Rh Negative, First Pregnancy

I am rh neg too. it's no big deal in this day and age. even without the Rhogam your FIRST child will be fine regardless of their blood type. the deal with being Rh Neg is your blood is missing a protein found only in humans and the Rhesus monkey ( hence the Rh, Rh- Rhesus, get it , aren't those scientists clever, lol) that creates the positive blood type in humans. Approximately 80 % of the population is Rh Positive. 20 % of us are negative. It is genetic/geographical phenomenon with most Rh neg inidividuals being of decent from the following cultures : the british isles, the basque region of northern spain/southern french alps, and the blackfoot indians of north america. It is nearly non existant in African and North/South American native populations ( with the exception of the blackfoot tribe no one knows why )and extremely rare in Asian populations. There are many subtle traits that dominate Rh Neg individuals lower than average blood pressure, lower than average body temperature, predisposition to red hair and/or green eyes, more likelihood of havign an extra vertebrae or tailbone, we also have a slightly more efficient processing of carbon dioxide within or bodies- no one knows why, all kinds of little stuff. Along with this yes, there are fertility issues.
As for the fertility issues, it is important to know whether your husband/boyfriend/father to your children id negative or positive blood type. if you are negative and your husband is negative you have less to worry about because you are likely to have a negative blood type child. It is also likely you would have a harder time conceiving in the first place, there have been studies done that have led experts to believe that it is, for some reason, more challenging for two negative blood individuals to produce a viable preganancy but they do not know why. Your body will not attack a negative blood child. It will only attack a positive blood child. And it will not attack the first child It will attack any future children IF they have positive blood only. A mother with positive blood will never have this issue, they can have a negative or positive child but a negative mother essentially " rejects" a positive fetus as a forgein body.
This does NOT mean RhoGAM can or should be avoided! That would be a gamble. And if the father is positive blooded you have a 50/50 shot of your second pregnancy being attacked. The Rho GAM prevents that and will need to be administered for every pregnancy. It essentially masks the babies blood type from your immune system so that it does not create the antibodies against positive blood and protects future pregnancy. It must be done everytime for as long as you want children to protect the next pregnancy not the current one.
What your body believes is that the Rh positive protein in the blood of the baby is a foreign "intruder" and it builds up immunities against it during the first pregnancy ( if the baby is positive) then " recognizes" the foreign "intruder" during the second pregnancy ( if the baby is positive) and attacks it. Much the same way you react to a cold or the flu, you get sick the first time but the second time the same illness attacks your body recognizes it and you don't get sick, except that your not sick and you want to keep your pregnancy. Make sense? I kind of ramble when their is a lot to explain :) It can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or ( i can't remember the name) a phenomenon where your antibodies pass into the babies bloodstream during the birth process and your antibodies continue to attack the babies blood after it is born usually resulting in a blood disease I cannot rememebr the name for that is usually fatal within very few days after birth.

Not trying to scare you! Those things don't happen much anymore ( I don't say never because there are still parts of the world where women do not have access to prenatal care) because it is so very treatable now. But it was common enough in the past.
Rho GAM does not affect you or your baby at all. It just sucks because it is big a#$ shot right in the butt cheek and your back side will be bruised for a few days, but that is all. Then you get again just before the baby is born. You will pick up the prescription ( two doses) and it has to stay refridgerated and bring both doses with you to your appointment the doctor will administer the first dose and should ( mine did) hold onto the second dose for you to be given at the hospital.

The risks are minimal if any- I don't recall reading about any side effects ever and experienced none for myself. The neccesity FAR outweighs any minor risk or side effect if you plan on having anymore children at all. Hope I helped. :) I am a huge nerd and know all about this stuff because I did lots of research on it. I always had a thing for studying genetics anyway and I found it fascinating, don't have the sites bookmarked but if you like feel free to message me and I can go back and search up the links for you because I found some really informative websites- also some pretty out there ones so be careful what you read if you do google it:)

4 moms found this helpful

I am O negative and my husband and kids are O positive. I had the Rhogam shot with both pregnancies (around 28 weeks and just after delivery since both kids are positive). I didn't feel any noticeable effects other than the actual injection. I had 2 healthy full term babies. It is well worth having the shot since it is a simple solution to a possibly serious problem later.

Here is how it works. If you are negative and the baby is positive then if you come in contact with the baby's blood during pregnancy or delivery you may form antibodies to the baby's blood cells. Rh positive cells have a bit sticking out that negative ones don't so your body's immune system sees them as different (in the opposite situation people who are positive don't recognize the missing bit). Usually there are no antibodies present in the the mother during the first pregnancy but they may develop and cause problems in later pregnancies (the mother's antibodies attacking the fetus's blood cells). Rhogam prevents the antibodies from developing in the first place (it is essentially fake antibodies that fool your body into not making any real ones).

