Whooping cough vaccine

[annarob]

anyone else had the whooping cough vaccine then felt like absolute rubbish the following day?!? Don't know if it's anything to do with it but haven't really had any problems throughout pregnancy! Just feel really weak and tired! :-(

[lovetolerance]

I haven't had it yet. How are you feeling now?

[terilou87]

i havn't had it iv chose not to as there doesn't seem to be enough information on it. there was a thread asking people who have had it if they've had any symptoms after having the jab, may be worth having a look on there.

[terilou87]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/1585963-Side-effects-from-whooping-cough-jab link here for you

[mom2rhysnruby]

I had it on friday and ouch!!
Have it done on the arm you dont sleep on!
My arm has swollen up, ive got a big lump under the skin, bruised and sore about an inch all around, and its so hot and itchy! Hope it goes down by tomorrow :(!

[monsterchild]

I didn't have any reactions at all. Which surprised me!

[lovetolerance]

terilou87 I'm thinking the same way - are you comfortable with your decision? Are you in an area of the country with an outbreak?

[Vix07]

fwiw I think I'm going to give it a miss. I had it as a child so may well be immune myself and I'm not convinced about this 'passing immunity through the blood stream/placenta' from the injection - if that were the case wouldn't my natural immunity antibodies pass over too? Still concerned about the contradictory information going around about whether it is actually proven safe for use in pregnancy. Tricky decision tho.

[lovetolerance]

I know! Don't you hate the guilt trip/aggression you get on forums for considering NOT doing it? What's that all about?

[Vix07]

Don't know what it's about but not very helpful!

[Midgetm]

I had it. Made my arm hurt , that's all. . It's the same vaccine they give to very young babies just passes through the mother instead I am normally sceptical but it's been used like this in other countries and seems a no brainier as whopping cough kills babies.

[ThreeWheelsGood]

I think it's a shame so many people on MN seem to be refusing it, it affects other people if you don't ensure your immunity, it's about herd immunity. So selfish.

[Orenishii]

Threewheels I've posted on the many, many threads in Pregnancy on WC and how I've not had it, and my reasons why. I'd really like to know why I should inject myself with something that has not been proven safe - and no recorded side effects does not equal tested as safe - and has NO GUARANTEE of immunisation. Can you explain to me why I should have it, since it does not mean my baby still won't get it?

Bugger off with your "it's selfish". Y'all are running around buying into the hysteria from the media with very little critical thinking around whether you should actually have it or not, and judging those that looked into it and made a conscious decision. Those babies that died - we have no idea if they were vaccinated or not, no idea what other circumstances contributed to their deaths and no idea what perhaps - if they had been vaccinated - their parents were lulled into a false sense of security thinking their babies couldn't catch it.

It is incredibly difficult to find any balanced information on this and the fact that it was leaked to the press BEFORE midwives and GPs had any information on it makes me very skeptical. I don't just mindlessly follow, sheep-like, and have stuff injected into me without questioning it. I questioned, I couldn't find the information to satisfy my questions, I spoke to the MW who confirmed it doesn't mean immunisation and I questioned the logic of having it.

If you want it, great. Go ahead without judgement on my part. But do not judge me for having a different opinion to you, and acting on the decision based on that opinion. Not to have the WC vaccination is not affecting other people since the damned thing doesn't even ensure immunisation. There was a woman on here who in the same breath as saying people should get it, talked about her daughter having had the injection and still catching WC, for heavens sake.

[PigletJohn]

didregarding the "selfish" for the moment, does anybody actually believe that the possible side-effects of the vaccination will be anywhere near as bad as the effects of the disease?

[terilou87]

lovetolerance no there hasnt been an out brake here from what i know, and i am comfortable not having it because there is no evidence that it will stop my baby getting the whooping cough even after the vaccination. i wont just take a medicine because some one tells me to especially when it hasnt been confirmed for definate that it actually does what it is supposed to.
pigletjohn i agree with you the side effects of the jab are irrelevent. the well being of my child is paramount but i suppose for some people who react badly to immunisations this would be a big thing. for me its the fact that the jab hasn't been proven to do anything to stop whooping cough and if it isnt doing what it is supposed to then why have it.

[lovetolerance]

Orenishii - hear hear!

[lovetolerance]

