I asked at the hospital when they were born and the nurse said she wasn't allowed to tell me.She said too many people used it to try and figure out paternity and it was an issueso they only told in certain cases of medical need.She reiterated that if I told a doctor or ER what blood type they were, they would retest anyway so it was irrelevant.
Lol. This seems like ridiculous and outdated reasoning on the hospital's part in the age of easy, reliable genetic paternity testing. (Ridiculous reason to refuse to tell.)
Kaiser knows but I don't. They told us when the kids were born but it was all such a blur. I think they were O+. I should ask the pediatrician at the next appointment (she'll know where to look in the record).
The only person in my family that I know is my H. That only stuck because like the day he got out of boot camp I was looking at his dog tags and made a joke about it standing for "a piece of shit" and hurt his feelings lol. In my defense I didn't know what it was listing out and thought it was an acronym not an abbreviation.
Tbh I'm always surprised when people know their blood type or anyone else's for that matter. I might be B something? No clue on my kids.
I work as a baby nurse, so I can probably explain why your baby did or did not get tested at birth.
If you are Rh negative, your baby gets tested, because if the baby is positive you will need at least 1 more dose of rhogam (or rhophylac, brand names for the immune globulin). You get one dose early in pregnancy, before we know baby's blood type, as a "just in case" prophylaxis, then you get more after delivery of an Rh positive baby to prevent development of antibodies against the positive Rh antigen. We also do a lab called a rosette test to make sure mom doesn't need a higher dose of rhogam to compensate for larger than expected amount of fetal blood in her circulation (can happen due to trauma/bleeding between placenta/uterus). If baby is negative, you don't need that after delivery dose (and technically didn't need the during pregnancy dose either, but we didnt know that at the time).
If you are Rh positive, we only check baby's blood type (usually from cord blood, so we don't need to stick baby) for type O moms. This is because if baby is different (a, b, or ab) they are at an increased risk of jaundice. We will also check a DAT (direct antibody test or Coombs test) on that baby using the same sample, which shows if there was mixing of maternal/fetal blood. If mixing occurred (test result is positive), there will be more destruction (and quicker) of the baby's red blood cells by mom's antibodies. Destroyed RBCs release bilirubin, which causes jaundice. So if mom is O and baby is different, there is a higher risk of jaundice, and if DAT is positive, there is a *much* higher risk of jaundice, and onset may be much earlier or more severe. For a positive DAT, we start checking baby's bili levels at 6 hours of life instead of the standard 24-36 hours. A, B, and AB moms don't have that same level of jaundice risk for baby, so we don't automatically check their baby's type.
If mom has some other weird antibodies, as found on the screen portion of her type and screen (I've seen anti-E, anti-c, anti-jk), we would check baby's type because the same issues could occur. Those antibodies are much rarer but do happen. They are also part of why we do a type and screen on everyone before giving them any "matched" blood, the donor unit has to be cross matched to a current sample to make sure no incompatibilities exist. A blood transfusion error is one of the biggest no-nos for a hospital, just knowing your basic type (A+ or whatever) is not sufficient and they will absolutely not risk it.
I know I am A+, known since birth because my mom is O+. I don't know my kids' because my type didn't necessitate checking theirs and they haven't needed it checked for any other reason. But I know their dad is O+, so they are either A+ or O+. From a medical standpoint, it's not necessary (or immediately helpful) to know your type. From a science is fun standpoint, it's cool to use good old Punnett squares to figure out your family's types!
I only know that they are both positive due to the painful Rhogam shots I received after their births.
ETA: I do know my blood type from donating blood. I’m B-. DH is O+.
Same. DH is A+, I’m O-, and all four kids are A+. It resulted in what felt like tons of butt shots
For my second shot with dd2, I had to bring dd1 to the clinic with me. She got bored, kept asking why we were there… I told her I needed to get a shot in the butt, figuring that would make any 3 year old laugh…
She proceeded to tell EVERYONE in the clinic, individually, that “Mommy’s having a shot in her bum!”
It was not an OB clinic. Lots of construction workers there getting mandatory drug tests and whatnot.
Post by pinkplasticdoll on Jul 26, 2023 6:53:15 GMT -5
I do know my kids blood type, #1 was jaundice and when they ran blood tests to determine why they told me blood type. When #2 was born they ran blood immediately to determine if we needed to worry about jaundice. My kids are 2 different blood types .
