Having worked as a Mothertobaby IT expert for almost 10 years, I have become very experienced in the various reports that people usually ask. Allergy medicines in spring, sunscreen and spray in summer, and cough and cold medicines throughout the winter. So when we connected to the live chat service at Mothertobaby.org on Tuesday morning, I was surprised to see a question that doesn’t appear very often. Natalie, pregnant with her first child, asked: “I am 24 weeks pregnant and my midwife tells me that I need a rhogam shot at my next appointment.
Basic blood types
The blood type is hereditary, which means it is transmitted by your parents. There are 8 common types of blood: A+, A-, B+, B-, O+, O-, AB+and AB-. If your type of blood is finished in a minus sign (such as A- or O-), you are negative rh. If it finishes in a plus sign (such as A+ or B+), you are positive RH. Most people in the United States are positive RH, but about 15 out of 100 people (15%) are negative. A blood test early during pregnancy will tell you your blood type.
What is rh incompatibility?
During pregnancy, if a woman who is negative RH is pregnant with a fetus that is positive RH, a condition called Rh incompatibility may occur. Rh incompatibility becomes an issue if any of the positive red blood cells from the fetus enters the negative blood circulation of the Mom’s RH. This is more likely to occur during a miscarriage, some prenatal tests (such as amniocentesis or CVS), fall, work and delivery or if the placenta is separated from the uterine wall. When this happens, the mom’s immune system can treat the fetal red blood cells as something that should not be in the body (such as an infection) and begin to make antibodies against them. In most cases, these antibodies will not negatively affect current pregnancy, but may affect future pregnancies.
When antibodies are attacking
As soon as mom’s body makes anti-rh antibodies, they remain on her system for life. If it becomes pregnant again with another positive RH fetus, the antibodies can cross the placenta and attack the fetal red blood cells. This can lead to a condition called hemolytic disease of the fetus and the newborn (HDFN). Without adequate red blood cells, the fetus cannot carry enough oxygen during development and complications such as jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes), hemolytic anemic (low red blood cell), Hydrops Fetalis (Baby accumulation)
Rhogam to rescue
Fortunately, there is a way to reduce the probability of HDFN: Rhogam shooting. It is typically given about 28 weeks of pregnancy (again within 72 hours of birth if the baby is confirmed to be a positive RH), Rhogam is an antibody that helps to stop the negative mom RH to make antibodies that could attack fetus red blood cells and cause HDFN. Before Rhogam was available, thousands of babies died of the situation every year. Today, the probability of HDFN is less than 0.1% when the shot is given, making Rhogam a remarkable intervention.
Protection of your future baby
After sharing this information with Natalie, I summarized our conversation with a quick review. Since she is negative RH, her midwife recommends a Rhogam that shot at 28 weeks to prevent the development of antibodies that could negatively affect a future pregnancy. There is no increased risk of miscarriage or genetic abnormalities, as the shot is later given during pregnancy and Natalie has gone through the “critical period” for the appearance of these results. Pregnancy complications, such as premature delivery and low birth weight, have not been reported in the available studies considering the use of Rhogam during pregnancy. Natalie felt reassured after receiving this information and decided to move on to Rhogam that shot at the next midwife’s appointment.
If you have questions about Rhogam Shooting or any other report during pregnancy, please reach Mothertobaby by phone, conversation, text or email to get information based on evidence that can help you make a documented decision.
Reports:
- Bowman J. Thirty -five years of precaution Rh. Transfusion. 2003, 43 (12): 1661-1666. DOI: 10.1111/J.0041-1132.2003.00632.x
