Postpartum RhoGam - how'd it go for you?

[Yo Becca]

I'm RH neg, DH is RH positive, and we don't know if we're going to have another baby or not, so I'm planning to get a RhoGam shot after the birth if the baby is positive. I had DD with a CNM at the hospital, so it was no problem to get the shot (she's positive). But this time I'm having a homebirth with a dem, and also seeing a CNM attached to an OB's office for shadow care (in case I have to transfer for any reason, and b/c I wasn't able to find a HB MW until late in my pregnancy and she's over an hour away, etc.)

The CMN's don't know I'm planning a HB, so my plan at the moment is to, if needed, just show up at the OB/CNM's office and ask for the Rhogam shot. My HB midwife can't access it quickly (has to be administered w/in 72 hours of birth, as I understand it) and I would have to pay out of pocket instead of having insurance coverage. Just wondering if anyone else has done this and how it went. I'm already feeling guilty about lying to the CNM (who I really respect, I just don't want to have my baby in the hosp. or according to the policies of the OB office), and I'm not looking forward to showing up so soon after birth and asking for the shot. Any moms who've BTDT?

[AugustLia23]

Where I live the midwives have access to it if needed.

How will you find out if the baby is positive. Your plan sounds pretty good to me, just say the baby came at home before you were able to get to the hospital and all is well and you just need the rhogam shot. They might give you trouble though, depending on the state of homebirth there.

I hope that the baby is negative so you don't have to worry about it!

[WendyC]

I feel for you - I am paying out of pocket for the postpartum Rhogram shot (if the baby is positive) and it freaken expensive!!!! If I could lie to get insurance to cover it, I would too!!

If you order an eldon card with your birth kit, you can type the blood of your baby. Someone told me thought that the % of likelyhood that the baby would be negative too is pretty low. (recessive vs. dominate genes and whatnot)

Anyway - I think its a good plan, good luck with it!

[KarenMT]

I am just exploring the whole homebirth avenue and will need to find this out. DD was RH + and I am RH -. I received the RhoGam shot at 28 weeks and then about 12 hrs after she was born. I really want to have a homebirth but I need to weigh in all the costs right now and see how I can work with a homebirth friendly OB/mf office for some of this stuff.

[crunchy_mama]

THAT IS my exact plan as well. If I am going to pay out of pocket I want it to at least go to deductible. I am just praying that the next one happens to be rH- as well so it isn't even an issue. I am not looking forward to going to the ob (no cnm's around here) after the birth- as I am not a good liar. However, unfortunately due to the status of dem's and mw's in general in my state there isn't a lot of options.

[KarenMT]

Well, I currently live in CA but we plan to move outside of Boston before this baby is due. I am so happy to be moving but sort of sad because MA is far more "medicalized" in so many ways. I had a fast labor with my daughter so I am really having to put out all the pros and cons to hospital vs home birth. I would take home birth any day but would consider hospital birth if I could get there in 10 mins and wait until I knew I was about ready to push baby out- kwim?

[purplevega]

My midwife will give it to me the next day after birth if need. I will be paying out of pocket and is $160.

Kim

[musicmomto5]

I had 2 homebirths. With the 2nd one, baby was negative so my midwife gave me the shot the next day. She also gave it to me last year after a miscarriage I had.
side note: we use the cord blood to check baby's blood type at birth to avoid a heel prick.

[PerennialMom]

When we had DS2, our midwife didn't have access to Rhogam. She did with our 3rd, but we decided we were done having kids at 3, so I skipped it. Never had it prenatally. I think overall, based the book I read by Sara Wickham, the Rhogam scare is overrated, especially in non-invasive, non-surgical home births. It's great that it's there for emergencies and potential breeches of blood, but for gentle births that's not likely. Homebirth and medical birth are 2 totally different things when it comes to the necessity of Rhogam. Just my opinion based on what I got out of my own research.

So anyway, what we did was had our DO fax a lab order and went to an urgent care center 2 days after DS2 was born. He was RH+. DS1 was RH-, so it was a non-issue altogether.

Does your midwife have a good circle of doctors who she can get an order from? Could you just go to an urgent care center and get one so your insurance will pay?

[Peony]

For DD2's birth, I bought a Eldon Kit to test the baby's blood from the cord. I waited to cut the cord for a while, I can't remember how long, maybe 30ish minutes? Anyway, there was no blood left in the cord, it was completely grey. I decided that I didn't want to give DD2 a heel prick to find out ( I had already decided against Rhogram regardless of the blood type, I had read sara Wickham's book and didn't want it). DD2 had to be hospitalized a few weeks later for pertussis and on one of the many blood draws, I asked for a type and cross to find out her type. She was -, so I didn't need to worry anyway.

Also in Wickham's book, she says that Rhogram can be adminstered up to a week after the book, it doesn't have to be within the 72 hours.

[KWenn]

I saw an OB as well as a midwife during my pregnancy and he was totally fine with writing me a RX to get the shot of Rhogam and have it at our house in case the baby ended up being RH+. Like Peony, by the time we went to draw blood from the cord to type DD, there wasn't enough blood. I ended up taking the shot anyways.

[Yo Becca]

My HB midwife will type the baby's blood, so we don't have to go anywhere to have that done.

I'm so jealous of y'all who live in states where HB midwives are legal and have good relationhsips with back-up docs! it's ridiculous for grown-ups making healthy, informed decisions about their health care to have to lie and sneak around. I resent having to lie to get the shot covered by insurance - but I'll do it b/c I'm not paying the premiums and not taking advantage of it when I can. *sigh* Good to know I'm not the only one in this boat!

[crunchy_mama]

Originally Posted by Yo Becca

My HB midwife will type the baby's blood, so we don't have to go anywhere to have that done.

I'm so jealous of y'all who live in states where HB midwives are legal and have good relationhsips with back-up docs! it's ridiculous for grown-ups making healthy, informed decisions about their health care to have to lie and sneak around. I resent having to lie to get the shot covered by insurance - but I'll do it b/c I'm not paying the premiums and not taking advantage of it when I can. *sigh* Good to know I'm not the only one in this boat!

ditto! It is soooo very frustrating living in a state where dem's are illegal.