PigletJohn - my worry is that there will be negative effects from the vaccination. Simple. Did you not have any concerns at all? Did you do yours immediately without researching anything?
Have you read the side effects on the patient information leaflet for Repevax? Can those same side effects happen in the fetus? I'm not being obtuse here, as I really don?t know the answer. But considering nerve damage, lymph node disorder and seizures are possible side effects, that?s not zero risk, is it?
That?s not to say it is likely, but then it?s also not statistically likely that my baby will get a severe bought of Whooping Cough (because no outbreak in my area of the country) or all that likely that this vaccination would stop my baby from getting it in the first place, because they don?t know that for sure, and some of the cases this year were in vaccinated children.
There are also doubts as to whether this vaccination will lower the effectiveness of the subsequent childhood jabs, which I see as more important, from the point of view of my child mixing in a wider network of children and adults the older it gets. Essentially, if I choose not to get it, then I will be limiting my baby?s contact with people for the first 8 weeks, so I don't really get the 'selfish' comment. How does me or my child not being immunised for the first 8 weeks of his life affect anyone else?
I am definitely not opposed to vaccinations and think they are essential, in general, and plan to give my child all the necessary jabs once born. I would possibly also take all jabs as a precaution if I wasn?t pregnant. The thing I am worried about is having this while pregnant without being sure of the effects.
We don?t know at the moment, do we? And for all those who say they?ve used it in the US for years ? they have used a similar vaccine, but not one that included Polio. They have never used this particular vaccine on pregnant women. It is also not the one they administer to 8 week old babies - it's the one normally not given to under 3s.
I don?t have medical knowledge to understand what the possible effects on my baby are, and all I can find is ?data is limited? and ?The effect of REPEVAX on embryo-foetal development has not been assessed?. How do they know there is no risk if testing hasn?t been done? Do you know how? I?m not trying to provoke an argument ? if you could help me with that answer then that would be great.
If I was in an area where there had been an outbreak then I would probably get it. If this was a single vaccine, I?d probably get it. It?s all about evaluating risk.
So if you can understand, I?m not weighing up the decision as either my baby gets whooping cough or I have a minimal risk vaccination. It?s not as straightforward as that and you are really over-simplifying it. I?m actually genuinely researching to make a decision, and like Orenishii I haven't been able to find enough balanced advice to reassure me.
What I don?t appreciate is being mocked or attacked for not blindly following medical advice. I don?t know why anyone would have blind faith ? they must have had very lucky experiences with their health so far, because I have experienced cases before where the medical advice given was absolutely wrong.

[PigletJohn]

That's an interesting approach. We already know that the actual disease can lead to severe illness, and in a small number of cases, death. I'm trying to understand if people balance this risk against a known risk of some other problem, or if it is a vague feeling of unease that we can't find any substance to.

Do you know of actual severe results from the vaccine which are as severe as those from the disease, and do you know if they are more or less common than the severe results of the disease?

You might accuse me of over-simplifying, but it has to boil down to a simple comparison of the severity and the probability of the risks from the two options.

[HelloBear]

love I don't agree with the comment about people being selfish (unhelpful!). But for you to also be critical of people who do not spend time to research this in depth is not helpful. There are lots who have had it (including me) and I have not done lots of research. I don't have the time nor do o have the medical knowledge. So what choice do I have? To be completely suspicious of our health service and not have it? I admit that I am scarred of WC but that is because in my family there is severe asthma and to have seen a 4 month old struggle to breath is enough for me to make the decision to have it.

I respect YOUR decision but I think you possibly don't respect others decision? I may be wrong and sorry if I have misunderstood but found your post contradictiary.

[HelloBear]

Sorry for ty

[HelloBear]

Bloody phone! That was supposed to be sorry for typos !

[lovetolerance]

HelloBear - No, I totally respect other peoples' decision, if it comes across as anything else then sorry for that, because it's not true. I'm also not assuming all those who have had it are acting on 'blind faith' because I'm sure many people have weighed up the risks and felt that it was better to have it, for whatever reason. It's still a considered decision, isn't it? I feel sorry for all of us when this stuff hits the press - it's really scary and it's hard to know what's right. I've said on all the forums I've posted on - everyone wants the same thing, to do the best for their baby. That's why I find the judgement and criticism really unfair, because actually I don't judge anyone for their decision if they feel it's right, whatever the basis. But I am retaliating against this idea that people who don't do it are selfish or wrong somehow - or another forum 'telling lies about vaccinations'. Also, that just because you decide to research you are paranoid or a conspiracy theorist. Because I'm not telling anyone else what to do. I'm just trying to figure it out for myself. But by defending my choice, I don't mean to berate anyone else's. If you have a look on the forums though, the weight is definitely on criticising those who aren't having it, so I've got the impression that those in the majority feel a bit bulletproof Maybe my frustration has seeped into my post!

[HelloBear]

love the problem is it is such an emotive issue and plays at everyone's worse fears (it probably does not help that the debate is being had by a load of hormonal pregnant women ).

If only there was an easy answer, which unfortunately there just is not. All we can hope is that our individual choices are the right one for us and our families.

Oh and totally agree about your point about the press! But anything that sells eh?

[lovetolerance]

PigletJohn - what I've been researching today is finding out the stats on the more severe reactions, but I can't find any. But yes, the severe reactions could be worse than the illness itself as there are obviously variances to how severe Whooping Cough can be. There is loads of info online of people reporting vaccine issues and being fobbed off by their Doctors - particularly with the flu vaccination (there's some scary stuff online about that, but I remain open-minded). So when you talk about a vague sense of unease, there is probably an element of that from me when the info that comes onto BBC is so utterly one-sided to the point of ridiculous. But I'm less concerned with the side effects of the vaccine on me and more concerned with the side effects happening to the baby, is that possible? For example, there are case studies of seizures occurring in the womb - could that happen as a side effect of the vaccine? I'm concerned about the effect on the baby's development in general, but I don't know if that's valid because I can't find any info on it and I don't have the knowledge myself. I'd love someone to give me evidence as to that not being possible though.

[lovetolerance]

Hellobear - exactly, pregnant women having a debate - run and hide!

[emmam25]

Related to this but a bit of a side issue! I have had a letter from my GP about this but it says it is recommended for women over 28 weeks. I am only 16 weeks so I am right thinking I don't need to have it? I had whooping cough as a child and my baby brother (now a strapping 6'2 rugby playing plumber!) almost died from it at 3 months old so I am very aware of the severity of the disease but have heard nothing about the vaccine. :s