Any advice on Anti-D vaccination?

[4BushBabies]

Hi Everyone!

I am a first time mum at about 4 months. My doctor has just sprung on me the need to have Anti D injections as I am a Rhesus negative blood type. As I have certain feelings that lean towards going aganst vaccination and immunisation the thought of messing with my immune systeme/blood while pregnant scares me. I was advised by a friend to join this site as I might find some information from other mums who have been through or are going through this same experience.

Please if anyone has some experience I would really appreciate it as this decision is making me really distressed.

Thank you

[DaisyMay]

Hi and welcome! 

You'll find a whole bunch of threads related to this if you put "rhogam" (this is what anti-D is called in the States)  into the search forums tool above.  There'll be loads of info and links and one or two strong opinions either way contained therein!

I'm pregnant with number 3.  I had the shot during my pregnancy with my first (this was in the UK where it was presented as the norm and I wasn't really given any info on downsides) but didn't need it after the birth as baby was Rh-.

During my 2nd pregnancy (in the states, midwife provided loads of info for and against) I chose not to have the shot during the pregnancy but did have it immediately after the birth (we didn't bother checking the baby's blood).

My reasoning was this: I wasn't worried about the safety of the shot for me (the fact that it was a blood product etc). I would have had the shot during the pregnancy had any trauma, bleeding or invasive testing taken place that would make sensitization a possibility. I was pretty convinced by the evidence that it would be very unlikely for sensitization to occur without any of these events occuring or without us knowing that a risk had been encountered. My midwife tested my blood regularly for any signs that antibodies had been created. The reason I chose not to have the shot just to be on the safe side, was that it seemed, from what I read, that very little follow-up research had been done on mothers and babies given the shot during pregnancy since it had become standard procedure. It just seemed to be one of those blank sheets in medical practice/research. The kind of things that I was worried about (or had seen questioned) was, would there be any risk to the fertility of a baby girl in later life, who's mother had had the rhogam shot during her pregnancy? We knew we were having a girl. I should make it clear, there isn't any evidence to suggest this is the case, just no evidence either way as they have done no significant follow-up studies on this group of people. This type of total absence of medical research/follow-up really scares me (and surprises me, in terms of how widespread it seems to be in these types of issues). I was convinced (as convinced as one can ever be) that the risks if i tested my blood regularly, had no trauma or bleeding and had the shot immediately after birth, were satisfactorily minimal.
 

Possibility of mercury in the shot is another consideration - I believe that some sources have it in, others don't.  Your health care provider may be able to help you with this info. 

This pregnancy I'm thinking I will do the same as last time.  I'm back in the UK now and my midwife is very relaxed - says some women choose to get it during pregnancy, others choose not to, she's happy either way.    

Good luck with your choice and your pregnancy.

[4BushBabies]

Thank you so very much! You have given me some confidence that I was desperatly without. My last visit with my obstertrician, also my first vist, I left feeling like I had no choice which i think is what bothered me more than anything. since then I have been desperatly searching the internet for information (we live very remotely and this is the only way to get most information) but there is very little in Australia. In fact so far most people don't even know what I am talking about or they have had something to do with it but like so many women out here they question nothing and just do as the doctor tells them. Unfortunately like so many things here in Australia - particularly the outback, we are so far behind and many women are left feeling like they don't know what they are talking about, couldn't possibly make an intelegent educated desicion and are usually bullied through fear into doing what their medical adviser thinks is best (I'm not on here to verbally bash our hard working medical practitioners, this is just something I have faced on more than one occasion). I refuse. I have been reading about all these options for places to give birth overseas where women are having these wonderful experiences. Unfortunately unless you live in a big city centre, in Australia, I , like most women will have to give birth in a hospital and I can't even meet with a midwife who works there until a month before I have the baby. I will certainly do as you suggest and search for info on this site and others regarding the American name you have given me. At the end of the day I know I will find what is right for my family - at the moment though I just feel a little overwhelmed.

You have helped so much, thank you.

Good luck to you also.

[slippy]

I'm rh- and my husband is rh+. I did get the rhogam with my first miscarriage, and with my daughters pregnancy. my second m/c was so early, no real fetal blood to react to. My daughter turned out to be rh+ so this is the exact situation where I could be sensitized. I was very relieved with this pregnancy when my blood work showed that I had not been sensitized during my pregnancies. I will absolutely be taking the shots again with this one.

I think a good place to start with educating yourself is to check on the baby's dads rh status. If he is rh negative too, then there is no need for it. Or if this is going to be your last baby and you don't have to worry about it because the risks of sensitization are for the next baby- not the one you are pregnant with now.

If you did become sensitized, the risk is that if the next baby is rh+ is hemolytic disease of the newborn. it can be mild or severe, It could be totally ok, or it could be fatal.  In my mind, the risk of taking a shot that has been common practice since the 70s was less risky than the things that could happen to my baby if there was a severe reaction- miscarriage, baby loss, but even in the mild/moderate cases, it still means being consitered a 'high risk' pregnancy, separation and hospitalization for treatment of jaundice, blood work, blood transfusions.

I weighed the potential risks of the shot vs. the potential risk of sensitization, and that's what I came up with for me. It's hard when you feel like your dr is pushing things on you without educating. I was lucky that I trusted my midwife, and she wouldn't even say it was ok to use a capsicum roll-on for my sore back, exercises caution with flu shots and the other ones, but does recommend the rhogam. Good luck with your decision! 

here's a link about HDN. I like this one becuase it just goes over the medical aspects of it- doesn't say take the shot or don't.