Did your doctor recommend getting blood checked for Rubella antibody?
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Anonymous
| At a regular well woman exam recently I was talking with my doc about trying to get pregnant. She suggested that I get my blood checked for Rubella (German measles) antibodies to make sure I won't get rubella when I'm pregnant. I thought this was odd, but went ahead and got checked. Turns out that even after having shots as a kid, they apparently wore off and now I'm not immune. Doc said to get an MMR shot and then hold off on trying to conceive for 2-3 months. Has anyone else had a doctor suggest this, or come across this before?? I had no idea this was a concern and wondering if my doc is just overly conservative. |
Anonymous
| Rubella can cause serious complications for the baby--including becoming deaf. I'd get the vaccine and wait a month to TTC. The good news is you aren't likely to be exposed to rubella even if you don't get the vaccine. |
Anonymous
| That is exactly what a preconception consult is for-- good for your doc for being proactive! |
Anonymous
| Yup, at my well woman visit I mentioned we were about to ttc, and she ordered the rubella test. |
Anonymous
|
Sounds like a good doc to me. Gw midwives did not do such a test at my preconception appointment, but whc midwives did as soon as I turned up pregnant.
Crazy that you are not immune and glad they caught it. Do you feel okay about waiting to TTC? |
Anonymous
| What a great doctor! |
Anonymous
| Same thing happened to me but I specifically set up a pre-conception consultation. |
Anonymous
| Most people's rubella immunogenicity will have worn off by the time they're TTCing. I think they're recommending this now because of the number of vaccine refusers for MMR, since, previously herd immunity would protect. And, yes, it could be terrible if you get it while pregnant - fetal infection results in very serious birth defects, physical and cognitive, in a significant - maybe 30% - of cases. |
Anonymous
| By the way same for varicella. The stupid cow at RHNJ with whom I had a pre-conception consult never mentioned rubella or varicella ... |
Anonymous
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Yes, my doc checked before I became pregnant. I didn't need a booster, though.
Rubella is one of those viruses that was thought to be eradicated in this country but we know how that goes now that kids are skipping the MMR shot. Getting rubella while pregnant is very bad for the baby - blindness, deafness, and brain damage. Since the shot uses a live virus, they ask you not to get pregnant for a few months after being vaccinated. However, there have been no cases of the altered live virus causing issues in the fetus. It's just good to be very cautious. |
Anonymous
Interesting. Most people know whether or not they had chicken pox as a kid but I guess the vaccine has been out long enough that some younger mothers don't know their immune status. Rubella is a mild virus and some people may never realize they had it. |
Anonymous
| Yup, I got checked and got a booster. |
Anonymous
You're not 100% immune as an adult even if you had Varicella as a child. I knew I had it but recently tested indeterminate for immunity, so my RE's practice gave me a choice of either getting 2 varicella boosters or signing a waiver. Rubella is not mild if you get it as a pregnant adult, not sure what that comment was about. |
Anonymous
| What's the length of time before needing another MMR? My doctor didn't mention this when I went in. I had a child about three years ago, so I'm thinking I probably dealt with it then, but now I'm starting to stress that maybe I should have gotten another shot. I don't remember my doctor looking at my vaccine records or asking about them when I was there. How long does the booster usually last? I know I had one previously but not sure how long ago. |