RH-; Do I NEED the Rhogam Shot at My 28Th Week? Really?

I received the shot right AFTER my daughter was born, at the hospital, and was told that I would not need it again for the next baby. my midwife told me that. just passing along what I was told.

Yes you need a rhogam shot. It is for the benefit of the baby. I thought I was having a miscarriage with my second child and went to the hospital. So they gave me a half dose of rhogam and sent me on my way. Then at 28 weeks I had my full dose. I luckily have not experienced any of the horrible things that can happen, but I have a friend who had almost all of her children hospitalized because of being rh negative. Some of them needed a full blood transfusion. So to rule out any complications I would get it. I had to get it with my first only because some how I already had antibodies in my system even though I had never been pregnant before.

I, too, am RH- and have had the shot many times. The benefits far outweigh the risks so I never thought twice about getting it.

I would get the Rhogam shot, I am RH- as well and have gotten the Rhogam with all 3 of my pregnancies and 1 miscarriage. It is my understanding that if the babies blood type is not the same as yours that is where the problems begin to occur and a Rhogam shot is only good for so long. And if you get the Rhogam during preganacy you don't have to have one after.

I honestly, would not take a chance with my baby's health and mine by not getting it.

Ask your doctor, they can explain everything a lot better and the reasons why they recommend a Rhogam as this stage of the preganancy.

Hi. I also am RH- and I am now on my 4th pregnancy. From what I was told, it is not as important to get the shot during your 1st pregnancy, but it is VERY important to get it for all other pregnancies. When you have the RH- factor, your baby could be RH+ and that incompatability makes your body want to fight the "incompatability" that being your baby. For some reason in the 1st pregnancy the body doesn't recognize the incompatability. If your baby is not RH+ (they will test right after he/she is born) then you don't need to get a shot after birth. But because they don't know if baby is RH- or + during pregnancy they give you the shot. We are lucky, if you were a woman with RH- 30-40 years ago, you either couldn't have children or you and the baby had to go through a complete blood transfusion, as was the case with my grandmother in law. It was extremely risky. So now we can get the shot which is much safer and easier. Anyway please get your rhogam shot. Hope this makes sense. Good luck and congratualions!

To set your mind at ease about the shot. This is from the FDA web site.

On April 16, 2001, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics was approved by FDA to produce RhoGAM without thimerosal, and at that time, Ortho agreed to distribute only thimerosal-free product to the US market. The product has a 2-year dating period, so there is no longer any RhoGAM that contains thimerosal that is still in-date.

Can you find out your husbands blood type? I think that would help make this decision easier. If he's RH- then you don't have to worrry about it. But if he's positive, I would rather be safe than sorry later.

YES you need to have the Rhogam. It is standard of care and you should have received with your last pregnancy as well. This has been a VERY effective treatment to prevent your body from producing anitbiodies to Rh+ blood. If you develope the antibioties they will cross the placenta and attack RH+ blood cells of your fetus (if the fetus is Rh+). Since you don't know the blood type of the father, most likely he is Rh+ and therefore your baby is Rh+. Miscarrages happen for many different reasons. In your case, it's possible that you have been sensitized. In the old days Rh- moms would have frequent miscarriages and death of their fetus or baby. We have made tremedous improvements by this simple drug. So successful have we become that people no longer truely understand the risks of not giving Rhogam. I have worked in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit for more than 20 years. I remember when not all women were not as well covered as there are today. Get the Rhogam!

Hi A.,

I am Rh - and had a rhogam shot after my amnio and at 28 weeks, and then again after giving birth. It's been almost nine years, and I do forget why I had one later in the pregnancy. What did happen to me as a result of the rhogam was that one of my tests showed trace positive that my blood was crossing to the baby. My doctor called the lab at Stanford and was told that sometimes the rhogam can show up like that. Since it was trace positive we did an ultrasound and everything was fine with the baby.

