Whooping cough vaccination at 30 weeks? To have or not to have?

[johull]

30 weeks pg, and midwife asked if I would like it, she informed me about all the benefits but didn't mention any cons! Of which, I have later discovered, there are a few. Can anyone give me there opinion. I'm particularly worries about a very premature baby, as I heard this is one of the side effects.

[Tealady1983]

No real advice as the decision has to be yours but I can tell you I had the jab and dd is fine. Also I had a cousin with whooping cough as a newborn and it's brutal x

[TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle]

I'm having it next week at 30 weeks. The pros far outweigh the cons in my view. Watch a couple of videos on you tube of babies with Whooping Cough... That helped me make up my mind.

I am extremely pro-vaccine though... I've had the flu one too and my children will all be fully vaccinated.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

I plan to have it and don't intend to research it. I am actively choosing to rely on NHS/Government advice. If I had health factors that meant I didn't follow the ordinary rules about vaccinations and the decision was therefore more complicated, I would think about it more carefully.

[kally195]

I had it at 33 weeks. The only slight side effect was a sore arm - I was warned about this, as the more up-to-date your tetanus is, the more likley you are to get a sore arm.

The pros far outweighed any cons for me, also. I am very pro-vaccination.

[Hellymummy]

I am in same dilemma, I booked mine for 2 weeks time. I'm dreading it coz I hate injections but I suppose if it's for baby and not me I gotta do it!

[PhoebeNPenny]

I hope you go through with it :) good luck wwith your decision

[meditrina]

Can you link the research which shows a causal link between the immunisation and premature or preterm birth?

[MidnightRose]

I have worked in vaccination for years as a researcher and the whooping cough vaccine as far as I've experienced doesn't have any cons that aren't inherent in any vaccine. Babies with broken ribs from coughing so much, is a lot more of a con.

[MidnightRose]

Premature birth is NOT a side effect of the vaccine!? Where did you get that piece of information?

[misog2000]

My husband had whooping cough as a baby and has a week chest to this day as a result. Every time he gets a cold he ends up wheezing and coughing for weeks. I will definitely be having the jab when I get to that stage having seen the damage the illness can cause

[Jcb77]

Had it. Sore arm for a couple of days but really nothing to get upset about. Nothing in life is risk free. The risk of a newborn contracting WC and resultant issues including death and significant morbidity is much more real and likely than any risk from this vaccine. Particularly when you consider the risks you undertake every day just by living.

[PostmanPatAlwaysRingsTwice]

The midwife didn't mention any cons? Why do you think that is? Do you think your midwife is trying to kill your baby?

I just googled for pertussis vaccine and premature birth and found a netmums thread where some women who had sadly suffered stillbirths were blaming it on having the vaccine. This is not in any way evidence. When bad things happen people look for reasons and something like a vaccine is easy to latch on to. Unfortunately stillbirths do happen and can happen to anyone - there is NO recognised link between any vaccinations given in pregnancy and negative effects on the baby. There is, however, plenty of evidence that the pertussis vaccine prevents small babies from becoming very ill and dying from the disease.

[callamia]

I had it at about 32 weeks. I had no side effects at all, and since I was having a winter baby, I thought vaccinating us against whooping cough would be a good idea. I realised that when my baby had a cold at a month old, I would have been ruined if he'd had whopping cough. The cold was bad (and stressful) enough.

I did a lot of reading about the vaccine, and I was satisfied that it the benefits it offered outweighed risks, theoretical, anecdotal or other.

[theborrower]

I'm not aware of cons, but vaccines are incredibly important. I had mine yesterday - I have a sore arm and a headache. Hardly a con.

Here's an interesting article about vaccines, via the I F*cking Love Science website www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/dear-parents-you-are-being-lied

[johull]

Um... 1) no I don't think my midwife is trying to 'kill my baby' what a bizarre comment to make. I'm a first time mum and I'm asking a forum of other women, in the same position as me, there opinion. Very strange and frankly sick!
2) on the NHS website there is a forum about this topic and there are some mums to be, mums already and even nurses asking about the pro's and cons, as the cons seem to be omitted from midwife information packs.
3) possible cons that I've read about: muscle problems when baby is born, premature baby's, sickness in mum- to-be, baby not moving as much in womb due to being docile/medicated by the small amount of vaccine they ingest.

Thanks for the more 'normal' comments everyone.

[johull]

*their

[PostmanPatAlwaysRingsTwice]

Just wondered why you thought your midwife and the NHS would be withholding this information from you.

FWIW I am a woman in the same position as you, on my second pregnancy, but I prefer to get my information from more reliable sources.

[PostmanPatAlwaysRingsTwice]

Vaccines do not 'medicate' you or make you docile. What on earth have you been reading?!

[morerummorefun]

hi im 32 weeks tomorrow and I had my whooping cough jab yesterday and my arm hurts like when yoy gey any jab. Also felt abit groggy last night so just went to bed early, other than that I feel ok amd I know bubba is protected. xx

[morerummorefun]

and it has clearly affect my ability to spell!

[beccajoh]

They didn't tell you any cons probably because there aren't any definitively proven by rigorous research. The NHS doesn't rely on anecdotal evidence. Pertussis vaccine is routinely given to pregnant women in other countries.

[NauseousKitty]

34+2 here and I had it yesterday. My side effects are a sore arm, headache and a cold... But I think the last one is probably from my 21 month DD.

I didn't hesitate when given the choice. It's a personal decision but I am very pro-vaccination. In fact, I am blocking people who keep shoving pseudo-science posts about the problems caused by vaccinations - if I were that militant, they would do the same.

I have several Mummy "friends" who have chosen not to vaccinate their own babies and I will not being seeing them once DC2 is born until he/she has her first jabs.

Rant over. Ultimately it is your decision, just explaining my view.

[PostmanPatAlwaysRingsTwice]

I worry that every time a thread like this starts someone reading it gets a fright and decides not to vaccinate. The netmums thread I read started by a woman who had lost her baby in late pregnancy and was understandably searching for answers resulted in various other posters saying "I was going to have the whooping cough vaccine but I didn't know about this, I won't do it now." So sad and frustrating.

[rootypig]

I had it at 40 weeks (not offered before ), I lived in central London and the risks of whooping cough to my baby were very real and much higher and more serious than possible side effects, in my view. Whooping cough will kill a tiny baby, OP. Britain has been lagging other countries (US, Canada, France, Germany) on vaccinating not only pregnant women but close family of pregnant women too. (This is because immunity wanes fairly quickly, and they are trying to achieve a herd effect to protect children). So I was happy to have the jab. Had no problems.

And your DC will have the first whooping cough vaccination at 2 months old, OP, unless you refuse it. So what we're talking about is giving the child the same treatment, only via you, for some protection in those first two months.