Baby Update: 13 weeks

We met with the high-risk OB this morning and baby looks great. We will go back in three weeks and then will have weekly monitoring for at least a while. That's the short version. If you're interested in the details, read on.

I carry antibody-E in my blood, from a previous pregnancy (likely Nora's). If this baby has my blood type, the antibody will not cause any issues. If the baby has Daddy's blood type, there is a possibility it can cause problems later on. So there's a 50-50 chance that it will not cause any problems, but there is not a safe way to determine baby's blood type. 

If the baby has Daddy's blood type, there is a chance that my blood and the baby's blood could mix. There is a barrier between our blood, but it is thin and it could break at some point during the pregnancy. If this happens, my blood cells will attack baby's blood cells. This would lead to anemia in the baby, which can cause heart failure if left untreated. 

We will have weekly ultrasounds that monitor baby's blood flow with the high-risk OB beginning at 16 weeks and continuing for 4-6 weeks. If during that time baby does not show any signs of anemia, most likely the antibody-E will not cause any problems. We would continue to monitor but would space them out a bit more.

If the baby does show signs of anemia, treatment depends on how far along we are in the pregnancy. If it is too early to deliver, we would treat baby with intrauterine blood transfusions. If baby is far enough along, we would deliver early and give baby a blood transfusion then. 

After birth, we will monitor baby closely for jaundice. 

Whew, okay, that's what we learned today. So this can be serious but it isn't likely, and we need to keep a close eye on baby as the pregnancy progresses.

Thanks for continuing to pray with us--we'll keep you posted!