Fetal Blood Transfusion Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Possible complications for mother and fetus include:

• Need for cesarean section (C-section) due to fetal distress after the procedure
• Premature labor
• Graft versus host disease in the fetus (a rare condition in which the donor’s blood cells attack the baby's blood cells)
• Abdominal bruising or soreness
• Bleeding, cramping, or leaking fluid from vagina
• Infection
• Injury to the fetus
• Giving too much blood
• Fetal bleeding
• Causing your water to break

Be sure to discuss these risks with your doctor before the procedure.

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever or chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the needle insertion site
• You are not feeling your baby moving normally
• Water breaks (a sign of labor)
• Other signs of early labor:

• Uterine contractions
• Back pain that comes and goes
• Vaginal bleeding

In case of emergency, CALL 911.