Best wishes to you on your last weeks of pregnancy.

J.

As someone who had the shot last time and plans on getting it again, if you are Rh negative and your baby is positive, your body could see your unborn as a foreign invader and could cause miscarriage as well as prevent future full term prgnancies. I don't want to scare you, but there's lots of research available. And it's crucial to know what excatly is going on and if you truly need it. The only way that you definitely don't need it is if your blood type is positive.

These questions need to be posed to your doctor...from the information provided in your question- you need a better understanding and better teaching from your provider. Rhogam is not needed for your first pregnancy, only subsequent pregnancies and if your Rh factor is negative. Take all these questions to your provider and do not accept the treatment until you fully understand the implications, do not be afraid to ask; it is your provider's responsibility to make sure you understand and can make an informed decision.

I have A- blood, so I've had rhogam several times. Once after each of two miscarriages and during and after both of my two deliveries. I am pretty sure that thimerosol isn't used in rhogam anymore. Because my husband's blood is positive, I didn't even question getting the rhogam if it could prevent me from losing the pregnancies or in preventing harm to my babies. From what I have read, the rh incompatibility issues can be severe for the babies, so I think it's most prudent to just get the shot.

If you don't think you need it, just talk to your doctor about it.

Good luck.

M.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! If you have an Rh negative blood type and you are not absolutely sure with no doubt that the father is Rh negative, then you should receive the Rhogam shot. The consequences of Rh sensitization can be very severe for future pregnancies. I'm not sure about the thermosol, the ingredients list of the product should say so maybe you could ask at the immunization clinic. I have received 3 Rhogam shots, one after the loss of our first daughter, one at 28 weeks with my second daughter, and one at 37 weeks right after her c-section birth. It "should" last for 12 weeks (but my doctors were extra cautious and therefore gave me one after the birth as well even though it was less than 12 weeks). I am O neg and my husband is O pos, so I definitely needed the shot. Wishing you a happy and healthy remainder of the pregnancy!

Yes you should get it, however they should test your blood first to see if there are antibodies from the babies possibly positive blood type. You will need another shot after the birth since the babies blood can mix with your at that time also.

hmm...there may have been some new research that shows at 12 weeks it's better to get the shot....I also received the shot after my first miscarriage...but was told after that that I would receive it after each delivery..and miscarriage....you might need to do some research yourself or just ask your doctor why the protocol on this shot has changed and ask for some literature or where you can find how he backs up what he is doing.....most doctors actually love to have thier patients read up on what they read..but there are some doctors that have that .."your questioningin my authority"..attitude sometimes.....but it comes down to..it's your child, your body.

Hi A.,
I'm not sure why the reluctance, but the short answer... Yes, without a doubt you need it if there is a chance of blood incompatability between parent and baby. The problem normally does not affect the first pregnancy because the antibodies are introduced at that time and begin working themselves up to do their job, which is to get rid of anything they see as foreign, incompatable and harmful to your body. It affects any further children, though and your body will do it's best to reject your fetus, because that's what it thinks it's supposed to do at that point. There is no fear of mercury and getting a shot is cake. Losing a baby because of NOT getting Rhogam...devastating. Especially if you had a chance to prevent it, were advised to do so and opted not to. You would never be able to forgive yourself. It is the standard of care (which, by the way, means it has been extensively studied and determined by medical professionals to be the safest course of action). Just get it. P.S. If you opt not to get it, you will have to sign a waiver which states the risks and benefits have been explained to you and only you are liable for anything that happens because of your declination.

Hi there
I am also RH- I had my babies at home and never got the shot, I chose to wait to see the babies blood type, so immediately after birth test the baby and if the baby is + then you immediately get the shot.all my kids are -. I had the same concerns and decided to go with my gut feeling.
I also have understood that it is more effective. If you had one alreadsy then this baby is in no danger, it would be your next baby.

