Rubella(german measles)

So..some of my blood work came back yesterday and it claimed i had no evidence of immunity to rubella. Now the doctor's reccomended I stay away from children and youth and if I must come into contact with them to wash my hands alot and what not. Now this is worrysome for me, has anyone gone through any of this?

[pookie1121]

I was tested before I got pregnant and they showed that I was borderline with immunity.  Therefore I had to get the vaccination again and wait 3 months to get pregnant.  

I dont think that Rubella outbreaks are commen in the US and most likely you dont have that much to worry about.  In 2004, there were only 9 cases of Rubella in the entire united states!  

Here are two articles : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51912-2005Mar20.html

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregcomplications/9527.html

[anxiousmomtobe?]

I also had no immunity to rhubella when pregnant with my first.  I had a vaccination as soon as she was born.  Some of our childhood boosters wear off or were never effective in the first place.

I would avoid families that you know who do not vaccinate their kids.  I know some religious groups and many of my homeschooling, birkenstock wearing earth mummy friends do not believe in vaccinations.  Their choice and I respect that but I would avoid them while pregnant.

Take care, and you may actually have a natural immunity that just didn't register.

[tina1111]

I had been vaccinated. However, when my mom was preg w/my brother was exposed to German measles. She had to have gammagobulin sp? shot. Said shot was painful, but both her and my brother were fine. This was back in 1964, we've come a long way since then! :)

[surprisebaby]

I also had no immunity to Ruebella with my first pregnancy.  I had no complications and yes, there are very few outbreakes of this disease.  Just make sure that you get your shot after you deliver this one.  Good Luck!

[Adevotee]

as far as I know you can still get it even if you are breastfeeding. My public health nurse knows that I am breastfeeding and wants me to get mine when my son gets his 2 month needles.

[crystalluvsjim]

I am going through it right now. I was told I didn't have immunity to rubella. My doc hasn't acted like it was a really big deal though. Just said that I needed to get a shot right after the baby is born, which I'm NOT going to do because I plan on breastfeeding. He didn't say anything about staying away from children or washing my hands alot(well I do that anyway). I never hear about it going around here, but if I did then I'd be worried to death. Take care and best wishes!!

[neparker]

lol, funny.  Kind of.  Every doctor is different.

I found on out my first blood lab work that my shot I had when I was younger for rebella wore off, which I guess can happen.  He suggested getting another one after I've had this baby and fnished breast feeding.  He never mentioned staying away from anyone or being that cautious.  He said it's not an important precautioun because it's not common anymore.  Back in the olden days though, he said when it was around, it would cause problems with the baby.  

I wouldn't stress about it, just make sure you get your booster when you're done having the baby.

[Adevotee]

I was tested with my first pregnancy (son will be 4 Jan 28) and was immune (they didn't tell me otherwise). Then with this last pregnancy (son born Dec 27th), I was tested again and was found to not be immune. My dr told me to be careful and if I knew of anyone with rubella to "RUN THE OTHER WAY" (drs exact words). I don't think rubella is very common anymore and you should be fine.

Just be very careful!!

[crystalluvsjim]

Thanks for the info! I will be talking to my doctor about it soon!

I also read that it is advised for women to wait at least 3 months after getting the shot before getting pregnant again because it might cause birth defects. Of course I don't plan on getting pregnant that soon after my baby is born but I don't plan on going on any birth control pills either so if my DH and I aren't careful that could be risky.

The thing that is most aggravating is the fact that my current doctor did bloodwork with my previous pregnancy and the results showed the same, that I wasn't immune to rubella. Unfortunately, I lost that pregnancy but I wasn't informed of the non-immunity. Had I been informed, I could have got the shot right after my m/c because we waited 7 months before TTC. Arrggg!!

Sorry y'all for the venting! Best of luck to everyone! You're all in my prayers! Take care!

Crystal

[clmc]

I'm wondering if anyone has gone through this: I was immunized for rubella as a child.  I am not immune any longer.  I'm not pregnant yet, but would like to be soon.  I was researching and found some scary (probably not very reliable) articles on the internet about mothers who lose their immunty to rubella ending up having children who develop autism. The "studies" basically just showed people who this had happened to.  I would like to hear from people who lost their immunity, either were vaccinated before getting pregnant or after and have perfectly healthy children.