3 moms found this helpful

I'm Rh negative as well I had to have the RhoGam shot for both my pregnancies. One at 28wks then another after I had each of the girls because neither of them are Rh negative. My girls are extremely healthy and I believe that shot is necessary. When I received the first shot they gave me a pamphlet explaining exactly why I had to receive the shot. Really nothing to worry about and it wont affect you or your baby at all. Good Luck!

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Doesn't affect you or your baby. I'm Rh Neg and had shot at 28 weeks, and then after giving birth to my first. Had it again at 28 weeks with my second, and I'm pretty sure they'll give it to me before I leave the hospital again after my delivery. Since it's your first pregnancy, it wont affect this baby, but could easily affect your chances of maintaining future pregnancies if you didn't get the shot. My husbands grandma had a bunch of miscarriages too, but that was a long long time ago before they really knew the science behind it, etc. Your doc will be able to answer all your questions, but it's really quite routine. Good Luck!

2 moms found this helpful

Yes, it is necessary. It will not affect your baby and it only pinches a little bit! Your doctor should fill you in on any further questions you may have. Everything will be fine!

2 moms found this helpful

I had the shot with both of mine, and aside from the fact that it smarts when they give it, it was no big deal. Try not to worry. I think it is pretty common and your doctor is just looking out for you and your baby.

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I'm Rh- and I've had 6 babies, 5 of them are Rh+. I had the shot within 72 hours after delivery of my first 4 in 1972, '77, '79, & '81, did not need it after my 5th as she was also negative and did not have it after my last, because he was my last, (tubes tied). The shot is to prevent problems for the next baby if that child should be positive. Problems could occur if you didn't have the RhoGAM and your next baby's blood is positive. Not a good thing because you're blood is negative. This shot has been around more than 45 years, as my mother had it before she had my youngest brother, born in 1964. I don't think it's anything you should stress about.

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I'm O-, so I too had to have the RhoGam shot with all three of my pregnancies and I nor any of my babies were affected by it. They are given in your backside and they hurt more than a regular shot but just for a second. I would get it to be on the safe side if I were you. Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

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I am also Rh negative and had the RhoGam shot with both of my pregnancies (also had one after the delivery of my first child). There were no complictions and I (nor my babies) had any ill effects from it. As another poster mentioned, this is very common and not much to worry about, but it's always good to ask questions and do your research.

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I am also A- and had to have the RhoGAM shot during both of my pregnancies. I spotted for 3.5 weeks during the 1st trimester of my 2nd pregnancy, so I had the shot then, at 28 weeks with both pregnancies, and after delivery with both pregnancies b/c my babies are both Rh positive! I didn't experience any side effects, my 3 yr. old is as smart as can be, and my baby is only 4 months, but also seems to be very smart and healthy. It is true that there's more of a risk in subsequent pregnancies, but I believe they give it to you at 28 weeks during the 1st pregnancy just in case your blood mixes in utero for some reason or to protect you in advance if your blood mixes during delivery. I was very worried when I had to have the shot during the 1st trimester, but everything seems to be fine! Congratulations on your pregnancy!

1 mom found this helpful

First of all, congratulations on your first pregnancy! Please don't be worried about being Rh-. I am Rh- (O-) and have four children. I have always gotten the RhoGAM shot. I got one at 28 weeks with the first pregnancy, and then after each birth. There was no effect on the pregnancies or babies. Relax :)

H.

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Here's to hoping your hubby is Rh negative as well and then you don't have to deal with all of this :)

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First of all, congratulations on your first baby!
If your husband is also rH negative then there is no need to get the rhogam. If you and hubby are both negative then the baby will also be negative and there is no issue. If hubby is rH positive then you should get the shot. I am negative and we were pretty sure my husband was as well but did not have the paperwork to document it so during my first pregnancy I got the rhogam and when I miscarried I got another shot of rhogam. When I was pregnant with my second daughter, at the advice of my OB, my husband got typed and we gave the OB the paperwork so I did not have to get the shot. There is no harm in getting the shot (even if you are both negative and it is unnecessary) but it is just annyoying to be poked.
Good luck!

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I'm Rh Neg and my ob office forgot to give me the RhoGAM shot during my first pregnancy. My first born was Rh Pos, so I got the shot within 72 hours of birth and all was fine. I had the shot at 28 weeks with my 2nd pregnancy and all was fine again. As everyone has said, if you know about it now I would get the shot. It's kind of a long process because they have to draw your blood to measure how much antibody to give. You wait around while they do that and then you get the shot, so it's not a 5 minute appt, but still well worth it. No ill effects from it here for me or the kids. Good luck!

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I've had the shot with both of my pregnancies. I'm really not sure why you would consider not getting it if you husband turns out to be Rh positive.

I am-you'll be fine-I have five children-this is a time when science works as it should. You have to get the shots-have him explain it to you.

I've had 6 pregnancies and I'm Rh negative. I've had the RhoGAM shot each time and have had no problems. I wouldn't skip the shot unless your husband is Rh neg too. The shot really is no big deal.