Prologue
It is hard for my to talk about this as I am a private person. It is easy to talk about and share with the world the happy, funny, positive moments in life. Not so easy to discuss the hard, not so fun moments. We are have them, those not so pretty parts, but we like to pretend we don't. However, as I thought about it, I realized that if I don't share it, my blog and my reasons for doing it, are not genuine. So here is an not so fun part of my life currently in progress.
Our Story
Have you ever gotten one of those phone calls from the doctor? The one saying "We just got back some of your test results, and we need to see you to discuss them." Well, I did on July 6th. The doctor wanted to see me the next day in regards to the recent pregnancy related blood tests they did.
With Kiera, a similar thing happened, and it was to tell me that I was not immune to Ruebella. Which meant I had to avoid anyone with the Measles. Since Measles and Ruebella have pretty much been eradicated in Canada and the US, it wasn't difficult. No cause for too much concern. Thinking this visit would turn out the same, Mike opted not to join me at the doctors office.
On July 7th, I sat down with the doctor, and was told I had developed K Antibodies since my last pregnancy. What does that mean? Well, as Dr. N explained, it means that my blood, as it passes into baby too, may be attacking baby's blood (* there is a more detailed description below). I am being referred to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinc in Van and they can give me more details. I was sent for an ultrasound from the doctors office.
As I left the doctor's office, all I could think was that my body was killing our baby. How do I tell Mike? When I finally reached Mike, he was almost home from work. He turned around and met me at the ultrasound appointment. I tried to explain what was happening, but I couldn't. I didn't fully understand.
We did some research at home, and understand a little better what was going on. My body might be attacking the baby's red blood cells, causing anemia. The "might" is effected by Mike. He may be a carrier of what is called a Kell or K antigen. If he is negative, then baby too is negative, and everything is good. Even if Mike is positive, there is a 50% chance the baby is still negative. Still, what does it mean if he and the baby is positive?
Mike's blood test was arranged for the very next day. Dr. N isn't messing around. Now comes the hard part, the waiting. And waiting, and waiting. All we can do is talk about what if, and pray for the negative results.
July 19th is the day the ball starts rolling. First was a phone call from the Maternity Clinic in town. I had been referred to them before my original test results came in. They wanted to see me in 2 days. I explained to them what was going on. They still wanted to see me, and they might be able to give me some answers. A couple of hours later, Dr. N calls me. She has been on vacation and just got back. She wanted to know if I had heard from the clinic in Van. I told her no, and she said she would follow up and see why. She called back a couple of hours later, and told me the Van clinic should get a hold of me with in a week. She also let me know that Mike did test positive for the K Antigen, and that she has found me an on/gyn in town to see me.
Finally some answers. I think I slept better that night than I have the entire pregnancy so far. On the 21st, I see the Mat Clinic, and find out that I will be seeing those dr's as well as my ob/gyn. I will probably have blood tests done quite frequently, as well as a number of ultrasounds to check on baby's growth. May be it's a good thing I am not working. We also received word from Van that we need to see them on the 26th.
It sounds like we and baby are in good hands, so we are just taking it one day at a time. We should know more after our visit to Van.
So what does K mean? Here is my explanation, but I am including links in case you want more information.
K (Kell) Antigens and K Antibodies
Antigens are a substance/molecule, and in the case of the K Antigen, a protein that has attached to the person's blood cells. This occurs in about 10% of the population. Just like blood type, it is a genetic trait that can be passed down thru generations. It is not harmful to a person, just a genetic anomally.
Where is the harm comes in is when a woman, who is negative for this antigen, develops antibodies then carries a child that is positive for the antigen. There are 2 ways for a woman to develop the antibodies. Either thru a blood transfusion, or thru giving birth to a K positive baby. In our case, it is the latter. When Kiera was born, some of her blood mixed in with my blood. Since I am negative, my body saw this antigen as a bacteria, and created antibodies to get rid of it.
During pregnancy, mother's blood passes into baby, supplying the necessary nutrients for baby to grow. If the baby is positive for the K antigen, and the mother has the antibodies, the antibodies in the mothers blood will attack the baby's red blood cells. This will cause anemia in the baby, and will effect baby's growth and development.
The only way to know that the baby is positive is with amniocentesis. Unfortunately, there is a 1 in 200 risk of miscarriage associated with the test. The only other option is to proceed as though the baby is positive.
All we know about the treatment right now is that it means a lot of doctors, lot of tests and a lot of monitoring to make sure baby is developing normally. We don't know what happens if baby isn't Maybe that is something we will learn on the 26th.
For more information, check out these links:
Posts
Thank you so much for this post! My son is 8 weeks old and i didn't find out that I have anti-kell protiens until I was being wheeled into the operating room for a c-section (even then I only knew because i overheard something the doctor was saying to the nurse). After my son was born, someone came in to tell me that they were testing my son's cord blood and to explain the issue, but I i was all hopped up on pain killers and neiter me or my husband got anysleep the night before. to give you the short version of the story - my son and i both very healthy thank God, but my husband and I still don't really understand what happened and are trying to figure out if this will be a problem should we decide to ahve another baby. The drs. dont seem to know much about it, and As you know, there is very little information, and what we have found is very confusing and hard to understand. Your post was so helpful and I will check ou the reference links! I enjoyed your blog and I am so glad to hear that everything turned out ok for you and your children :) thanks again
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I am glad to hear that you both are healthy.
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