I can't answer the medical side of how long the rhogam shot lasts, but I do know that the purpose of the shot is to protect your next baby, not so much the one you are carrying. I am also RH- and have had the shot after miscarriages and during two of my full-term pregnancies. Like you, I did not receive the shot during a pregnancy while I lived overseas; however, there they did monthly blood tests to make sure I was not developing antibodies--they don't do that blood work here. All the same, I was a ball of nerves fearing that I would develop antibodies and not be able to have more children.

I don't know about the mercury, but I do know that my two children who were in utero when I received the shot are very normal, happy, healthy children, just like their sister whom I did not receive the shot with.

A.,

My OBGYN is wonderful and has never steered me wrong with any of his treatments of me.. I am RH- and my husband is RH+ I have had two shots with each pregnancy, one at 28 weeks to protect me and the baby and one after I give birth to protect me further, all 4 of my children have been RH+ as well... it helps prevent the build up of anti bodies against "foregin" objects (an RH+ baby).. Hopefully this helps, congrats on the pregnancy!!

The long and short of it is - YES! It protects your body from making antibodies against the baby in your next pregnancy and averting a possible fetal demise. You need the rhogam shot at 28 weeks and post partum with EACH pregnancy. You do not want to produce antibodies during your pregnancy (they would start to be produced around 28 weeks unless prevented from doing so)or immediately post partum. Congrats on your pregnancy!

Hi A.,
I have to say that I don't know the answer to this question, but I have heard that the Rhogam shots contain mercury, which is something you really don't want for you or your baby. You might want to look into that before you make your decision.
Good luck!
E.

A.,

My brother in law was an RH baby...and had to have many blood transfusions and was very sickly...I am not usually on the band wagon about shots...but this one I think produces more good than bad...My daughter has had four children and had to have the shot with every one because she is O- and Daddy is O+...I say better safe than sorry...I believe she has told me that if she would not have taken the shots that her body would have viewed the next pregnancy as an infectious attack...

Your body...your choice...

My heart to yours,
T.

Did you have a rhogam shot after your frist child? Because if you did your baby has a positive blood type which can affect further pregnancies . if you did not the babies blood type was neg and the baby would not effect pregnacies. also having had a miscarrage you are more at risk for your body to make antibodies . having the rhogam at 28 weeks helps to protect you and the baby . Because your body may start to make antibodies thinking that the pregnancy is a forgien body so there could be a chance for a misscarrage. Generally frist childern don't have as many problems with th rh factor as do later childeren. If it were me I would have the rhogam. well good luck S.

Although this baby is viable, if you do not know the father's blood type and there is the possibility that you will have another child (you are not having a tubal at delivery), you really should have the rhogam shot. The rhogam shot protects against your body "rejecting" the fetus in a subsequent pregnancy. Since you did not receive a rhogam shot with your first child, it could be why you miscarried in February.

I am RH- and so is my husband, but the doctor/hospital must give it to you to reduce their liability...basically so you cannot sue them for not offering it to you if your next pregnancy results in miscarriage. Our doctor did not care that I insisted my baby was my husband's and that we knew we were both RH-. She said that they could not take the risk that there was a possibility that it wasn't his child, especially since paternity normally cannot be proven until after the child is born.

BTW, I received the set of shots with each of my 3 children with no adverse effects and two of my children were born before 2001.

The Rhogam protects your current baby, and any future babies you may have, so you need it so that your body won't attack the baby. I am RH- (B- blood type), and my husband is B+. I had the Rhogam shot after two miscarriages, and also during some spotting with my first pregnancy, and after her birth, also during pregnancy and birth of my second child. It's so easy and effective. My aunt had several miscarriages due to her RH- way back before they understood RH incompatibility or had Rhogam. We are really lucky we don't have to go through that.

YES, plain and simple. YES. Rhogam isn't made with mercury anymore so it's a non issue. You need the shot at 28 weeks and if your child is RH+ you will need one after delivery. Good luck.