# RH neg-hospital did not give shot after birth



## KristenVan (Oct 13, 2009)

Hi I had a question about my best friend who just had her baby 10 days ago. She is RH neg and the hospital forgot to give her the rhog shot after she had the baby.

Has anyone had experience with this? Is this going to affect future pregnancies if she decided to have more kids?

Any info would be appreciated!!

Thanks,
Kristen


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## rachelsmama (Jun 20, 2005)

Did they check baby's bloodtype? If baby is neg. there's no need for the post-natal shot.


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## KristenVan (Oct 13, 2009)

They actually said they were "supposed" to have given it to her and they didn't because they were so busy it got overlooked somehow.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

There's a blood test your friend can have to check for Rh sensitization. That would let her know if this is likely to be an issue for future pregnancies.

If she was sensitized, she should consider checking in with a malpractice lawyer - I don't usually advocate lawsuits, but this is a big deal.


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## KristenVan (Oct 13, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MeepyCat* 
There's a blood test your friend can have to check for Rh sensitization. That would let her know if this is likely to be an issue for future pregnancies.

If she was sensitized, she should consider checking in with a malpractice lawyer - I don't usually advocate lawsuits, but this is a big deal.


Her doctor gave her the head nurse's cell phone number to have her come into the hospital and have her blood drawn to check, supposedly to insure that she isn't "charged" by the insurance company the nurse is going to present to make sure it isn't billed. Idk it all sounds strange!


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KristenVan* 
Her doctor gave her the head nurse's cell phone number to have her come into the hospital and have her blood drawn to check, supposedly to insure that she isn't "charged" by the insurance company the nurse is going to present to make sure it isn't billed. Idk it all sounds strange!

If I was your friend, the question of whether or not the insurance company was billed for the shot I didn't get would be the least of my concerns.


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## KristenVan (Oct 13, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MeepyCat* 
If I was your friend, the question of whether or not the insurance company was billed for the shot I didn't get would be the least of my concerns.

It sounded to me more like they were trying to prevent her from being billed for the blood test.


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## azdesertrn (Apr 2, 2003)

When I was researching the rhogam shot I think the stats were something like 10 percent chance of sensitization if no rhogam shot was ever given, 2 percent chance of sensitization if rhogam given only after delivery and 1 percent chance of sensitization if rhogam was given both during and after the pregnancy.

Did she receive a shot during the pregnancy? If it was close to when she delivered it would decrease her chances of being sensitized.

It will only affect future pregnancies if she has been sensitized.


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## thelocaldialect (Jan 18, 2009)

just passing through and saw this thread ...

I had a loss at 16 weeks about 9 years ago, one that required a D&E, and something similar happened. My blood type was never checked and I only discovered I was Rh- many years later, when pregnant with my son. I was super worried about having antibodies, but I actually turned out not to have been sensitized at all, no antibodies were in my system. I was really surprised, considering everything. As it turns out, sensitization, while a big deal if it happens, doesn't happen as often as you might think. So tell your friend not to panic, but to get bloodwork done to test for the antibodies in her bloodstream. If she's been sensitized it will have consequences for subsequent pregnancies, but even sensitized women can carry healthy, full term babies.


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## nashvillemidwife (Dec 2, 2007)

Just 10 days out (12 now), there's still a very good change Rhogam would be helpful to her. The standard that it is given within 72 hours of delivery was established because that was the protocol of the study that established the effectiveness of postpartum administration. The longer you wait the less effective it is, but 72 hours is no magic number at which it just stops working. According to the recommendations of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada:

Quote:

If anti-D is not given within 72 hours of delivery or other potentially sensitizing event, anti-D should be given as soon as the need is recognized, for up to 28 days after delivery or other potentially sensitizing event.
Tell her to get back to the hospital or doctor's office for that shot ASAP.


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