Antibodies in blood at 38+ weeks?

[Monkeysmum]

Hi, Just wondering if anyone has any experience of this, I have just been told that I have antibodies in my blood that mean that I have to have blood taken from myself and the cord after the birth of my 3rd child in a couple of weeks time, in case it goes on to develop jaundice. Does anyone know the likelihood of this happening and what the potential problems could be to the baby? (I am not due to see the midwife now until after my due date).

bump

I had antibodies and they took blood so many times only to be told by one of the doctors that it was not going to affect the baby but they needed to take blood from the code when Baby was born.

I don't think you should worry so much, everything turned out just fine for me in the end.

He did have jaundice 2 days after birth but it had nothing to do with the antibodies, it was a forcep delivery and that was the reason he developed jaundice.

But don't worry too much

Hiya, do you know which antibodies they are ????

It was discovered that I had type C antibodies when i was pregnant with Ds. I had them from the start of the pregnancy but they didn't cause a prob until the level started to rise at about 28 weeks. Once it got to level 4. something my antenatal care had to be trasferred to a larger hospital.
It continued to rise and so I had a blood test every week and a scan every fortnight. In the scans they check for something called hydrops, which i think is fluid under the skin. If this is there it means the antibodies have started to affect the baby.
Thankfully my scans were always clear and baby never developed hydrops.
It was eventually decided that I would have a section (was having a section anyway, nothing to do with antiboides), at 37 weeks.
My ds was born and about 2 hours later he started to become jaundiced due to the antibodie levels in his blood. He was put on a billy bed for phototherapy and had very regular blood tests to check the level of billirubin (sp?).
He had to stay on the billy bed for 7 days and narrowly escaped being transferred to scbu.
When we eventually came home he had weekly blood tests and thankfully his jaundice started to fade after about 3 weeks. Unfortunatly he then became anemiac which is another problem caused by the anti bodies. He again had to have regular blood tests and this time narrowly escaped a blood transfusion.
Eventually about 2.5 mths after his birth he was given the all clear and he has been a happy and healthy boy ever since.

TBH I think that as the antibodies have only just been discovered the level must be quite low. Did they tell you the level ??? I wouldn't expect your baby to have any probs in the womb at all and if he does develop jaundice afterwards then he will be given phototherapy if needed, but this is painless.
Untreated jaundice can cause brain damage but as they already know your baby may become jaundice this will not happen as they will treat him for it.

Hope some of that was clear, i tend to waffle when i get going.

If you think of anytihng else then please ask ??

Really glad your boys are both well now Norash40 and nutcracker.
I don't know what antibodies they are, she didn't go into detail, and unfortunately at the time I didn't think to ask the question, as I am now quite worried. Part of the reason I feel worried is that the last blood test I had was 10 weeks ago and these results are from then, couldn't the problem have potentially become worse since then? I don't know what the levels of antibody were at that stage either. I am probably just being a bit of a worrier but I can't help it, wish i'd thought to ask these things while I was there!

Does it say anything anywhere on your notes about the antibodies MM ???

i had funny antibodies show up in my booking bloods, monkeysmum. got a terrifying letter through the post which made me think i had hiv or something. i'm now 33 weeks & no one's mentioned them since. s'pose i should chase it up really. i did ask a registrar & he said it was something to do with clotting & nothing to worry about. i've had lots of scans anyway as i have diabetes & everything is normal. must remember to ask at my antenatal appointment tomorrow.

can you ring your midwife & have a chat to her?

Nutcracker all it says on my notes are that ABO antibodies were positive but that is from my booking bloods I think, nothing else mentioned since then.
Hoxton chick good idea I think I might ring the GP tomorrow and see if she can put my mind at rest, i'm only going to worry about what is probably going to turn out to be nothing otherwise!

I think if there was a prob you would have known by now.
At first my antibodies were of no clinical importance or something so then the blood test was done again every 4 weeks just to check it. In my case the level rose.
I remember being called by the docs to collect a card that I have to produce now on any hospital visits telling them I have type C antibodies.

As you will have had scans since then I seriously doubt that there is a prob at all, but certaiunly ring your g.p or midwife to put your mind at rest.