Sequenom blood type testing for the Rh Negative

[LeighPF]

I just got back from the midwifes today and they offered me a new test I never thought about. I an Rh Negative and the Sequenom fetal DNA in mama's blood test can (not suprisingly) type babies blood. If the baby is negative  I can skip the pain in the ass (literally, insurance wise and logistically) shots. Apparently if you have insurance the max co-pay is $25, which is so worth it to me.

[contactmaya]

Thats great! Im rh negative too. It certainly was a pain in the butt...and if you have a homebirth in  my state, the insurance company doesnt cover it for some reason- i really dont understand why....

[LilyTiger]

I was really really angry when I was pregnant last year and asked my OB about this test and she not only had no idea what I was talking about, but completely dismissed my concerns altogether.  I switched doctors and ended up getting the Rhogam, which didn't end up being necessary anyway since DD is Rh negative.  I don't think it's a huge deal either way, but I'm glad this is an option now and that insurers are covering it. 

ETA: I didn't pursue the test largely because you sort of have to find out the baby's sex and we didn't want that information.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.  (My understanding is that if it's a girl they have to go back and double check the test again to rule out mother's DNA, so you end up finding out the baby's sex while pregnant).

[LeighPF]

I just submitted the test for blood type, not anything else Sequenom does.

My insurance covers Rhogam, but I have to get it from the pharmacy, submit to drug coverage, who reuses to cover all injectables but insuln, so back to regular insurance who will cover it now the drug program rejected it.

[Quinalla]

I'm O- , but I am lucky that DH is too, so for my first pregnancy they drew his blood to test at the OB office (too funny) as he doesn't have a donor card or anything official. Rhogham is great if you need it, but I wasn't getting it since I knew I didn't! This time they were bugging me, same OB, and I said you folks tested him in your office last time, he's still O- this time. If you don't have a record of it, sorry I'm not making him get tested again! Good to hear there is a way to test the baby though!

[LeighPF]

I am very grateful for Rohgam and that this is all about shots that hurt, not fatal conditions.
They never tested dh with our first, so I made sure to do it before out first visit with bee

[cinderella08]

How interesting!  I may ask about that before getting another Rhogam shot!  I had severe bleeding (placenta previa) a few days ago (14 weeks) and got Rhogam while at the OB's confirming the previa.  They did say I'd still need the 28wk shot and the post-birth shot.  Both of my kiddos ended up being (-) so I never needed the postbirth shot.