I am pregnant and confused about Anti D Shot!

[Mumtobe]

Hello
I am expecting my first baby in September! The doctors have told me I am Rh Negative and they want to give me 2 injections one at 28 weeks and one at 34 weeks to prevent my body fighting off my future pregnancies. I am scared. I feel so angry towards getting any injections whilst pregnant and I have reached the decision to not get the injections until after the birth. I live in Melbourne Australia and I don't know the name of the drug they use here. Please if anyone has any information about the laws the hospitals have here or any information whatsover i would be so grateful. I am only 20 and have never had to stand up to the doctors for anything. I am scared they will make me feel terrible about it, but i dont want to give in!! My husband fully suports me and will be with me when i tell them, but i feel frightened and unprepared! Help Please!

[Kleine Hexe]

First, congratulations on your first baby.

Second, what is your husband Rh negative or positive? If he is also negative then it is a complete non issue. Of course some Drs or hospitals will still encourage you to get the shot just in case you are not telling the truth (or are unsure) about the biological father of the baby.

So find that out and see if you even need to make the decision.

[Mumtobe]

We have not yet had his Rh factor determined. We are hopeful but considering 85% of population are Rh Positive we are trying not to jump to that conclusion.

[coloradoalice]

I am also Rh negative. My husband is positive. With my first pregnancy I decided it was in our best interest to forgo all the shots until the baby was born and we knew if it was necessary. Of course I didn't have any trauma or testing that may have caused fetal blood to cross with mine, if I did I might have reconsidered. Anyway, first baby was negative also so no worries, no shot after pregnancy.

My second pregnancy I did the same thing, there was no reason whatsoever to consider having the shot. Baby was born positive. I had the shot 2 days after birth which I now regret because we knew we were done having children so it was pointless! I just wasn't thinking very clearly at the time.

IMO you only need the shot if the baby is positive and you plan to have more children. I ended up with c-sections both births and I think in that case it is definiately something to consider. If you have a non-traumatic vaginal birth then you may want to consider forgoing the shot even after the birth of a positive baby.

It's up to you. Do your research and make a decision you are comfortable with!

[Sarah W]

The shot we have is called Rhogam. I'm Rh negative also. DH is positive. While it was a possibility, you can also wait until the birth to see if your baby is Rh negative and then it is a moot point.

I had my first Rhogam at 23 weeks because of bleeding. They couldn't guarantee where the bleeding was coming from so for me I was more comfortable getting it.

[Kleine Hexe]

My DH is positive as well. My first ds is negative like me so no shots. My second ds is positive like his daddy so I chose to have the shot after he was born.

I am pg again and I will wait until after the baby is born again.

[CanidFL]

I am negative, DH is positive. I did not have the shot until after DS was born and he was positive. I got the mercury free shot.

You do not have to do anything you do not want to do. Just tell your doctor you are not doing this shot and that is that. They can't force you. It's your body.

Now if you have some kind of trauma, it might be worth looking at. If there is any reason your blood might mix with babies like falling down the stairs then it would be worth getting.

Congrats on the pregnancy!! Is there anyway to get a midwife if you don't feel like you can stand up to your OB? You may have other battles to fight like eye goop, vitamin k, natural birth, no induction, etc, etc and if you don't feel comfy standing up to docs then you might cave on something when you are vulnerable.

[Ophelia]

From my own personal experience, I had one Rhogam shot during pregnancy and I regret it. I know more now, and if I get pregnant again I will only get the after birth shot AND make sure it's (supposedly) mercury free, as long as there is no trauma during pregnancy that might result in blood mixing.

Remember, the doctors work for YOU not the other way around. Same with the Vitamin K shot, eye goop, Hep B shot for the baby after birth (if they give those in AU), that is for the parent's to decide, not the doctors.

[amnesiac]

Closing this thread so the discussion can continue in the appropriate forum: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=893114