I am a bit behind and others have said already that the doctor is
wrong about breastfeeding being dangerous when a mother has Rh
antibodies.

I just wanted to add a bit more in way of explanation as why it is
wrong. The Rh antibodies (both anit-D and anti-C) are IgG antibodies.
These are the ones which freely cross the placenta during pregnancy,
so if a mother already has anti-D before the pregnancy (eg from a
previous pregnancy and didn't receive Rhogam, or it 'failed', or from
a blood transfusion), these antibodies increase to exceptionally high
titre and are *very* dangerous to a Rh+ foetus.

Once baby is born, the only 'extra' antibodies he gets from his
mother's milk are IgA (essentially - there are very small amounts of
the other classes, but insignificant). IgA antibodies are 'special'
in that they are made to resist breakdown, as they are the antibodies
for 'outside' surfaces of the body (eg in lungs, gut, etc). These are
the ones that the baby gets so many of from mum's milk that 'coat'
his gut and protect him from infections, etc. *You don't get IgA
anti-Rh antibodies.*

The doctor needs a lesson in basic immunology!
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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