I get a few emails weekly from women asking if they should refuse the Rhogam shot because they have read a lot of material that states that the side-effect may harm their children.
Thankfully I have a few physicians in my network also rh negative always ready to advise me how to lead them into the right direction while limiting my replies appropriately.
When asking about the side-effects of vaccines, the two main replies I receive are as follows:
1) “Do not worry about the vaccines, they serve a purpose”.
2) There are plenty of reasons for concerns, yet refusing a vaccine like Rhogam could be fatal to the fetus.
Prioritize!
The most important factor to every pregnant rh negative woman is and should be the well-being of the child.
You should if pregnant and rh negative immediately talk to your physicians about all concerns that you have.
If the doctor refuses to take appropriate time and expresses no interest, you should seek council from another physician and switch to a medical professional who wants to make sure that you receive the best care possible.
Be also aware that in different countries there are different procedures when it comes to protecting the rh negative fetus from the antibodies of an rh negative mother if she has them.
In the U.S. for example, rh negative women who are pregnant receive the Rhogam shot at around 6 weeks into the pregnancy. This is being done regardless of surrounding factors which may or may not determine whether or not you actually need it.
It is standard procedure.
In many European nations, you do not get the shot administered during your first pregnancy. After your first pregnancy, the blood type of the baby is being determined and if the child is rh positive, you receive the vaccine to protect the potential rh positive next fetus.
Yoe Bing from Rhesus Negatif Indonesia (RNI) states:
The problem came during my 2nd pregnacy. I got bleeding during the 2nd months of the pregnancy … so I took the Rhogam shot after the bleeding. The doctor just said that there was no hope for my 2nd baby … but my baby survived and was born healthy. It was a miracle to me.
This was the alternative in a nation with around 0.5% rh negatives where the issue has been overlooked for the longest and a lot of fetuses died simply because the pregnant rh negative woman either received no care, received it too late or the “wrong care” out of ignorance and/or disinterest of the doctor.
Neither the American or European system are perfect and reasons for concerns include:
a) The importance of an antibody screening has not to be overlooked in rh negative women before even their first pregnancies. It is possible that a woman who is rh negative and has never had a blood transfusion or any type of contact with rh positive blood after birth has already antibodies built if for example her own mother is rh positive and during pregnancy with her the fetus’ blood and hers had contact causing the rh negative fetus to build antibodies due to some of the mother’s rh positive blood penetrating her system during the time in the womb via placenta.
b) There are concerns that if a woman receives the vaccination containing potentially harmful material is being administered during the pregnancy (as in the American system), particles of those can penetrate the fetus via placenta and have a stronger effect considering size and sensitivity of the fetus.
More research has to be done in these two areas but it has been confirmed to me that at the least both are “potential matters for concern”.
If you already have antibodies in your system, a chemical pregnancy can also occur which is quite common amongst rh negative women. 6 weeks may not be early enough to administer the shot. Unfortunately this concern has fallen on many deaf ears due to doctors simply following procedure without a second thought unless forced to listen and research on their own.
And the same way it might be wrong to assume that just because a woman has not been pregnant or had any contact with rh positive blood after birth, that she has no antibodies and an rh positive fetus “should be safe”.
It is YOUR pregnancy, so treat it as such!
So what can we do now?
Let’s first look at some other possibilities to determine whether or not you do or don’t need the Anti-D shot:
1) Can the blood type of the fetus be determined while in the womb?
The answer is “Yes”, but it is considered too risky. Even though scientists have developed a genetic test which can help diagnose a potentially fatal blood disorder in babies while they are still in the womb, so we might see this happening soon.
2) Should having an rh negative husband immediately guarantee that the fetus is rh positive?
Unfortunately no. Well, of course “Yes”, but not in the eyes of the board of directors of a hospital. You may know that you are faithful to your husband, but the medical industry will be afraid that even if you answer a questionnaire guaranteeing this, they may still be held accountable should you not be honest and for example “the real father decides to sue them for not doing their job correctly”, as they “should know better”, so this is not going to happen either.
