Do you know your blood type?

[Snapdragon]

I am checking in about this with the UC'ers. I am having my first baby this wnter, a homebirth attended by midwives. but I am very low intervention. So I am checking in here about this to see what you all think. MW recommended a blood test for iron levels which I think I won't do. I hate needles and all that invasive painful stuff!
She strongly suggests, though- that I at least do a finger prick to find out my blood type. I am 99% sure I am a positive type I think O+ but that is cause I think that is what my parents are.
Would you say just forgo it or do the finger prick and find out? I guess it is in small case of if a blood transfusion is needed hopefully not!
Thanks

[reducereuserecycle]

have you ever had your blood typed for a previous medical reason? maybe you could call them and find out.

i knew my letter but not + or - . i let me former MW do a finger prick to make sure i was not negative.

also, if you have ever heard of the blood type diet it is great for overall health and a great diet to eat during pregnancy...you only need to know the letter (not the + or -) but that might be another motivation to find out your blood type.

as for iron levels, i would not do a blood test for that

[gentlestrengths]

I know my blood type.

I was going to ask if you've ever given blood, but if you have a needle phobia - those chances are probably pretty low!

I would say get the blood test done, the full one the midwife is suggesting. But I am biased (well, we all are!), and tend to not mind needles, or basic procedures like measuring fundal height, blood tests, listening to the babies heart, etc. I think there are better reasons for doing it, than for not. JMO. HTH.

[vegemamato]

I know mine, and I think that it's important just in case.. That said, I would want to know for non-pregnancy related things too

I'm very needle-phobic and, IME, I can honestly say that it's not as bad as it sounds

(my tip- avoid caffeine before hand, as it may increase your anxiety )

[tessie]

Will you not want to establish whether or not you are rhesus negative so you can have the Rhogram/anti-D if necessary? (If you are neg you can have the baby's cord blood typed to avoid unnecessary Rhogram.)

[Rockies5]

I know mine. My parents are both the same, I am the same as them and dh is the same. I think 1 of my girls is O- though (thanks grandma!)

[Astraia]

For a first baby it's not such a big deal, from what I've been reading.

If you're a negative blood type and the baby is a positive blood type (I think?) your body can build antibodies that can attack the baby's red blood cells. For a first baby your body doesn't build up antibodies fast enough to be a problem, but it can be very bad in subsequent pregnancies. I think for first pregnancies you can often get away with just getting a shot right at the end and/or giving the baby a shot if it has a positive blood type.

I don't REALLY understand this Rh business (if it's just blood types, why does everyone talk about Rh sensitization??!) so hopefully someone else knows better than I do.

That said, even if the risk is low it's a preventable risk so I'd get the blood type tested either way.


Also- I'm A+
For me the sensitization is a bigger problem because I do an amnio so knowing my blood type/ Rh status is important.

[ursusarctos]

I don't know mine but will find out when I am pregnant.
Actually my mom knows, I could probably just ask her

[reducereuserecycle]

Also- I'm A+
For me the sensitization is a bigger problem because I do an amnio so knowing my blood type/ Rh status is important.

what does that mean you do an amino? just curious

[Captain_Crunch]

Yep, I'm O-. Personally I am very glad I found out.

For the poster who asked about what the big deal about Rh is, Rh is the + or - after the letter type of your blood. (O+, O-, A+,A-,etc.)

If the mom has - blood type and the baby has + blood type, if their bloods mix during delivery the mom's body will create antibodies to fight the foreign blood, this is called sensitization.

It doesn't usually affect the first pregnancy since the chance of blood mixing to create antibodies is very low. However if the blood mixes during the 1st delivery causing mom's body to create antibodies then Mom's body may attack the fetus in subsequent pregnancies.

If the MW knows ahead of time that you are - blood type they can give you a shot called RhoGam after the birth to prevent sensitization.

[gon2be]

I would definitely get it done-I am B neg and I was in a car accident at 28 weeks. It is not just during delivery that blood mixing can occur. Luckily, I have not produced any anitbodies to this babe so I'm guessing it's neg too. Do you know your partner's blood type? If he is neg then it's not an issue.

[Kidzaplenty]

I know mine, I also know my husband's (we are both neg). I think it can be important.

I believe there are also other blood typing issues that can arise between different blood types. That is why I believe it is important to know the type of both the mother and the father.

[rachel65655]

It is also important if you are O. I am O pos and if you have a baby that is anything but O, there will be blood type incompatibilities and the baby could end up very seriously jaundice. We had this with our third child. His body will fight off your blood cells and his already newly functioning liver will have to work even harder and his bilirubin levels will be very high. Our baby that had this, had to be under a bili-light at home for almost 2 weeks. He also didn't get as big as quickly as his older brothers.

We don't do anything different as far as care for our babies unless they are showing signs of worse than the mild case of jaundice. Then we make sure they get as much sunlight as possible.

[rlmueller]

The more you know

I think it is important to 'know' your body, and that includes blood type and medical history, where is cervix, what's my mucous like--all that kind of reproductive stuff--what is normal homeostasis for me.

Nobody counts on a God Forbid situation but who wants to be caught with their proverbial pants down either.

I vote find out.

My hubby and mine were on our dog tags in the navy--that's how we know.

[Snapdragon]

I was just hoping to go through this whole thing with no needles and blood letting . But I can see how it might be good to know.
I felt like the MW's were a bit pressuring me to do it. I guess that is okay, as they feel it is important. But I hate poking myself with needles to bleed- and I am especially conscious of being gentle with my body when I am pregnant!
I guess I might do it though, given all those reasons. I think I am O+ but I don't really know.

[Belle]

Not a UCer here. But wanted to chime in to your question OP. My parents are both O+ but I am O-. My Dh is O+ and both our girls are O- like me. Just because your parents are positive doesn't mean you are too.

[SoCaliMommy]

Yes because it is important to know if you are RH-

I'm O

It's also important to know the babys blood type after they are born also.

My daughter had problems after she was born due to a ABO compatibility, She tested + for Direct Coombs, she's is A+. She ended up will really bad jaundice 2days after birth and had to be rushed to the ER because her billi level was 22, had to stay in the hospital for 3nights.

That said i have no clue what blood type my son is, i keep meaning to find out but forget about taking him to the dr to have a blood test done.

a article talking about direct coombs

[rachel65655]

Originally Posted by SoCaliMommy

Yes because it is important to know if you are RH-

It's also important to know the babys blood type after they are born also.

My daughter had problems after she was born due to a ABO compatibility, She tested + for Direct Coombs, she's is A+. She ended up will really bad jaundice 2days after birth and had to be rushed to the ER because her billi level was 22, had to stay in the hospital for 3nights.

That said i have no clue what blood type my son is, i keep meaning to find out but forget about taking him to the dr to have a blood test done.

a article talking about direct coombs

This is what my third had...ABO compatibility issues. This only happens though when the mother is O and baby is A or B.

[onelilguysmommy]

I know mine. Their dads parents won't agree on if he is + or - but I know which letter. I'm + so it doesn't matter thankfully.

I know my oldest son's. My younger two I don't know.

[rajahkat]

You know, I've always just assumed that if you went into the hospital in an emergency situation, they would type you before a transfusion even if you "knew" what your blood type was, just to be sure. Maybe someone who has more experience with hospitals could chime in on that.

As to factor, I know I'm positive because I used to give blood a bunch in high school (anything to get out of class!). But I can't remember for sure my type.