Questions & Answers

What the Rho gam shot does is destroy any antibodies you body produces so that you can have healthy subsequent pregnancies. Honestly, it doesn't really protect you, but rather your future children.

I am O- as well. During the birth of my oldest, her scalp was scratched by my pelvis. Her blood type ended up being A-. I didn't have complications from the Rh factor since she was neg, however, she did have issues from blood type incompatibility (which is much less severe than Rh complications and very common. About 25% of babies are born with this). My immune system produced antibodies to her type A blood & started attacking her red blood cells during the birthing process. So, it is very possible to be exposed to fetal blood during pregnancy/delivery. Because she was Rh -, I didn't have to receive a second Rho gam shot in the hospital after the birth, however, my second daughter ended up being O+, so I did have to receive the second injection post delivery.

It has nothing to do with you being type O, but that you are Rh negative. It is very possible for you to be exposed to your child's blood, the most common way is during delivery. If you were to be exposed to a positive blood type, your immune system would produce antibodies to the positive rh factor. It would see that positive rh factor as an invader (like a germ). If you never got a Rho gam shot, those antibodies would stay in your system. Now, lets say you decided to have another baby and it too had positive blood. Your immune system would recognize the positive rh factor and start attacking the fetus as an invader (this is similar to how the immune system works with vaccines or illnesses you can only get once, like chicken pox). Before the Rho gam shot, women with neg blood types would often have chronic miscarriages or babies born with severe birth defects due to this immune attack.