>I am posting this question for a friend. The mom's blood is negative and the
>father's is positive.

Annette,
I presume you are referring to Rh blood group.

 They gave the mother the shot during pregnancy to help
>with this incompatibility. The shot did not work. This mom has been getting
>amnios. every 2 weeks for the last month or so. She is 27 weeks pregnant now.
>They want to deliver (at the latest) at 34 weeks. The baby's blood is
>positive. They think the baby will have jaundice and will need a blood
>transfusion right away.

This sounds like she already is sensitised (has she already had a
baby/babies?) and has anti-D (ie anti-Rh) antibodies in her serum. This can
be very serious for the baby. That's why it is so important for Rh neg
mothers to be given anti-D (I think they call it Rho-gam, or something
similar) with every delivery of a Rh pos baby.

>
>The doctors and nurses are telling her she cannot breastfeed because the milk
>will carry the negative blood antibodies.
>
>Does this make sense to anyone? Or can there be a possibility that she can
>still breastfeed?

Rh antibodies are IgG antibodies, which is why they are so dangerous for
the baby in utero - they pass through the placenta and attack and destroy
baby's red blood cells. Once baby is born, this tranfer stops, although the
baby may be in quite a critical condition from the jaundice. Antibodies in
the milk are almost 100% IgA, so this is not a problem to the baby. As far
as my understanding of all this goes, there should be no problem with
breastfeeding. Just make sure baby doesn't get 'starved' by inadequate
breastfeeding (so common in the past) as this will just make the jaundice
harder to overcome.

Joy Anderson (who was a Medical Laboratory Scientist in my former life (BC)
and worked at a Blood Transfusion Service, sometimes testing mums' and
babies' blood to determine the need for anti-D injections)

******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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