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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not have the whooping cough vaccine

48 replies

gabcat · 21/03/2014 12:15

I am 30 weeks pregnant . I have declined the vaccine.

I've been looking at the baby centre forums and the general consensus is that women who opt out of the vaccine are selfish, stupid , naive and I even read one post which said the women who didn't have it didn't deserve their baby (WTF???!!)

I don't really want to get into my reasons as to why I'm not having it as I've been accused of scaremongering.
AIBU to not have it?
AIBU in thinking some of the comments on baby centre were a bit unfair ?
AIBU in thinking 'each to their own?'

OP posts:
gordyslovesheep · 21/03/2014 12:16

I think YABU to bring a row from another website here to be honest

and without knowing why you wont have it it's impossible to judge

Ubik1 · 21/03/2014 12:17

It's up to you.

Chippednailvarnish · 21/03/2014 12:20

I don't really want to get into my reasons as to why I'm not having it as I've been accused of scaremongering

So why are you asking? Sounds like you want everyone to agree with you, without giving all the information because you haven't had the response you wanted on another website.

wobblyweebles · 21/03/2014 12:20

I think there is no way this thread will not get into the reasons you won't have the vaccine...

Famzilla · 21/03/2014 12:21

It's your life. If you won't explain the reasons behind no wanting it then it's impossible to tell whether you're being unreasonable or not. I would probably roll my eyes inwardly at someone refusing the vaccine but I certainly wouldn't try to make you feel bad!

Original poster
gabcat · 21/03/2014 12:22

my friend had the vaccine at 32 weeks and the baby was born 4 days later , still born . she is adamant it's because of the vaccine . I've also read similar stories online .

OP posts:
pointythings · 21/03/2014 12:22

It's up to you. And so are the potential consequences. Simple.

overthemill · 21/03/2014 12:23

People who won't have vaccines for reasons other than genuine medical contraindications are delish and should pay for the cost of treatment they or other people need to receive as a result. Ditto smokers or heavy stinkers or people who choose to over eat. Now sits back and watches thread ignite

Original poster
gabcat · 21/03/2014 12:23

my mothers instinct is just screaming 'NO'

OP posts:
Ubik1 · 21/03/2014 12:24

See it as the first decision you make as a mother. Weigh up the risks. And live with your decision and the consequences.

isitme1 · 21/03/2014 12:25

I didn't have it with ds2 and he's never had whooping cough. He has other chest problems like his brother but not whooping.

steff13 · 21/03/2014 12:28

There's been a resurgence of whooping cough in the area where I live. I got the vaccine for that reason, whooping cough can be dangerous for small babies. I guess it's up to you if you want to get it or not.

ShoeWhore · 21/03/2014 12:29

My sister didn't have the whooping cough vaccine as a baby.

She contracted whooping cough when she was 3. She was desperately ill for 6 months and not back to full fitness for 12 months. Every night the coughing made her violently sick, I remember my mum covering her bed with towels and terry nappies to try and deal with the mess, as she was up changing her bed several times a night. She was an absolute shadow of her bubbly little self afterwards.

Thirty odd years on and whenever she gets a cough it has that real "bark" about it. My Mum said she bitterly regretted not having her vaccinated.

Think very carefully about your decision OP, make sure you have weighed up both sides of it.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 21/03/2014 12:30

I had whooping cough as a child,I still remember it now as I was so poorly.

Tbh if you've made up your mind, why ask?Confused

schokolade · 21/03/2014 12:30

it is a weighing up the risks thing. one person can tell you "i had the vaccine and the baby was stillborn" (questionable whether caused by the vaccine!), and another can tell you "i didn't have the vaccine and my baby died of whooping cough".

what matters is the probability of each occurrence, not specific stories.

Pigletin · 21/03/2014 12:31

I was also debating whether to have the vaccine and made the decision to get it. You are responsible for yourself and your baby and it's up to you if you want to take the risk. YABU to make your own decision as you will be the one bearing the consequences (if any). I'm just not sure why you want to start a thread on it and ask for other people's opinions. Surely, it doesn't matter what people think if you are sure in your reasons?

Pigletin · 21/03/2014 12:31

Sorry, I meant YANBU to make your own decision as you will be the one bearing the consequences (if any)!

schokolade · 21/03/2014 12:32

also, i have had whooping cough. i've never moved faster than I did to get the booster vaccine when I was pregnant.

QuietNinjaTardis · 21/03/2014 12:36

I ummed and aahed about it but went for it in the end. Dd is perfectly fine. I did decline the swine flu jab when pregnant with ds as I felt it had been rushed out.
Only you can decide what you want to do. I don't think you should be berated for your choice it's up to you.

Seff · 21/03/2014 12:38

This isn't about vaccinations once the baby has been born. That is a separate discussion. This is about vaccinating in pregnancy.

You can do one without doing the other, and vaccinating the baby is very different to vaccinating a pregnant woman in the hope that the baby won't catch WC.

If there was a local epidemic, maybe my decision would be different. As others have said, weigh up the risks and be confident in your decision.

5feralloinfruits · 21/03/2014 12:40

yanbu

its not effective and it its dangerous.

None of my 5 have had any vaccines and are the healthiest kids i know.

schokolade · 21/03/2014 12:44

Is that aimed at anyone in particular Seff? They are different things but vaccinating in pregnancy gives the baby some protection for the first few weeks after birth, before they can be vaccinated themselves (as well as protecting the mother in pregnancy).

schokolade · 21/03/2014 12:47

Of course it is effective 5feralloinfruits, or do the laws of physics just not apply to it?!

Yours are (a) lucky they have not caught anytihing, and (b) protected by the majority of the population having been vaccinated.

Seff · 21/03/2014 12:51

No one in particular, just noting that just because someone may choose to decline an injection in pregnancy doesn't mean that they do not understand that these diseases can be dangerous, and they may choose to vaccinate baby once it has been born. The two are separate.

I made my decision based on my own circumstances, I would advise anybody else to do the same.

"its not effective and it its dangerous."

Not helpful. We don't know enough information to say that it is either perfectly safe for everyone or if it's dangerous to everyone.

Alisvolatpropiis · 21/03/2014 12:58

You make your choice and must live with the consequences, whatever they may be.