INCREDIBLE ADVANCEMENT IN PERINATOLOGY

If you followed our last pregnancy blog, then you may already know that I have a Rhesus Negative blood type.  This is, under normal circumstances, not a big deal, but when I become pregnant it can be a matter of life and death for my unborn child (especially for second or more fetuses). If my unborn baby happens to also have a Rhesus Negative blood type then everything is a-ok.  But, if my baby happens to have a Rhesus Positive blood type, as Lennon did, then things can become very complicated.  If a Rhesus Negative mother's blood mixes with her Rhesus Positive fetuses blood then the mother's body begins creating antibodies against ALL positive blood.  These antibodies will attack the blood of the fetus and future fetuses, resulting in sever anemia and most likely still birth. Fortunately, for Lennon, Miles was O-negative.  This means that there was never a chance of blood sensitization during my first pregnancy, which means I never developed antibodies, which in turn means my pregnancy with Lennon was like having a first time pregnancy in relationship to blood sensitization.  It was highly unlikely that mine and Lennon's blood would mix (barring any unforseen injuries).  BUT.... once I gave birth to Lennon the possibility that our blood may have mixed in the labor and birth process increased.  This means that in order to be safe for future pregnancies, I needed to receive a dose of a "vaccination" called Rhogam.  With my sensitivities to vaccines, I was very hesitant to get this shot, but decided that the benefit outweighed  the risk.  This is where you may remember my post about my severe allergic reaction to the Rhogam shot, my ambulance ride, and stay in the ER only a day after my little Lennon was born.  Well, seeing as how we are pregnant again, I am very grateful that I received the shot, despite the intense arthritic pain and swelling that I experienced for over a year after having had that shot.  But there is a new blood test out, this year, that searches out tiny fetal dna fragments in the mother's blood stream that indicates babies blood type in the early EARLY stages of pregnancy.  This means that if mother's have, in fact, developed rhesus disease, then doctors can begin blood transfusions early on that  prevent anemia and save the baby's life.  INCREDIBLE!!!  This also means that we will know, right away, whether or not I will actually need to risk the vaccination again, opt out and sterilize, or not even need it because baby is rhesus negative.   I am over the moon.  There is also one other teeny tiny advantage this blood test.  Since this test involves fragments of DNA from the fetus, they can also determine the gender of the baby.  Obvious,y, the health of the baby is what's most important, but when my midwife mentioned that we would also be able to tell the gender I was beyond excited.  So....  we will have our results back on Monday, and we should know whether or not June Bug is Rhesus Negative or Positive and whether or not our bug will be a he or a she.  That puts us at a gender determination at 12 weeks 2 days preggo!!!  Woohoo!!!