Apparently, she had no problems carrying me to term, but she could not have any more children *after* me (except with a partner who also had O- blood type), because she was sensitized by her pregnancy with me. I did not hear any negatives about it when I was pregnant last year nor did I read any. I also have negative blood- my husband positive. It's not a big deal, but I understand that Rhogam contains thimerosol (mercury preservative) so for my next baby I will ask the doctor about that (I think there is a Canadian company that makes it without the thimerosol). You'll be getting a Rhogam shot at 28 weeks and then right after the birth. As recently as my mother's generation, O negative women sometimes lost their babies because of the incompatible blood type (I believe these were called ''blue babies'' because of how they looked when they were born.) So get your shot - it's in the bottom by the way, but no big deal and I am a shot whimp. It seems weird that pregnancy, which people now harp about how natural it is, naturally has this serious potential problem for O negative women with O positive mates. It is extremely important you get these shots - they are one of the wonders of modern medicine. I had them in the middle of both pregnancies, at the end of the pregnancies, and after my two miscariages. The shot you need is called Rogam (spelling?). It turns out that my children are O positive which is no surprise given his blood type. I am O neg and my kids' father is O positive. I expect they will have another for me after this baby is born. Now, I am pregnant with number 2, and I received a shot after my amniocentesis. I miscarried once and was given a shot after that as a precautionary measure to be sure that my body would not reject future pregnancies.
During my first pregnancy, I believe I was given a shot at some time during the pregnancy and again after birth- basically anytime your blood might mix with the baby's. It is fairly common, and your doctor will know when you need the Rhogam (sp) shot, so don't worry about your body rejecting the baby. My husband and I also have different RH factors. Just make sure the doctor knows about your RH discrepancies. Rho-gam has been around since the mid- 60's, so your doctor should be aware of it. My ex-husband is O-positive and I'm O-negative and both our kids are RH-negative. If your husband is carrying a recessive gene for Rh-negative, you may end up with an Rh-negative baby anyway, in which case you won't need the second (post-birth) Rho-GAM shot. You will still need the Rho-GAM shots for this pregnancy, but additional monitoring of anti-bodies may be required. If you've already had a pregnancy, make sure your doctor knows, because your blood will need to be tested for Rh-antibodies. Rho-Gam puts TEMPORARY RH-factor anti- bodies in the mother's blood so her body doesn't product its own, and the next baby gets a clean slate and you start the Rho- GAM shots over. Is this your first preganancy ever (i.e., no previous pregnancies that ended in miscarriage or termination)? If it is, then all you need is a shot of Rho-gam at a mid-point in the pregnancy and then again after the baby is born. if anyone knows anything about this, i would appreciate information many thanks anonĪ mismatch in blood types can be dealt with. some shot is supposed to take care of it. Evidently, there is some risk that the baby will have the positive blood type and my body will see it as a foreign invader and attack it somehow. blood type and my husband is a positive blood type. O- is the 'universal donor' because it has no antigens, so it's accepted by all immune systems.Īlso, the long post by Jennifer is GREAT.
This can be done by a simple blood test.Ģ- AB+ is NOT the rarest blood, but it is the 'universal acceptor' because it can take A and B and + antigens (O and - are actually a lack of antigens, and all immune systems accept 'nothing' on blood cells).
Only worry if the mother is - (negative) and the father is + (positive). It only concerns the + and - markers (called antigens). As a student of Biomedical Engineering, I would like to clear up a few misconceptions on this board:ġ- this blue baby phenomenon has nothing to do with blood types A, B, AB, and O.