anti c?? (*not* anti-D)

Hi there

A friend of mine is 13 weeks pg and has been told today that she has low levels of anti-C.

She also has been given anti-D stuff, as she's a negative blood group - she had it last pg too, and everything was fine.

But she hasn't been given much information about this anti-C thing, other than that she has anti c antibodies in her blood and unlike anti-D there is no anti-C shot available to prevent it attacking the baby, and that she has very low levels of it at the moment which have to be monitored, and if they get too high she'll have to stay in hospital for the rest of her pregnancy ...

Naturally, she's freaking out a bit, and hasn't had any luck in finding out more info ...

Has anyone here experienced it? Or learned about it?

TIA

nutter

im sorry your friend has had this diagnosis :hug: it sounds scary. as far as i know they manage it the same way as anti-d but other than that i dont know much, hopefully someone else will know more...

:bump:

Hi PN,

Anti C is pretty rare! Its most often seen in surrogates or mothers who have donated eggs due to baby having a completely different blood type.

It is just like Anti D in its effects, in that it may cause haemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN), but this is EXTREMELY rare. However the best news here is that unlike Anti-D it is usually benign and doesnt cause problems (at a complex level, the gene expression and inheritance concerned is different to Anti-D). The closer monitoring will, most likely, be all that your friend needs during this pregnancy and future ones :D Chances are that even if her levels do rise.... they need to quadruple (but this varies from hospital to hospital) before fetal evaluation is needed, and the critical threshold for the disease is much higher (about 1:32 i think?:dunno:).

The important thing to remember here, is that the baby is only at risk if its blood type is different to your friends, this will also be influenced by whether she has the same partner as the last pregnancy, and if he carries the "C" gene. If the baby doesnt have the gene, the antibodies should not rise, and wont cause a problem.

I know that this doesnt calm fears anymore, but a better understanding of the condition can help with the uncertainty. I really urge your friend to return to the doctor, book an extended appointment and sit down with them and make sure that they explain everything in minute detail, in language that she can understand, as to the implications, testing, risk, treatment for this pregnancy and future ones. If that doctor fobs her off, find another one that doesnt. Knowledge is really helpful when it comes to things like this.

I hope your friend has a happy and healthy pregnancy, hopefully without too much stress :D

thanks, cazz!!

I'll pass that on to my friend.

she'll really, really appreciate it :D