QuestionHi
I am 21..I had a liver transplant at the age of 11 done great with it however last February i had a miscarriage at 5 weeks with what i thought was my first pregnancy however at the er they discoverd i was rh negative and had antibodies in my blood and they told me i had to of been pregnant before to of had the antibodies.i didnt know i was pregnant before because my cycles was irregular at that time i know i missed periods but that wasnt uncommen for me so.. i learned that i had been pregnant before and i was rh negative..i did receve a shot of rhogam at the er..but now i have qustions and was wondering if you could ansew them for me or atleast give me some insight...My first qustion is..I had a liver transplant at the age of 11.. i went all this time not knowing i was rh negative..Should my liver doctors of told me i was rh negative..i mean i would think that they would of knew?..or is that only something that can be discoverd when your pregnant?..my second qustion is..is haveing the antibodies in my blood what caused me to miscarry the second time?..third qustion is being rh negative..what caused me to miscarry the first baby i was pregnant with that i didnt know about could not getting the rhogam shot be what caused me to lose that first baby?..and lastly what does this hold for my future pregnancies..i know being as i have had a liver transplant..that every pregnacy will be a high risk ..but does this blood type put me at more risk me and or the baby?.can it complicate my pregnancy as well as my health? even with the rhogam?..thank you
AnswerKmberly,
I am so sorry for the tardiness of this answer. ( Busy week with one sick twin @ home.) I will do my best to answer all your question.
- You have always had Rh negative blood. That is just your blood type. You were born with it. It really doen't become much of a concern until pregnancies. I would imagine you had some blood tranfusions during your transplant. They drew some blood on you before sugery to "Type and Cross" match your blood so that you got the correct type during a blood transfusion. They would not have needed to tell you your blood type.
-The second miscarriage is possibly caused by the antibodies you have.
-The first miscarriage was not caused by any antibodies. You didn't produce them until you lost the baby.
-For future pregnancies, your doctor will closely watch each pregnancy. Regular blood tests can help your doctor watch the health and growth of your fetus. As the pregnancy progresses, a fetus with severe Rh disease may move less often than before. The goal of treatment is to prevent or reduce harm to the fetus and prevent early (preterm) delivery.
Tests that you could expect to be done during subsequent pregnancies include:
-An indirect Coombs' test is done periodically during your pregnancy to determine whether your Rh-positive antibody levels are increasing. This is the typical course of treatment for the majority of sensitized women during pregnancy.
-Amniocentesis at or after 15 weeks to examine amniotic fluid for substances that indicate fetal problems, to determine fetal blood type and Rh factor, on a repeated basis to monitor how much a fetus is being affected by sensitization.
-Fetal Doppler ultrasound of blood flow in the umbilical cord and/or brain can determine the presence and severity of fetal anemia. In most cases, Doppler ultrasound can replace the need for an amniocentesis. This new test is becoming more widely used in Rh-sensitized pregnancies.
-Electronic fetal heart monitoring (non-stress test) may be done in the 3rd trimester to check your fetus's condition. Unusual fetal heart rhythms detected during a non-stress test may be a sign that the fetus has anemia related to the sensitization.
-Fetal ultrasound testing can be used as a pregnancy progresses to detect sensitization problems, such as fetal fluid retention (a sign of severe Rh disease).
I hope this helps! Good luck to you!
Suzette
