Letting go can be a hard thing to do. With this baby, we had a “plan” to try a vbac (vaginal birth after c-section). My plan was to go all natural and try not to have any medications or epidural. So when we had our consult with the obgyn at one of the only hospitals in the area that would try a vbac, that’s what I had planned to tell the doctor…

Our meeting that day went a little differently than expected. We ended up meeting with the same doctor who delivered our son. She changed practices and just delivers babies now. She told us that there’s more risk involved to my health with a vbac, especially the further past your due date you go. She recommended the epidural because if there was an emergency, they won’t take the time to put one in and you’d then go under general anesthesia. Was I a little crushed? Truthfully yes, BUT we made the decision right then and there to listen and change our plan. Nothing was worth risking my health, or the chance to see my baby being born.

The next discussion was how far past my due date would be safe if the baby hadn’t come on its own. We decided that 2 days past would be safe. So we scheduled a c-section for 2 days after my due date. We were praying we wouldn’t have to use that appointment. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against needed c-sections. My son was born that way after more than 53 hours of labor. I just didn’t want to have to recover from major surgery and not be able to pick up my 3 year old son for a while. That would break my heart.

So, a few days after this meeting my Group B strep test came back…positive. This was a concern to us because it meant I’d have to get to the hospital once in early labor to get antibiotics before giving birth. This can be a very serious issue, and can effect the baby while in the womb, during birth and after. We have good friends who almost lost their son from this horrible illness,(prayers for them are always welcome) his story is here: https://www.facebook.com/reagansgbsjourney/

So, I never went into labor and went in on August 10 for my planned c section. This is where our plan really went out the door… After checking in a nurse came into our room and said we’re trying to see if we can do the surgery because you have alien blood. My husband and I laughed because we thought it was a joke. It wasn’t. The doctor came in and explained that my blood work came back with some rare antibody and they had to take another sample and send it to another lab to double check. So that took hours, and it came back that I wasn’t just positive for just one antibody but two. This means that if I needed a blood transfusion during surgery they would have to find compatiable blood because normal blood could cause a life threatening condition. Basically, my body would attack normal donor blood. So, because my antibodies were so rare my doctor said they were not comfortable doing the surgery until they find blood for me. (Also I was very anemic and was having iv treatments every week before delivery, making the situation worse)We went home that day with a hospital bracelet on my wrist that I was not supposed to remove incase of an emergency, and specific instructions for the hospital to call my doctors cell phone if I happened to go into labor so she could explain the situation. It was that important.
Four days later we went back to the hospital, not knowing if they found blood or if we would have a baby that day. At this point I was 6 days past my due date and the risk to my health was increasing. Luckily they found 2 units of blood for me. They had to contact the Red Cross and do a state wide search, if they hadn’t found it in state, they would have had to search other states.

So they rolled me back for my c section and about 20 minutes later, Dom announced to everyone in the room it was a girl! I cried.  (We didn’t find out if the baby was a girl or boy before delivery) The crazy part about her being born was she was crying in the womb before being taken out. The nurses called her a diva. She was 9 pounds 7 ounces! I didn’t expect such a big baby. She was such a blessing right from the start and we were lucky that she was born healthy(because of her size they had to check her sugars before every feeding the first day). 

After all the craziness of her birth, I took some time to recover and recently visited a blood specialist. He has never seen a case like mine and told me that he needs to contact a blood bank doctor to try and help me. He also told me that he would do some research and contact me after the holidays. The very next week (day after Christmas) he called me himself to tell me: 1. don’t get pregnant now, 2. I would need a medical ID necklace or bracelet, 3. My next pregnancy would be high risk. So that was a lot to digest. He referred me to the biggest hospital in the area to a doctor who could give me more information. 

What I do know right now is that I’m the less than 1% that this happens to and it will stay with me for the rest of my life. There is routine blood work where this is detected in pregnancy. This typically does not effect the pregnancy where it is detected, but can with any pregnancy after.  No, it’s not RH +\- which is actually anti-D and the only antibody that there is a “treatment” for (a shot while pregnant, and after birth). My blood is hard to find, less than 20% of the population would be a match for me.  (Because of the antibodies I now have)One of my antibodies is considered aggressive, and the other can be as well. That means that if the baby has the antigen, my body will attack the baby. There’s a huge list of what can go wrong (baby being anemic, still birth, hydrops, jaundice and many more), what to watch out for, steps to take etc…I’ll be seeing a new doctor soon to figure things out and see what the risks are when we decide to have another baby. Sometimes intervention is needed, other times just very close monitoring is and there isn’t a way before hand to tell.

Am I worried? No, because it’s all in Gods hands and as I’ve learned, the plans we have for ourselves might not be the exact plans God has for us. I do feel it’s better to be proactive than to not know what we might be getting into. I will update when I get more information, because I’d like to bring awareness to this health issue for others. Just know that this is extremely rare, so rare that most of my doctors had no idea what the antibodies meant, never heard of them and all had to do their own research to try and give me answers. Luckily I’m healthy, and so are my kids.