My Body Has Been Tricked

I have to say that modern medicine absolutely amazes me. While the extremely complex and miraculous procedures boggle my mind, the simple medical discoveries do, too.

I was part was part of a simple medical procedure today in the form of a shot in my rear end. I am RH negative, which means my body can make antibodies against RH positive blood cells, even against my own baby. So if my baby is RH positive, my body views it as an invader and could potentially start to attack it. While it's usually not a problem in your first pregnancy, if you don't have the Rogam shot at the appropriate times, on future pregnancies your body has the potential of attacking the fetus since it recognizes the RH positive blood cells & still thinks it’s an invader…even if it’s a baby.

So, my body was tricked today. I got a nice shot in my right cheek which will force my body to ignore any potential RH positive blood cells if my baby’s blood crosses in to mine during delivery. You get the shot at 28 weeks & then again when you deliver the baby. It’s amazing to me that one long needle full of liquid can completely trick your body. It’s another one of those medical advances that I don’t comprehend but I’m so grateful for.

In the 1940’s, about 50% of babies whose mothers developed antibodies died. Today, with early detective of an RH negative pregnancy & the availability of the shot, they have nearly eliminated a baby’s chance of developing this potentially devastating disease.

Today especially, I am so grateful for the medical people in this world who have figured these things out so that I don’t have to worry about it. I kept reminding myself of that as the nurse gave me the shot….it’s definitely not pleasant but we are blessed to live in such an advanced world!