Looking at what the people of Rhesus Negatif Indonesia have done can serve as a great example. In Indonesia, the medical industry was not as concerned with the well-being of its only 0.5% rh negative population, so Yoe Bing, Lici Murniati and others came together after Mr. Irwandhany Semenguk, the founder of the group, passed away just recently.
And they made it happen and now are working on making sure the avoidable complications are a thing of the past.
Have you been under the care of a great physician who done well getting you through your pregnancy successfully?
Let this be an opportunity to thank him or her on a new forum we have installed and leave his name and address for others who search.
Share your experiences and tips.
There are many women looking for answers and it’s time to give the business to the physicians who truly are dedicated enough to find the best way to help.
So go ahead and continue here:
Rh Negative Pregnancy Questions and Answers
We cannot wait for the medical industry to care, so its time to step things up on our own!
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Hi my name is Justyna. I am from Poland. Now live on the Isle of Man. I am O Negative. My husband is O Psitive. I have had miscarrage 2 years ago. Did not know my blood type hence was not offered a shot. Got pregnant again & was offerer the shot when I was 28 weeks but I refused. I asked the nurse to tell me if I started producing the antybodies. She said that I have not. This is why I told my doctor I do not want the shot. He was very suprised but relised that I knew what I was doing & allowed me do it my way. I refused the shot after birth as well. Nurse gave me the copy of the ingriedients list & Thimerosol was not on it bot I suspect traces are. If I get pregnant again I will find out again if my body is producing antybodies or not. Even if it is I am not sure if I take the shot. I am sure there is alternative & I am still searching for it. I used essential oils during pregnancy & at birth with great results. I think they may be my best protection. 🙂 Good look everyone & carry on searching. xo
Forgot to say that my baby is O Positive like dady.
You say that you were given a copy of the ingriedents of the Rhogam shot. I would very much like to see that list. I believe that doctors are overcompensating on using the shot without considering the womans preferences or permission. . My friend who never had children or wanted any was given the shot just as a precaution. My mother, born 1934, was not given this shot because it wasnt available, so I am the first generation -test generation to be given this shot. Since mixing the blood types is bad for us, i suspect there are some side effects to the MOTHER that have not been explored yet. We of course want our children to survive and thrive, but we should be offered alternatives and not automatically shotgunned with the shots. Being 63 years of age, I have been pretty healthy throughout my life. Now I am experiencing some health problems that doctors cant seem to diagnose. After childbirth and receiving the shot, i had an outbreak of psoriasis like symptoms on my hands. After time it went away, but now has returned 10 times as bad. As we age our immune system has a hard time keeping up and i wonder if this ailment has something to do with the side effects of the shot. Such a supposition is not so far fetched i think.
It’s possible. I believe in power of our mind now more than ever & we can strengthen our immune system with positive thinking, beliefs & praying more than before. We are spiritual beings having physical human experience. Most of our physical issues stem from our mental state, unhealed traumas, stress, worry. I buy the best quality food & drink water filtered with Britta, however everything else I have no control over I do not worry about.
I feel stronger, healthier & happier than ever.
Rhogam shots were only studied on male prisoners & the whole thing is a hoax, to keep us in fear, stress & pump more drugs in to us. I gave no shots to my baby, no so called vit.K & she is growing up beautifully.
We do not go for anymore check-ups, visit’s, screenings, nothing. We are staying away from the sick care centres their so called health services.
We don’t take any supplements, even organic, as it’s not natural to swallow concentrated, isolated stuff & puts too much pressure on the liver.
We just eat as healthy as we can & enjoy every minute of this gift that life is.
I am 43 & if I was to get pregnant again, I would have a home birth, with people I know & trust. Too many doctor shipmans & nazi nurses in those places. Most just blindly following orders, but there are always few at the top truly despicable.
