A woman's immunity weakens with the onset of pregnancy. But with a normal pregnancy, this weakness at a natural level is compensated by the body. And only when the woman and her child are in serious danger, the immune protection of the expectant mother can be supported from the outside, for example, by using immunoglobulins.
What it is?
Immunoglobulin is antibodies that have been isolated from donated blood, purified and processed in a special way. In the human body, antibodies (or immunoglobulins) are produced as a response to the penetration of this or that infection into this body. For each antigen protein, human immunity is able to form its own immunoglobulins, the task of which is to protect the body from a specific pathogen, to help killer cells to destroy the threat.
There are different immunoglobulins - against infections and parasites, antitoxic antibodies. Rabies vaccine and influenza vaccine are immunoglobulins, anti-rhesus immunoglobulin is a means of protecting the baby and mother.
If there is a Rh-conflict during pregnancy, human immunoglobulin is a broad-spectrum agent that will help a woman to bear a child against the background of immunodeficiency.
Immunoglobulin comes in the form of injection solutions. Droppers are given with him and injections are given exclusively in hospitals, such injections are not performed at home.
Consequences for the fetus
The use of immunoglobulins during pregnancy is not prohibited, but the instructions for use recommend doing this with caution. This means that the doctor must certainly weigh all the risks and reasons for prescribing immunoglobulins. If a pregnant woman is healthy and the pregnancy is proceeding normally, she does not need to use drugs based on purified antibodies.
If the need to inject immunoglobulin arises, then immediately the expectant mother and her relatives have another question: how will this affect the child? Immunoglobulins in our country began to be administered to pregnant women in the early nineties, and so far immunologists have not discovered any harmful effect on the fetus.
All immunoglobulin preparations are a natural component of human blood plasma... Antibodies are able, after administration, to easily overcome the placental barrier. From the mother's blood, the injected substance rather quickly enters the child's bloodstream. This is how a passive mechanism for protecting the crumbs in the mother's womb from infections and other threats develops. It is noteworthy that human immunoglobulin, for example, can protect a child from infections that even his mother has not yet met.
Doctors did not find any harmful effects of immunoglobulin on the child's body. Side effects are possible only for a woman; for a baby, not a single real negative case is described in the scientific literature.
Indications for use
Serum from an infectious disease can be injected urgently at any time if a pregnant woman has been in contact with sick people, this is done, for example, in the event of an outbreak of measles, rubella, etc. In other cases, you should not assume that you need to support the body of a pregnant woman with a cold or runny nose.
There should be more compelling reasons for prescribing an immunoglobulin.
Broad-spectrum drug "Normal human immunoglobulin", for example, administered both intramuscularly and intravenously. For an injection into a muscle, the following situations usually need to occur:
- the pregnant woman suffers from autoimmune ailments or immunodeficiency (we are not talking about weakened immunity, but about specific diseases, for example, HIV, AIDS and other ailments in which certain immune factors are disturbed or absent);
- you need to carry out emergency prophylaxis against meningococcus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, hepatitis A;
- for the prevention of rubella in the first trimester of pregnancy in the early stages, if the woman does not have antibodies to this disease in the blood or the immune status of the expectant mother is unknown.
Intravenous normal human immunoglobulin is administered in certain situations:
- the woman has blood diseases;
- the pregnant woman suffers from Kawasaki disease;
- the expectant mother suffers from Guillain-Barré syndrome;
- with thrombocytopenic purpura and multiple sclerosis, as well as with primary immunodeficiency;
- with HIV;
- for all infections caused by parvovirus B19;
- with severe and extremely severe forms of viral, bacterial and toxic diseases, for example, with severe chickenpox;
- for all diseases that last for a long time and with great difficulty amenable or not amenable to antibiotic treatment.
- with miscarriage.
Anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin is administered to prevent the severe consequences of Rh-conflict between a mother with negative blood Rh factor and a child who inherited Rh factor positive from the father. This serum contains special anti-Rho (D) antibodies. This drug is administered only intramuscularly, intravenous or drip route of administration is not provided. The reasons for the introduction are as follows:
- during the first pregnancy of a woman with RH (-) from an Rh-positive partner and immediately after childbirth;
- after spontaneous abortion or abortion in women with RH (-);
- after the elimination of an ectopic or frozen pregnancy;
- with a high titer of antibodies in the blood, indicating an incipient active immune conflict between the mother and the fetus over the Rh factor;
- after amniocentesis against the background of the difference in the Rh factor of the mother and the fetus;
- after a fall, receiving a blunt trauma to the abdomen.
When do they do it?
Anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin is routinely administered as a means of preventing sensitization in the presence of the above indications at 28-30 weeks of pregnancy, and then within 72 hours after childbirth, if it is confirmed that the newborn has a positive Rh factor.
Normal human immunoglobulin for miscarriage is administered during the cycle of conception or in the first weeks after receiving a positive pregnancy test. According to the indications, the drug can be introduced later at any other time.
Doctors carefully weigh the benefits and harms, trying not to resort to these measures unnecessarily during the patient's pregnancy.
Preparations with antibodies before administration by all means heated to room temperature. If a dropper is made, then introduce it very slowly, so that a pseudoallergic reaction does not occur, such consequences, unfortunately, are possible if immunoglobulins are administered quickly. Sometimes it becomes necessary to divide the dose into 2-3 droppers and enter in several doses - all individually, in each case the decision is made by the doctor both by the type of administration and by the dosage.
Contraindications
It is contraindicated to inject immunoglobulin preparations at any stage of pregnancy if a woman has an individual high sensitivity to immunoglobulin preparations, there have been cases of allergy to such preparations earlier.
Great care requires the introduction of purified antibodies to pregnant women with diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes, renal failure, severe heart failure. For such women, the agent is administered, if necessary, but in different dosages and with increased precautions.
Anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin is not administered if antibodies have already been found in the blood of the pregnant woman, indicating the onset of the conflict - in this case, the vaccination will no longer help, treatment is needed to minimize the consequences of sensitization.
Side effects
In most cases, the introduction of immunoglobulin is tolerated by expectant mothers normally, without unpleasant consequences. In some cases there may be a slight increase in body temperature, up to a maximum of 37.5 degrees. In one case, for a hundred injections, dizziness and headache, nausea, diarrhea, drops in blood pressure, shortness of breath, redness at the injection site are observed. Increased sweating, chills, cramps, muscle pains are even less common. Anaphylactic shock in response to vaccination is rather rare, such cases are rare.
Despite the fact that most pregnant women tolerate the injection well, the expectant mother should be under medical supervision for half an hour after the injection. The room should have anti-shock therapy at hand in case of rare adverse reactions.
Name and price
In addition to "Normal human immunoglobulin", one of the analogs can be introduced, for example, "Gamimun N", "Gabriglobin", G "Gabriglobin-IgG", as well as "Gamunex", "Intraglobin", "Immunovenin" or "Pentaglobin".
Normal human immunoglobulin is the most affordable drug. It costs about 1,000 rubles per injection, while Imbioglobulin, for example, costs from 2,500 to 3,000, and Immunovenin - from 3,000 rubles. The most expensive is Gabriglobin-IgG - from 7 thousand rubles.
The cost of anti-rhesus immunoglobulin is at the same level. However, a woman doesn't need to worry. The fact is that medical institutions receive such drugs centrally, and, if indicated, an injection of a pregnant woman is given free of charge.
It is difficult to say which drug is better, the action and composition of all are approximately the same, but the manufacturers are different.
Reviews
Reviews of women on thematic forums are mixed. Since situations in which a pregnant woman requires immunoglobulin are less common than the need, for example, for vitamins, there are almost no full reviews. There are more questions, because there is still too little information about the administration of antibodies to pregnant women, and not even every doctor of the antenatal clinic can clearly explain to his patient what it is, why and why it is done and what the consequences may be. There are no pronounced negative reviews among the reviews. Those who were injected with immunoglobulin preparations claim that they did not feel anything unusual, there were no side reactions.
