Just need a straight answer

[Antheia]

I have been trying to find this everywhere but i am always getting conflicting answers. So if someone can tell me the true answer to this i'd really appreciate it.

I have Rhusus Negative blood and so does my DH. Do i have to have the Anti-D injection during pregnancies and after m/c?

I didn't have it when preg with #1 as i was told i didn't need it. But i did have it with #2 and also after my 3rd m/c as i was told there was still a chance of baby having positive, even though we are both negative.

[Rouge]

I thought the injection was only given at the end of pregnancy to prevent problems during and after birth? I had no idea it was needed during pregnancy.

[melham74]

I too am rhusus neg and I never had it with my first but the other 3 have had it during and after all pregnancies

[tears_of_joy]

Hmmm im not sure if you would need it as you are both Rh negative.

I am Rh negative but my partner isn't so i had to have them.

You are given anti d during pregnancy anytime you have a bleed just incase your blood mixes with bubs and bub is positive.

You also have them twice sometime during the third trimester leading up to the birth. At 28 and 34 weeks.

And you are given one after birth if the bub is positve blood type. If so they will test your blood after wards to see if you have been givin enough Anti d or require another injection.

After miscarriage you need one to so that it prepares your blood cells for your next pregnancy.

I just found this:

There are times in all pregnancies where blood from the mother and the baby may mix, such as when a bleed from the placenta occurs after 12 weeks. If both mother and baby have the same rhesus status, ie. they are both RhD-positive or both RhD-negative, this causes no problem. However if an RhD-negative mother is carrying a RhD-positive baby (inherited from a RhD-positive dad), your immune system may react to the baby's blood as if it were a "foreign invader" and produce antibodies against it. Once these antibodies are made, they cannot be removed, and in subsequent RhD-positive pregnancies they may attack and destroy the baby's red blood cells, causing anaemia, jaundice, liver or heart failure. Blood transfusions to the baby before or after birth are needed in severe cases. These problems can be prevented by giving RhD-negative mothers an injection of anti-D immunoglobulin after any bleeding, and again after the birth of RhD-positive babies. This is known as anti-D prophylaxis. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is now recommending routine anti-D at 28 and 34 weeks to all RhD-negative mothers to prevent antibodies being produced following small silent bleeds which happens in about 1 and 1.5% of all pregnancies.

Anti-D is manufactured from the plasma of human blood, and as with all blood products, there is a tiny possibility of viruses being transmitted from donor to woman. This happened in Ireland in the 1970s, when a small number of women are thought to have contracted hepatitis C through anti-D. This is extremely unlikely to happen today to women in the UK. The manufacture of anti-D is strictly controlled, and all donors are screened for hepatitis B and C, and HIV, and blood is only imported from countries - mostly the USA - free of variant CJD. The chance of contracting a virus through anti-D has been estimated to be 1 in 10,000 billion doses.

Occasionally anti-D can cause a local reaction at the site of the injection or an allergic reaction in the mother, but these are rare. For this reason it is advisable to stay in the health centre or doctor's surgery for 20 minutes after having the injection.

Anti-D cannot harm your baby and the injection at 28 and 34 weeks is highly recommended. If, however, you decide against this, you will still need one if you have any bleeding in the later weeks of the pregnancy and again after delivery if the baby is found to be RhD-positive and you would like more children. If you are certain you will not be having any more children - maybe you are opting to be sterilised after this baby - or if you are in a stable relationship with the father of the child and it is certain he is also RhD-negative, then anti-D is not necessary. Your partner will not be tested routinely to find out his blood group, but he might already know this if, for example, he is a blood donor.

Hope i was of some help.

[Cherene]

Antheia, I am o neg and I have had to have the anti D injections. You generally don't need it with you 1st preg (unless you get bleeding) but every preg or m/c after you do. It protects the baby your carrying or your next.

[BellyBelly]

HERE is the BellyBelly article.

There is a reason not to jab willy nilly just because.... it's a blood product and that carries risks in itself. If you read my article you will see a different side to the precautionary jabs.

I have the understanding that if you are both negative you dont need it anyway. Could be wrong will check it out.

My Ob never gave me routine anti-d during pregnancy and being a fertility specialist i trusted his judgement, now I have done my reasearch after kids I am glad.

[sangie]

If both yourself and partner are negative then you don't need it.
This is also the case for myself and DH and my OB said it wasn't necessary.

[Alan]

Hi Antheia
If you and your DH are both Rh- then you don't need the injection. However most hospitals will try to persuade you to have the injection as they can not be 100% sure that your DH is the father. Further to this you only need the injection if you are Rh- and the father is Rh+ and there has been a mixing of the baby?s blood with yours.

[sangie]

Ooohh good point Alan - the hospital WILL try to persuade you to have it. I had to be quite firm with them in the end as did my DH. If you decide not to have it then make sure you are quite vocal about it to your DH/OB/midwife etc.

[Antheia]

That is the reason why i don't want it, cause it is a blood product.

I was pretty sure that i didn't need it. But after hearing conflicting views and having the hospital guilt me into having it by saying i will be risking my baby/future babies if i dont have it, it doesn't give you much hope.