I am still using my essential oils & other natural solutions for every day care & feeling empowered to be able to look after my family without relaying on strangers.
The only sector of the hospital that is of any use to men & women is emergency, as they are good at saving people after deep wound accidents. Anything else I can take care of myself & wish other men & women will claim their own power over their bodies back. It’s very easy. We simply don’t need most of their services, as it’s to keep us sick & not healthy.
Sending love to you & everyone who needs it. xo
Could someone do some research on the bloodline of Henry the 8th ? Was his family nobility or commoners ? Here is something that is interesting. In the time of Henry the 8th in England and onwards, royalty married within family or specified families. This was because time testing and folklore had shown that marrying outside of specified families did not produce healthy babies. Could Henry the 8th have been barking up the wrong tree when he tried for children with royal blooded wives-Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn. It sounds as though he was NOT RH negative. This would fully explain why the first child of each wife was healthy, but the ones that followed didnt make it. I find it hard to believe that no one has noticed this. Are there any articles on this subject ?
I am rh negative and my husband is positive, i was not giving Rhogam during my first pregnancy which i had still birth and having about three miscarriages after that. Is it anyway or something we can do to have children??
Have you had your blood checked for antibodies against the rh positive blood. If your body has produced these antibodies then only a child with your rh negative blood would be able to be carried to term, positive rh factors its very likely (if you have those antibodies anyway) your body would see this baby as invasive/foreign and would try to attack its blood. This leads to many miscarriages, health and learning disabilities etc. Im so very sorry for your losses, I’ve lost one later in pregnancy and its rough and I can totally empathize. Did you have any type of rhogram or similar at any point during pregnancy?? If you did then they might not have given you one after as the fetal tissue was negative as well and no shot is required. I would have the blood tests done for antibodies and go from there. Your doctor or ob/gyn should know way more then I do. These are just whats been told to me and my daughter both whom are rh negative. I know no one wants to think about donors and such but if all else fails and you and your husband should choose to go that way, I would try to find an rh negative donor if it is indeed due to rh incompatibility. Good luck!
I am O- and hubby is O+…. After 17 years of infertility issues and all about given up; we were surprised to find out we were expecting our first child… At 17 weeks gestation, our baby girl was diagnosed with both Trisomy 18 and a congenital diaphragmatic hernia… we were also told that I was O- at this point… Being a former gastric bypass patient 4 years prior I thought that something must be wrong because my pre-op testing had clarified that I was indeed O+ at that point.. I can’t help but wonder if the gastric bypass changed something; especially now that I am 10 years out and have celiac anemia bone marrow disease caused by absorbency issues from the RNY… Our daughter was born breathing regardless of medical professional opinions and she tested as O+ like her daddy… Having a c-section for her safe arrival was my only option yet the clamping was not performed properly during her birth and I was not administered the rho-gham shot until our daughter was 2 days old… she was born with jaundice, as well as other issues that caused her to need continuous blood transfusions and sadly she passed away two days prior to her discharge at 76 days old… since losing her; we have suffered multiple miscarriages… a year after her birth and death we lost a baby at 12 weeks to a spontaneous miscarriage, which doctors claimed was most likely due to my blood type… getting the rho-gham shot was a fight for me after this loss… a year later we lost another baby at 14 weeks for what they called a “missed heartbeat”, followed by a D&C and rho-gham… a year almost exactly apart we were pregnant again only to be informed that we were experiencing a “blighted ovum”… there was no fetal pole or yolk sac found in 4 weeks of ultrasounds which lead us to an emergency D&E and another rho-gham shot on New Year’s Eve… it is now almost 2 years since this last pregnancy and I have not been able to become pregnant since… I just wonder if there is a possibility that being supposed O- is causing these issues and possibly even causing different caryotyping with the genetics during conception… As hard as it has been, I still have not given up hope and pray for a healthy baby nearly every day to fill the void in my life but am I just wishful thinking
