Not getting Rhogam is insane. Having a negative blood type as a mother and a baby with a potentially positive blood type, can literally kill all future pregnancies if you don’t get Rhogam. I don’t understand why anyone would opt out, unless you were maybe absolutely positive that you only wanted one child (and even the, what if your first child dies for an unrelated reason during the pregnancy and you haven’t gotten Rhogam and you want to try again?). I read a sad story once of someone’s grandma (in pre-Rhogam days) who lost TEN babies this way, after her first and only living child. I think the only way to fix it other than preventing it w/Rhogam is to do an in-utero blood transfusion for the baby during the next pregnancy…not easy (and don’t quote me on that because I am not a medical professional.)

I am Rh negative, with an Rh positive husband. I am 21 weeks pregnant right now, and received the shot with both of my pregnancies (one ectopic miscarriage, one healthy baby) and it didn’t work. My delivery with my son was traumatic, and we didn’t discover that I had developed antibodies to the Rh antigen until I was 10 weeks pregnant. We have been advised to not have another pregnancy, as the antibodies will increase with each subsequent pregnancy, putting the baby in danger.
We are currently monitoring the baby weekly with ultrasounds. They measure the bloodflow to the baby’s brain, as if the baby is anemic, there will be increased bloodflow to the brain. If the bloodflow is borderline, we have increased ultrasounds. If they feel the baby is at risk, we would start doing the in-utero blood transfusions. If the baby is at risk after 30-ish weeks, they will deliver the baby and do the transfusion then (as there are less risks, obviously, even with a pre-term delivery). Even if the baby goes to full term, it will likely need a transfusion and be jaundiced, so we are pretty much set on a NICU stay no matter what. There are also many other side effects that are unknown – they are measuring the bloodflow to the brain, and use that as the measure of whether to do the transfusion, but at the same time the baby’s other organs can be suffering and have negative consequences that we won’t know about until delivery. So far, our scans have been good, and the stress is manageable, but the thought that every time I go to the doctor (which is often) it could end up with me having to travel to a larger hospital to have an emergency transfusion is hard.

I was born with an ABO Incompatibility in the stone ages and was treated with ‘bili lights’ instead of getting a complete blood transfusion. My siblings both took my mom’s O- while in my case, my dad’s B+ won out.

I also thought it was interesting after my first child was born that they don’t type babies – I won’t know my son’s blood type until an emergency arises or he becomes a donor.

I am Rh negative and had the Rhogam happily. I never considered opting out I cannot fathom why anyone would take such a risk.

I had the Rhogam shots. My grandmother on my fathers side wasn’t able to get the Rhogam shots when she was pregnant with my dad as the negative/positive blood type risks weren’t known back then. My dad was born a positive blood type and my grandmother suffered infertility as a result of it. Luckily my aunty was adopted a few years later, but I know the infertility is something that still pains her. She was very happy to know I was having the shots and couldn’t fathom somebody taking the risks associated with not having them.

I just got my shot this week (28 weeks) and am A-. The last shot I had in the rear hurt for a good 3 weeks, so my nurse opted to give it to me in the shoulder rather than the rear, and it was not soar AT ALL! It was awesome! It really depends on the person administering the shot as to how long it can hurt. So make sure to have a chat with the person giving you the shot, as it can make all the difference!

You must have confused my blood type with my grade point average.

They recommend RhoGAM for all Rh- women–regardless of their partner’s blood type–because of what’s euphemistically known as “mistaken paternity.” If you’re Rh- and you’re 100% sure that the father is also Rh-, you could skip the shots.

Interesting historical fact: some historians believe the repeated miscarriages Anne Boleyn suffered were the result of Rh incompatibility.

I have Rh-negative blood, my son is positive and my daughter is negative. I recently got the Rhogham shot for this pregnancy. It hurt, but only for a few days….more a sensitivity than real pain. Not getting the shot is insane. The side effect risks are just too great. I didn’t need the follow up shot with my daughter since we have the same blood type.

To MB who stated that they don’t type babies anymore, I think that must just be at your hospital/clinic. In order to know whether to give the 2nd dose of Rhogham, the Dr. MUST know what babies blood type is so they are typed right away. At least my kids were (and my youngest is 1yo)

My OBGYN totally messed up thinking I was A-, when in reality I’m A+ and I kept telling them REPEATEDLY that I’m A+ and to redo the blood test. It wasn’t until my delivery did they confirm that I was actually A+. Needless to say, I’m not going back to those drs for my next pregnancy!

I opted out. Why, because I am a- and my husband is o- and after tons and tons of research I decided that it wasnt needed. I had no reason to get it when I had no reason to question who my baby daddy is, I received it with my son because I didn’t know my husbands blood type but we confirmed his blood type through the military so I had no reason to question my decision this time. Also just to confirm, the shot doesn’t do anything to your current pregnacies if the blood mixes then it can prevent you from having successful pregnancies in the future because your body treats the pregnancy as a virus And attacks it.