I'm Rh- and my midwife was telling me there is a routine shot for Rh- women that I will need to have at my 28 week appointment. Does anyone know more about this?

Everyone's blood has an RH factor. It's either negative or positive. If you have negative it means you have no rh antibodies in your blood. If you're positive it means you do. What happens without the shot is that if a mother has negative and baby has positive (dad has positive) then during delivery, if baby's blood gets into mom's bloodstream, the resulting infection can be devistating. The shot helps reduce the risk.

If your husband/sperm donor/babydaddy also has negative blood, you will not need a shot.

You will also not need the shot if you know you will not be having any more children, as this is only a risk to further pregnancies. The shot contains thimerosal still, in case that interests you.

You need to take into account things such as your age, and whether the father is negative or positive.

I have had the shot before. The way I understood it was that incase somthing were to happen to the baby you would have gotten the shot and your body would be alright with you carrying a child. It is confusing to me too,but I think it is completly necessary.

I know one of the mothers I talk to had this issue with her last child. She has a different father and had the issue so she had to get the shots. She said it wasn't any better/worse than any other test while pregnant.

First, have your husband tested. If he is also negative you do not need the shot, you can not produce a positive baby with two negative parents.

If he is negative you should carefully weight the risks. It is not actually a worry of infection in the mother. If an Rh- mother is exposed to + blood she will create antibodies against Rh+ blood. These antibodies cross the placenta and can kill blood cells in the fetus. This will only happen if the mother is sensitized to Rh+, and usually only occurs in pregnancies after the first because maternal-fetal blood transmission is very low during pregnancy as long as there are no risks like placental bleeding or amniocentisis. If you have an amnio or CVS you should have a shot to guard you against transmission. That is the time of greatest risk before the actual birth. The shot must be given within 72 hours to keep the mother from making antibodies, and it is only effective for 12 weeks. That is why it is typically administered at 28 weeks and after delivery, and for every pregnancy.

Whether you actually want it, is another debate. You can get it without thimerisol (BayRhoD is the name of this one, but I believe Rhogam is also phasing out thimerisol). Anti-D in any case is a blood derived product, meaning it is derived from someone's donor blood. There are no clear reported cases of contraction of HIV or hepatitis or other blood borne illness, but it is a hypothetical risk.

With my first, I had it at 30 weeks (instead of 28 because of the 12 week efficacy and my midwives will not let you go over 42 weeks pregnant), and again after my daughter was typed at birth (she's +). With my son, I elected not to have it during pregnancy unless I had any bleeding (I did not), and I had it after he was born and typed (he's also +). All the research I did indicated that transmission during a normal pregnancy was very low as long as there was no trauma and the pregnancy didn't go too far into post dates. Since my daughter was born around the time of her due date I felt safe with my decision.

Good luck. I agonized over the choice with both my kiddos!

Thanks for all that information, I think I got that injection as my husband was not available for a test. I didn't realize the implications was so serious.

How is this test done, does it hurt? So its only a shot thats it, nothing more? Seems fairly simple for such a serious issue here.

Wow, thanks for all the information! My 28 week appt is next week, so I guess I need to make a decision. I was really worried about the mercury, but if I can get it without, then I will have to order that.

The test is simply a blood test, for you, your husband, and your child. However the shot it not just a simple shot, and there are risks associated. With any procedure or drug you should look up both the risks and benefits to it before accepting it.

Thank you for all the info! I had my appointment today and decided to decline it after a long talk with the midwife. Turns out that she is Rh- too and also declined the shot until after her son was born and typed.