I am A- and at the age of 22 had a little girl with my ex-husband O+, the pregnancy was fine. The doctor asked me 2 weeks before delivery to have antibody testing because of the A- factor, the blood tests came back with antibodies they couldn’t identify, so I gave blood again — no one said anything. I went into labor and delivery was easy and fine and my daughter was healthy, soon after delivery I started feeling sick and asked the nurse what was wrong — people started running all over and I don’t remember much after. I woke up the next morning and was receiving blood and medication – no one said anything, the doctor arrived and filled me into what had happened, it’s really rare but my daughters antibodies attacked me causing me to hemorrhage. They gave me the rhogam — I got pregnant once after and did not receive the rhogam and choose to have my tubes tied rather then worry about any other problems
I am A- and at the age of 22 had a little girl with my ex-husband O+, the pregnancy was fine. The doctor asked me 2 weeks before delivery to have antibody testing because of the A- factor, the blood tests came back with antibodies they couldn’t identify, so I gave blood again — no one said anything. I went into labor and delivery was easy and fine and my daughter was healthy, soon after delivery I started feeling sick and asked the nurse what was wrong — people started running all over and I don’t remember much after. I woke up the next morning and was receiving blood and medication – no one said anything, the doctor arrived and filled me into what had happened, it’s really rare but my daughters antibodies attacked me causing me to hemorrhage. They gave me the rhogam — I got pregnant once after and did not receive the rhogam and choose to have my tubes tied rather then worry about any other problems
i am o negative, i’ve had 2 voluntary abortions. never tested for antibodies, never had a child. after the first termination they immediately gave me the rhogam shot, and the same for the second one. you mention in another vid that women should get the shot before pregnancy, given the circumstances described am i protected should i decide to keep a pregnancy?
I have 3 sons, ages 22,19,& 11 yrs old. I had the shot during my first and last pregnancy. Both those sons have specific issues. I was extremely ill throughout each pregnancy and had morning sickness that lasted all day everday up until the day I gave birth to each child. My oldest has ADHD, oppositional defiance disorder, anxiety, , but was truly blessed with being a hands on learner. He can weld, scuba dive, mechanic on vehicles, does electrical work. All self taught. He also has a rare genetic disease called Fabry’s Disease. Now, my youngest, he has autism spectrum disorder, speech, language, & developmental delays, but a whiz at math, and is a true problem solver that comes up with ideas I would never have thought of. I did have gestational diabetes with this pregnancy, and placenta abrupto. He also has Fabry’s disease. My middle son, I missed getting the shot with. He did not inherit the rare genetic disease. He has asthma, but is super empathetic, & he & I have very close emotional bond to each other. He knows when I am sick without having spoken to me, super smart . I also have the rare genetic disease. I hope this information helps someone.
I am Rh-negative, my husband and both of our sons. When I was pregnant , I worked in a hospital hematology laboratory, at that time, my husband was a medical student. I did my initial prenatal bloodwork which reveals your blood type , you’re either Rh negative or positive , it revealed, I was Rh-negative. My husband decided to do his bloodwork, too, it revealed he was Rh-negative. I did not receive RhoGAM in both of my pregnancies. Both of my babies were delivered healthy.
My parents are both Rh-negative. My mother never received RhoGAM during her 6 pregnancies. Four were delivered at home and two at the hospital. All of her babies were healthy. When my siblings and I got much older three of my siblings inherited our mother’s heart issues. I inherited my father’s HBP.
If your physician determines that you may have Rh incompatibility , you’ll get a shot of RhoGAM when you’re between 26 and 28 weeks pregnant and then 72 hours after delivery to make sure future pregnancies are as safe as the first.
According to WorldAtlas blood types Percentage of the World’s population
O- 3% O+42%
A-2.50% A+31%
B- 1% B+ 15%
AB- 0.50% AB+ 5%