RhNegative Blood Type and Pregnancy

1 Share with WomenRh-Negative Blood Typeand PregnancyWhat is Blood type?Yourbloodtypetells youaboutmarkerson thesurfaceofyourredbloodcells. The redcellsinyourbloodcanbeA, B, AB,orO. The redbloodcellsalsohaveaprotein that iscalledRhonthesurfaceofthecell. YourbloodcanbeRhpositive,whichmeansthaty ouhavetheRhprotein,orRhnegative, ofyourbloodgroup +,O ,A+,A ,B+,B ,AB+,orAB .Atestthattells youyourbloodtypeisdone atyourfirstprenatalvisit andusuallywhenyouare admittedto the hospitalforlabor is my Blood type important?If youever needabloodtransfusion,youshould begivenbloodthat isadifferentbloodtypeunlessit isOblood, am Rh negative. What does this mean for my Pregnancy ?BeingRhnegativemeansthatyoudon othaveRhproteinsonyourredbloodcells. If yourbabyisRhpositiveandyouget asmallamount ofyourbaby s bloodintoyourcirculation(bloodstream)whe nyouarepregnant orwhenyougivebirth,yourbody can makeantibodiesthat hurt andkillredbloodcellsthat mostlikelytime thatyouwould beexposedtoyourbaby s harmyourbaby duringyourfirstpregnancy.

2 Butinyournextpregnancy,the antibodiesthatyoumadewhenyouwere exposedtoRh-positivebloodatyourfirstbirt hcancrosstheplacenta andattacktheRh-positiveredbloodcells,ify ournextbabyhasRh-positiveblood. (low iron in theblood),miscarriage,stillbirth,or aseriousillnessin thebabythat iscalledhemolyticdiseaseofthe , Rhsensitization isveryrarebecausewomenwho areRhnegativecanget ashot thatstopstheirbody from is RhoGAM?RhoGAMisamedicine thatstops yourbloodfrom makingantibodiesthat attack madefrom humanbloodthatcontainsaverysmallamount ofRh-positiveproteins. Theseproteinskeepyourimmunesystemfrom makingpermanent RhoGAMisgiven asan injection(shot).When do I get RhoGAM?Althoughthechanceofyourbloodandth ebaby s bloodmixingishighest at the time thatyougivebirth,whichrarelyhappens,itca n alsohappenduringthelasttrimester ofyourpregnancy,whenyourplacenta isgrowingandthe membranesthatseparateyourbloodfromyourba by s thisreason,RhoGAMisgiven at28weeksofpregnancytoprotectyoufor the restofyourpregnancy.

3 RhoGAMworks for afteryougivebirth,yourbaby s bloodwill , youwill get s bloodisRhnegative,youwillnot needthesecondRhoGAM there any other times that I might need RhoGAM?RhoGAMisalsogiven anytime thatyourbloodcould come intocontactwithRh-positivebloodcells, suchas: Anyvaginalbleedingduringpregnancy Miscarriageorabortion1526-9523/09/$ 2013 bytheAmericanCollegeofNurse-Midwives725 American College of Chorionicvillisamplingor amniocentesis(testsforbirthdefects) Injurytoyourabdomen(belly), suchasacar accident orfall, duringpregnancy Externalversion(turningabreechbaby sothebabyisheadfirst)If youareRhnegativeandanyofthesethingshappe n toyou, youshould contactyourhealthcareproviderright away. Youshould get aRhoGAM shot within72hoursofthepossibleexposure toRh-positivebloodfortheshot to all pregnant women withRh-negativebloodtypeandhasbeenusedfo r about50 years. AlthoughRhoGAMismadefrom humanblood,onlytheverysmall isaveryrarechancethatyoucould get an infectionsuchasHIVor hepatitisfromRhoGAM, butthisisso rare that there are no reportsofit happening.

4 There isalsoaveryrarechancethatyouwillhaveanal lergicreaction to theRhoGAMthatcausesfever to haveasmallreactionlikerednessorswellingw here theRhoGAMwasinjected, usually yourupper arm toknow that the riskofdevelopingRhsensitization ismuchhigher than the riskofproblemsfrom theRhoGAM ,all futurepregnanciesare at risk for thebaby ,not takingRhoGAMismuchmoredangerousthan there women who should not get RhoGAM?If youhavehemolyticanemia,oryouhavehadan allergicreaction to ashot ofimmuneglobulin,oryoualreadyhaveRhsensi tization,youshouldnotget theRhoGAM there anything else I need to know about RhoGAM?Itisbestnottogetsomevaccineswithi n3monthsofhavingtheRhoGAM shot are nevergiven topregnant thinkaboutifyouareplanningto traveloutofthecountrywithin3monthsafterg ivingbirth to an area whereyouneedavaccinecalleda live-virus in thissituation,talktoyourhealthcareprovid erbeforeyouaregiven theRhoGAM ,ifyouhaveanyreligiousorculturalconcerns abouttakingabloodproduct,youshouldtalkto yourhealthcareprovider or religious leader if I do not choose to get RhoGAM?

5 Aboutonein5women whodonotgetRhoGAMwill getRhsensitization, youdonotgetRhoGAM duringpregnancy, youshould getyourblooddrawn regularlyin thelasttrimestertosee ifyouhavebecomeRhsensitized. If youdobecomesensitized,teststosee howyourbabyishandlingtheproblem will beoffered. Ifthebabyhasaserious problem,youmayneedtobeinducedtogivebirth More InformationMarch of Dimes: Rh RhoGAM Red Cross: Blood reproduction is subject to theJournalofMidwifery&Wo m e n s Health sapproval. The information andrecommendations appearing on this page are appropriate in most instances, but they are not a substitutefor medical diagnosis. For specific information concerning your personal medical condition, theJournalofMidwifery&Wo m e n s Healthsuggests that you consult your health care , ,November/December2013