After one healthy pregnancy and two losses my husband and I were thrilled yet terrified to be pregnant again. I remember looking at my early pregnancy lab work and the little red flag that said “antibodies detected – Anti E, titre less than one” I had a few weeks until my first appointment with my OB so I began spiraling down the rabbit hole of Google and eventually landed myself in the most wonderful Facebook group. Something so foreign and scary and yet I felt prepared going into my first appointment knowing what to ask. After continuously monitoring titre levels that remained less than one my entire pregnancy, our beautiful Elliott Lynne was born by herself at 37W4D. She had a positive DAT but bilirubin and hemoglobin remained stable. At her 36 hour appointment her bilirubin spiked and she required 16 hours of phototherapy. We continued to monitor weekly, then biweekly until four months old. We were so grateful that was all she needed after seeing so many scary stories. 

Six months later we were shocked to see those two pink lines again. This time I knew what to expect. My titres remained less than one up until my week 36 blood draw. This blood draw all of a sudden read “anti E and anti c, combined titre of 8.” I instantly started to panic and begged my OB for an MCA scan. He finally agreed 4 days later due to our history of infant loss. It came back great and he assured me not to worry. I asked several times to be induced at 37 weeks to ensure titres did not rise and his response was “it won’t.” My next blood draw was a week later and I was now 38 weeks, two days later the results came back at 16 which is critical at this point. 

The Facebook group gave me the confidence and resources to demand to be induced. My OB finally agreed. My precious little Bohdi Frederick was born that evening. He had a positive DAT and at 24 hours reached the threshold for phototherapy. He was under the lights for 3 days and then removed too soon which resulted in another week and half stay of strictly being under high intensity lights. After that it was back and forth hospital visits and a lot of uncertainty. We knew what to watch for and by week 3 we knew what he needed next. He was starting to become lethargic, pale and too tired to feed. His hemoglobin reached the threshold for a blood transfusion. It was the scariest thing I’ve endured but I knew it was what he needed. After that we continued our routine check ups. He is now 3 months old and we are officially cleared from hematology with follow ups from our family doctor only. Without the knowledge and support of this organization, I don’t know where we would be. I had the tools to advocate for my babies to ensure the best possible outcome. The days and nights were so long but we made it. Thank you to those individuals who choose to donate blood, you save our babies lives.