Rhesus negative

[Jenny149]

Hi, I’m rhesus negative and my husband is rhesus positive. So far due to emergencies I had to have two anti D injections already throughout this pregnancy. And my 28 weeks Anti D injection is approaching soon which would mean a third shot.
I’ve done blood tests which suggests that the baby will be rhesus negative meaning that in theory I don’t need another anti D shot BUT Im conscious those blood tests aren’t always accurate.
Would you trust the test and miss the 3rd shot? Has anyone else had 3 anti D shots in one pregnancy?

If you want more kids in the future have the shot.

@Whatabouthow if the baby is also RH neg the injection isn't needed.

If the baby is rhesus negative then she doesn't need another anti-d. @Jenny149 where did you have the blood test for the baby's blood type?

No it's not. But from the phrase "suggests" the baby is -ve then I'd have the shot.

The blood test was done through NHS. These tests suggest they are 99% accurate but as always they have a disclaimer that it could be innacurate.
That’s what worries me that little percentage of what if… I have also had two shots already and ideally don’t want another one if the baby is predicted to be negative as it can also cause me having too much anti D in my body which means if I was to need a blood transfusion I would have to have special blood and carry a card with me all the time..
Just wonder if anyone else has been in a similar position and what would you do in this situation.

I’m rhesus negative and didn’t need an anti-d injection in my pregnancy because blood tests showed baby was also rhesus negative. Is this the NHS op? Because injections weren’t mentioned at all after the baby’s blood results.

ETA I see you’ve said that it was an NHS test. Apart from testing again at birth, my rhesus status wasn’t mentioned at all after I got the baby blood test so I always assumed it was accurate.

the three shots in one pregnancy won't do you or baby any harm.

Also rh- and had the blood typing and both my girls were negative too (I don't know what my husbands blood type is) and they said it's 99% accurate. they also test the baby at birth and if the baby is positive then the Anti-d is still about 80% effective. Especially in my second pregnancy when i knew i didn't want another i decided not to get the shot. But it's a personal choice about the level of risk i you want to take

I think, at the end of the day, it's going to be up to you. Im RH negative aswell and personally wouldn't have another injection if the test is saying baby is also negative. Those tests are very high accuracy. Good luck OP.

Thank you all for your responses. I’m genuinely quite an anxious person and not a risk taker, especially when it comes to health matters - hence Im struggling to make the decision.
The logistics suggests I dont need another anti D as Ive already had two at 20 and 25 weeks, and the results are predicting the baby’s group to be negative.
It’s my first pregnancy, and I also worry about the future pregnancies and what iffs.I have had a chat with a consultant about it but again they wouldn’t advise what to do, just give the information.
Really struggling with making the decision.. hopefully your inputs/past experience, etc will help me to come to some sort of conclusion.

I thought if you were group O rhesus negative, it’s suggested you carry a card anyway since you’d need the same blood should you require a blood transfusion.

The way I would see it- especially as you are risk averse- is there is a slim, outside risk the blood test is wrong so injection almost certainly not required, but then there are no risks in having the 3rd injection. I think I’d just get it done, not because I think there is any significant risk about not having it done, but it would put your at rest about the current and future pregnancies.

How/ when do you find out baby blood type when still pregnant? Is this a test the NHS does as standard for rhesus negative mothers? At what week?

In my hospital if you do the fetal rhesus screen then you're not routinely even offered anti d. If the woman after reading through all the paperwork and having a discussion with the obstetric team goes on to request anti d then they will issue it. But it's very uncommon. So the hospital wouldn't follow this policy unless they could trust the test. I personally wouldn't have taken the test if I wasn't going to believe the results as now it's skewed your decision making. Before the test was in use, RH negative women had to have anti d for every bleed, sometimes repeatedly. Women with placenta praevias etc who have ongoing bleeds go onto a regime of having anti d every 6 weeks in pregnancy to cover all the bleeds so definitely possible to have repeated doses/more than 3.

@XioXio I don’t recall exactly, but I feel like in my trust they did the blood check around the 20-week mark? Maybe a couple of weeks earlier, at most. I had my first anti-D injection around 27/28 weeks, and there was a bit of a gap between finding out I needed it, and it being administered. I didn’t know my blood type beforehand, so it was all news to me. I think if you’re Rh+ then you won’t hear anything at all; even though I needed anti-D, they didn’t tell me the baby’s blood type, just that s/he was Rh+ so I needed the injections.

Another who is surprised you’ve been given anti-d shots if the fetal blood test suggested your baby is also negative. I’m rhesus negative and both DD and current pregnancy also tested as negative so I was told I wouldn’t need the anti-d shots.

I had to have anti-D five times in my pregnancy I think, because of repeated bleeding. I haven't heard anything about having to carry a card - is there info about this somewhere?

My baby was rhesus positive but my understanding was that if the blood test had indicated she was negative, I wouldn't have had to have any anti-D.