Post by somersault72 on Jul 26, 2023 7:26:22 GMT -5
DS is likely O something (I'm O+, his dad is O- we were college sweethearts and one of our biology labs was a blood typing lab). I have no idea what my current husband is or my daughter.
I always crack up when people (people IRL not here) say they know their blood type because they did a lab in HS science class. Ma'am. They are not going to take your word based on a test you may or may not have done correctly when you were a HS sophomore LOL
DS is likely O something (I'm O+, his dad is O- we were college sweethearts and one of our biology labs was a blood typing lab). I have no idea what my current husband is or my daughter.
LOL, we were typing at the same time, I swear my post wasn't directed at you!
I'm O+ with an A- H (so not an Rh issue)- my second baby was extremely jaundiced, though- and no one even hinted that her blood type was known or could have been a warning (for DS, either- two different hosptial systems). I wasn't really impressed with the care at either hospital, now I'm even more grumpy about those experiences. I felt so bad that we just couldn't budge her jaundice, that she wasn't gaining weight- ugh. Now I really want to know their blood types (saturday)!
DS is likely O something (I'm O+, his dad is O- we were college sweethearts and one of our biology labs was a blood typing lab). I have no idea what my current husband is or my daughter.
LOL, we were typing at the same time, I swear my post wasn't directed at you!
Well mine was college not high school.
I have donated blood several times so I know my blood type for sure, but that is the only reason I know his.
I'm O+ with an A- H (so not an Rh issue)- my second baby was extremely jaundiced, though- and no one even hinted that her blood type was known or could have been a warning (for DS, either- two different hosptial systems). I wasn't really impressed with the care at either hospital, now I'm even more grumpy about those experiences. I felt so bad that we just couldn't budge her jaundice, that she wasn't gaining weight- ugh. Now I really want to know their blood types (saturday)!
It may be her blood type but it may not be. I am O+ and DD2 is O+ and we also dealt with jaundice. I knew they typed all babies of Os moms because they told me but I didn’t know it was due to increase risk of jaundice until right now.
DS was born in 2019. On my itemized statement from L&D, I see:
BLOOD TYPING ABO $68.00 BLOOD TYPING RH $46.00
I had a full term, uncomplicated vaginal delivery, so I guess it must be relatively standard? I still haven't found what the result was though, lol.
DD was born 3.5 years earlier in the same hospital. She logged a couple days in the NICU. I can't find her blood type on any paperwork either.
Could that be typing for you?
I think it was for DS based on turboteal 's comments since I am a type O+ mom.
DS, who is either A or B (based on my O and H's AB) was indeed a little jaundiced, and had a Coombs test performed. IDK was the result was, but in our ~40 hours inpatient, he had at least two bilirubin checks. Fortunately we were able to be discharged on time since the pedi was fine with the trend.
They don’t type blood in schools anymore do they? It used to be a standard science class thing - I’m guessing they figured middle schoolers free wheeling with all those bodily fluids was a bad idea?
When I taught a micro lab to nursing/dental students, we did the experiment with fake blood that came with a kit. Definitely don't need to give kids sharp objects to stab themselves/each other. 🤣 If you're a med tech student, I'm sure they provide blood screened for common pathogens and they use universal precautions. And generally they run automated or semi-automated tests and don't rely on a visual determination of clumping.
turboteal Thank you for the explanation! Now I know that they tested my son's blood type because I am type O, and why that matters. He is also O, but good to know about the possibility of a higher risk for jaundice for a future baby.
It may not be standard everywhere to check baby's blood type for type O mom, but I would guess it is probably best practice and has been the standard at hospitals I have worked at (admittedly high care level hospitals in the Texas med center). Also true that ABO incompatibility isn't the only cause of newborn jaundice, just a common one!
I'm A+ (I know from donating blood) and I think DH is as well, but I'm not sure. I have no clue what the kids are and it's not something I am worried about knowing.
I only know that they are both positive due to the painful Rhogam shots I received after their births.
ETA: I do know my blood type from donating blood. I’m B-. DH is O+.
I donated for years through Blood Source at work - was told I was A+ because I always made the joke in my head that i got an A+ for my blood. WHen I was pregnant they typed me, and I'm A- I had them re-check it because i was sure i was A+.
Nope. A- and had to have Rhogam
So, don't rely on the blood donation to be correct
I work as a baby nurse, so I can probably explain why your baby did or did not get tested at birth.
