I thought it important that i start this thread as I had this condition when i was PG with Jack and there was very little information about it.
We all know the signs to look for with Pre Eclampsia but non of the baby books i was given explained about this.
This condition can be a threatening one to both mum and baby if not treated correctly (please don't be scared).
I started with mild itching on my arms at about 30 weeks, my MW sent me for blood tests and it was OC.
Basically it is a blood/ liver disorder flow of bile is restricted as the liver is not fuctioning properly which leads to a build up of bile acids in the blood which is what causes the itching.
I was given steroids and various other pill and potions (15 a day in all!!) and monitered very closly and the delivered Jack at 37 weeks
The main signs to look for are ITCHINESS, TIREDNESS(i know we are more tired anyway!) and FEELING INCREASINGLY HOT
I thought it important to post this now as it could be confused with the warm weather and it would be better to be safe than sorry.
I am going to put some links up for you if you have any questions please feel free to ask either on here or PM me
Ive typed this because i thought it would explain to mothers about the Rhesus Negative as ive had it but never really understood until i read this leaflet
A Rhesus Negative Red Blood Cell is just the blood cell
A Rhesus Postive Red Blood Cell has proteins covering it
MOTHERS AND BABIES
sometime during pregnancy a small amount of the baby's blood crosses over into the mothers blood stream. There are a number of ways by which this can happen including normal delivery and c-section or when an amniocentisis is undertaken.
This is quite unusual and causes no harm because the mothers immune system recognises the baby's blood being different from her own and quickly cleans it out of her system.
To do this, the mothers immune system produces special proteins called antibodies. These attach themselves to the baby's red blood cells which are in her blood stream and destroy them. This immune response occurs in a similar way when any microbe or foreign body enters the circulation.
From then on .the immune system remebers that it has been in contact with the baby's red blood cells. So if the same situation occurs again the mothers immune system will be ready to act swiftly and eliminate them.
However, when a mother is a Rhesus Negative and is carrying a baby that is Rhesus Positive there is a small chance that a problem may arise.
Reasons why baby's blood can cross over into the mothers blood stream :
Amniocentisis
CVS
Injury to the abdomen
Vaginal bleeding during pregnancy
Miscarriage
Termination
Child Birth
C Section
GIVING BIRTH
A Rhesus Negative mother gives birth to a healthy Rhesus Positive baby, During birth the baby blood crosses over into the mothers bloodstream
the mothers immune system gradually responds a destroys the positive blood.
From now the mothers blood will always remember the positive blood cells
Suppose the mother came pregnant with her second child who again is rhesus positive. There is a real risk that the RhD factor anitibodies from the mother can cross the placenta and enter the baby's blood stream.
These antibodies which were produced in the first place to protect the mother, now have the ooposite effect on the baby. They can damage the babys red blood cells. If this were to happen , the bay can suffer a number of life threatening conditions, collectively knows as HDN = Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn.
PROTECTION FOR THE BABY
During pregnancy When a Rhesus Negative mother is pregnant the hospital can inject a small amount of ready made antibodies at 28 wks and 34 wks of pregnancy.Then if any of the blood has entered the mother circulation during pregnancy the injected antibodies are there to remove the positive blood cells immediately. The injection is known by medical staff as Anti-D Anti-D Immunoglobulin is made from a part of the blood called plasma that is collected from donors. The production of anti-d is very strictly controlled to ensure that the chance of a known virus being passed from a donor to the person receiving the anti-d is very low it has been estimated to be 1in 10,000 billion doses
After Childbrith Hospital will test the baby's blood after birth. If the baby is found to be positive and the mother is negative the mother will be given a dose of anti-djust incase any of the baby's blood had crossed over into her bloodstream just before birth. The injection will removed any of the positive red blood cells. If the mother who has had any of these injections of anti-d gets pregnant again there will be no danger to her baby since her own immune system has not produced anti-d antibodies which might cross over and harm her unborn baby.
Incidents During Pregnancy
Sometimes a rhesus negative pregnant woman may need to be given anti-d if there has been an incident during the pregnancy that may have caused a small bleed from the unborn baby into the mothers circulation e.g seat belt injury or vaginal bleeding. It is important that the mother reports any such incident to her midwife as soon as it happens
i hope this explains about RhD Factors and make some sense about being rhesus negative .
spunky xxxxxxxxx
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The following 3 users say 'Thanks' to Spunky Cupkake for this post:
i have just found out i am also negative but am very worried as when I had a miscarriage in decmeber they didnt know my blood type therefor i didnt get the injection....does anyone have info on this? could it harm this baby? xx thanks!
i have just found out i am also negative but am very worried as when I had a miscarriage in decmeber they didnt know my blood type therefor i didnt get the injection....does anyone have info on this? could it harm this baby? xx thanks!
Hiya I'm RH neg and had previous miscarriages now and wasn't given anti d after mine and asked about it at the time as i knew and the hospital told me that before 12 weeks they don't give anti d injections, if you have any worries tho just give your midwife a call. Good luck x
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