Is it a problem being Rhesus Negative?

[Jane7]

I've got a letter from the hospital saying that I am, but it doesn't really explain whether this is going to a problem. It talks about injections further along my pregnancy and it all sounds a bit unpleasant. Has anyone got any experience?

Nope, not a problem! I'm on pregnancy 3 and I'm rhesus negative.

It's only a problem if the baby's rhesus positive and their blood mixes with yours and then it's only a potential problem in subsequent pregnancies, as your body may have developed antibodies that could harm the baby. Sorry, that's not very clear.

Basically you will be offered propylactic antiD injections during pregnancy, in case of any blood mixing. Most importantly you'll be offered them at the birth if your baby is Rh +ve.

Loads of threads on here about the pros and cons of antiD etc. Have a search.

Congrats on the pregnancy.

sorry that was a bit brief, have a meeting in 2 minutes and shouldn't be mumsnetting!!!

Hi Jane,

I'm rhesus negative, not normally a problem in first pregnancy but during birth a little of baby's blood can mix with yours and if baby is rhesus positive then your body can make antibodies against rhesus positive blood. In subsequent pregnancies with a Rh+ baby you would then have antibodies that can cross the placenta and cause anaemia in the baby, can be quite serious.

I had the anti-D injection after my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Not a particularly painful or eventful injection.

Sorry, crossed posts with Pidge so sounds a bit repetitive. Good luck.

Some more things to think about ... what blood type is your dp? If he's also rhesus negative you've nothing to worry about, as so will your babies be. So that may influence your decisions.

Also, some people are uneasy about the prophylactic anti-D offered routinely during pregnancy, saying that it they are not convinced it is necessary. You'd need to do some reading here to find out more, but as far as I can gather the risks of any blood mixing happening during pregnancy without you experiencing a bleed (at which point you should ask for anti-D anyway), are very very very low. Some would say, so low that this outweighs this risk/benefit of giving prophylactic anti-D to all pregnant women. It's a matter of debate. I'm sure a google, or a search of mumsnet threads would bring up more info.

Note, I'm not talking here about the anti-D given after birth. There's no doubt that if your baby is rh positive, the after birth anti-D can be vital to protect you in subsequent pregnancies.

Hi, I'm rhesus negative too & was given my first anti-D injection at 11 weeks when I had a slight bleed. I was told I'll get 2 more injections during pregnancy.. I'd never heard there were any problems/risks with the anti-D injection, so I would be interested to hear about these (will do a quick search here to see).

I am RH neg too some but not all health authorities offer injections at 28 and 34 weeks as well as what they call a possible sensitising event.

What they are trying to prevent is something called Rhesus disease

If you find out if your partner is RH negative you may be able to avoid having them

www.suffolkpct.nhs.uk/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=BlKjzFJyBzg%3D&tabid=969&mid=1803

Also depends on number of children planned.
When preg with DD I didn't have to have the jabs as DD was def my last baby.
( Although local health authority initially queried as , in spite of my being 40 and DH having the snip, we women can be flighty and i may not mean it )

pagwatch sounds like the similar fight women have to get sterilised LOL