not all partners are the baby’s biological parent.
Anti-D is a blood product, made up from donations from several people. This means that theoretically there could be an infection risk from the injection. It is also quite painful. It is available in limited amounts as we rely on donations of blood in the UK.
All of these points are why it has been advised by NICE that all hospitals should consider introducing the test (RHD test) which is now available to check if baby is positive or negative before birth. It is an ordinary blood test taken from your arm If the baby is negative you do not need anti-D
Probably worth asking your midwife about

Thanks everyone!
@Sussexmidwife my partner is a blood donor and he has had a card to confirm his blood type, that’s why I rang the midwife, I rang her mostly to ask if the baby was okay from the dog jumping up on me and that it did hurt but it did stop after 5 mins, I have said as well that my partner is a negative blood type too!
Yeah I’ve asked my midwife about that blood test but they don’t offer it anywhere in Wales! But that would be so handy to know what baby’s blood type is, but I’m B- and my partner is A- according to his card, so I’m still going to go up but explain all this too as well to the team up in the hospital as I’m hoping not to have one if I don’t need it, I’m more concerned if the baby is okay from the dog jumping on my stomach.

My partner is definitely baby’s biological dad too 😂

Literally thousands of pregnant women get anti-d injections every year. It’s fine.

I’m negative and I had the standard precautionary anti - d at 28 weeks, baby was born negative. Pregnant again and they said I will get the injection again at 28 weeks again , hubby has no idea what blood group he is. Baby was totally fine.

Definitely safe. My husband and I are both Rhesus negative (found out after our first son was born), both of our sons are too. I had Anti D with both as I understand the need to be cautious incase of errors in blood typing or recollections around groups!

Does everyone have anti D at 28 weeks or just certain blood types?

I still don't understand how it works

I don't think it would be problematic for your baby though OP as many people have this during pregnancy

@ElderMillennial only women with RhD negative blood need to have it.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/rhesus-disease/

Thank you everyone, I went in and explained my situation the DR wanted to give it to me just incase I said it only hurt for a minute and it hasn’t hurt since, that my partner is negative and when she felt my bump and pressed a Doppler to my stomach to hear the heart that felt like more pressure than when my dog jumped on me! She wants me to go back tomorrow to have the injection but she said the impact doesn’t sound bad enough at all but just to be on the safe side, she said I can decline tomorrow to think about it tonight but I’m not sure what to do? Do I have it? As she even said it doesn’t sound like it was enough of an impact or that would cause damage, the baby’s heartbeat sounded perfectly fine and I feel fine within myself but she was then telling me about the risks of not having it and I got worried that way too! So I really don’t know what to do because the DR was a bit contradicting when it came to the injection, she’s taken my bloods anyway and said to come back. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I decline tomorrow or go into have it?

Thanks @Chelyanne

Is that different from rhesus negative?

Will need to check maternity notes to see what my blood type is but I think it was rhesus negative and I don't think I had anti d in first pregnancy

(OP sorry for jumping on your post)

@ElderMillennial RhD is the negative or positive noted on your blood group. If you are Rh- you should be offered an anti-D around 28wk, if not chase it up with the midwife.

There are other rhesus factors, there is also an extremely rare blood type which lacks all the Rh factors called RhNull.

Thanks again @Chelyanne

@Eldermilennial how long ago was you first pregnancy? We didn’t always give it prophylactically at 28 weeks, just if there was any trauma, bleeding or if baby tested positive at birth. When the 28 week dose was brought in, not every unit did it for a while.

They offer you it just incase the dad is not the dad, nice I know lol. You can decline it if you like.

And because you ,ight have a child with someone who is Rh+ in the future.

Do you understand how it works? If mum is Rh-ve and the baby is Rh+ then around the birth the mother's immune system recognises the RH+ blood as 'foreign' so attacks it, and creates a supply of 'weapons'. These 'weapons' are stored and if a second baby is Rh+ the weapons are ready to go so the attack on the baby is more severe.

It's this supply the injection stops, by injecting enough 'weapons' so the body thinks it doesn't need the weapons so doesn't make them.

If both mum and baby are Rh- then the injection just injects weapons and they are not used. They will be filtered out by the body later.

Obviously this is not a scientific answer.

@1stevernamechange I had my first baby just over two years ago and now I am 25 weeks pregnant with DC2

When I get up I am going to check my notes again to see which blood group I am

It's a blanket policy for all Rh- mums to have anti-D in cases like yours. Doesn't matter what dads group is. Every mum has it. It was brought it years ago because so many Rh- mums made Rh+ from first baby's, that went on to cause problems for future baby's.
Definitely doesn't hurt the baby, it's to protect you and your future baby's. Anti-D works by mopping up any Rh+ cells in your blood system from baby's blood, because you don't no it's Rh status yet.
Sounds like baby will be Rh- anyway. But it's easier to go along with it, I know that sounds terrible! You'll have to sign a lot of forms and have a lot of talks with your midwife to make sure you understand the risk to you if you don't have it.
(I work for the place that issues anti-D)

Could someone answer my question above that I posted last night? If I should get it today or not? Thanks

And the injection is to protect you and not baby

It's to protect the baby.

Many years ago, before Anti D, I was the rh+ baby of a rh- mother. She was induced a month early and I needed exchange transfusions at birth and spent time in SCBU.

You may as well have it to be on the safe side

The injection is largely to protect future pregnancies, as well as preventing this baby needing transfusions. In the case of potentially sensitising events (eg. knocks, bleeds, labour etc), if the blood mixes then your body creates antibodies against the baby's blood group. If you went on to have future pregnancies that are Rh+ then your body effectively attacks them, vastly increasing your risk of miscarriage.