If you are Rh negative, your baby gets tested, because if the baby is positive you will need at least 1 more dose of rhogam (or rhophylac, brand names for the immune globulin). You get one dose early in pregnancy, before we know baby's blood type, as a "just in case" prophylaxis, then you get more after delivery of an Rh positive baby to prevent development of antibodies against the positive Rh antigen. We also do a lab called a rosette test to make sure mom doesn't need a higher dose of rhogam to compensate for larger than expected amount of fetal blood in her circulation (can happen due to trauma/bleeding between placenta/uterus). If baby is negative, you don't need that after delivery dose (and technically didn't need the during pregnancy dose either, but we didnt know that at the time).
If you are Rh positive, we only check baby's blood type (usually from cord blood, so we don't need to stick baby) for type O moms. This is because if baby is different (a, b, or ab) they are at an increased risk of jaundice. We will also check a DAT (direct antibody test or Coombs test) on that baby using the same sample, which shows if there was mixing of maternal/fetal blood. If mixing occurred (test result is positive), there will be more destruction (and quicker) of the baby's red blood cells by mom's antibodies. Destroyed RBCs release bilirubin, which causes jaundice. So if mom is O and baby is different, there is a higher risk of jaundice, and if DAT is positive, there is a *much* higher risk of jaundice, and onset may be much earlier or more severe. For a positive DAT, we start checking baby's bili levels at 6 hours of life instead of the standard 24-36 hours. A, B, and AB moms don't have that same level of jaundice risk for baby, so we don't automatically check their baby's type.
If mom has some other weird antibodies, as found on the screen portion of her type and screen (I've seen anti-E, anti-c, anti-jk), we would check baby's type because the same issues could occur. Those antibodies are much rarer but do happen. They are also part of why we do a type and screen on everyone before giving them any "matched" blood, the donor unit has to be cross matched to a current sample to make sure no incompatibilities exist. A blood transfusion error is one of the biggest no-nos for a hospital, just knowing your basic type (A+ or whatever) is not sufficient and they will absolutely not risk it.
I know I am A+, known since birth because my mom is O+. I don't know my kids' because my type didn't necessitate checking theirs and they haven't needed it checked for any other reason. But I know their dad is O+, so they are either A+ or O+. From a medical standpoint, it's not necessary (or immediately helpful) to know your type. From a science is fun standpoint, it's cool to use good old Punnett squares to figure out your family's types!
Im O- and both kids are B+. My second was Coombs+. Both were jaundiced but they both responded well to phototherapy.
I appreciate this explanation of Coombs. We had family trauma at the same time as her birth and the nurse’s explanation didn’t quite make sense to me at the time. I’m sure she explained it well, but I was in a daze.
I asked at the hospital when they were born and the nurse said she wasn't allowed to tell me.She said too many people used it to try and figure out paternity and it was an issueso they only told in certain cases of medical need.She reiterated that if I told a doctor or ER what blood type they were, they would retest anyway so it was irrelevant.
Lol. This seems like ridiculous and outdated reasoning on the hospital's part in the age of easy, reliable genetic paternity testing. (Ridiculous reason to refuse to tell.)
Kaiser knows but I don't. They told us when the kids were born but it was all such a blur. I think they were O+. I should ask the pediatrician at the next appointment (she'll know where to look in the record).
I never said this was recent! Ha! My kids are in college.
Yes. I knew from birth because I'm O- and my son's father is O+, so I needed the rhogam shots.
In Brazil, they request the blood type on documents, I had to bring my son for a finger prick at the clinic to get an official document with his blood type for his school registration. I knew his blood type, but didn't have it on any official paperwork.
I also know my husband's O+ because he has a badge on his uniform.
I know I have 2 A-, 1 B-, and 1 AB-, but I can’t remember which kid is which, so I kind of know my children’s blood types?
I am A-, H is B- yet I still had a ton of Rhogam shots over the years I was pregnant, had some losses, gave birth. Even though there was no chance of RH positive baby, I guess the doctors wouldn’t risk it. I should have written it on an index card!
Neither do I, but people act like it is the weirdest thing ever. I do find it odd that it is not listed in my medical records that I can access, but I have never remembered to ask what it is.
ETA: I used to donate blood before my anemia became ridiculous, but never got a card with my blood type either. All I ever got for donating was Oreos and orange juice (who thought that was a good combo, lol).