What are the risks with me being pregnant and having B- blood group?

[jsth1979]

I have spoken to someone who has said there is a higher risk to me because of this but there are tests and things that can be done to avoid problems. Any advice appreciated.

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi sth1979. This can be a complicated business, but is quite manageable. Being a rhesus negative woman, problems can arise if you have a rhesus positive baby (any group). However, you will not know if the baby is Rhesus positive or negative until it is born, so all Rhesus negative mothers are treated routinely. Rhesus positive cells contain a substance which can stimulate Rhesus negative blood to produce harmful antibodies that destroy red cells. This can be produced if a mother is Rhesus negative but her baby is Rhesus positive. This is called Rhesus incompatibility. However, this doesn’t happen with first pregnancies because the antibodies aren’t present in the mother’s blood. However, in later pregnancies, if the babies are Rhesus positive, there may be a problem. This is because the mother may have started producing the antibodies, which will cross over the placenta into the baby’s blood and, regarding it as ‘foreign’ and will try to break it down. Therefore, in the UK an injection of anti-D is given routinely to Rhesus negative pregnant mothers at 28 and 34 weeks, to stop possible production of the harmful antibody, just in case. Hope this helps and doesn’t confuse you further. Diane

[jsth1979]

That's great thankyou. Makes perfect sense. I'll speak to the clinic again tomorrow when I call them as need to arrange first scan

[Penny28]

Hi I am a b neg and I some times wonder if that's why I am problems having a 2nd baby my first is also a b neg same as me. We just got told that we have unexplained infirtatly so I do wonder if that's why as it's been 3yrs trying and we are going to try ivf in sep, will I need to ask about this? X

[jsth1979]

Yes from the advice I've been given so far it could be a factor but I'm not a doctor!! I would not have had a clue if a friend hasn't mentioned in passing... So I feel lucky to have found this out early on.