To be worried about Whooping Cough having declined the preg vaccine?!

[freakedoutlady]

I'm pro-vaccine and DD 8 and DS 11 are up to date. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and declined the pregnancy vaccine having read a horrific article about it being linked to stillbirth.

Rationale was rare for babies to catch it and die, I have natural immunity (had it as child).

Anyhow. Now I'm 37 weeks and DD now has nasty cough following sore throat and cold.

What should I do?! So worried! Should I be?

Won't your children have been immunised against it? I thought the pregnancy vaccine was to protect a) you and b) the baby until it was old enough to be vaccinated, since when they're tiny they're at most risk.
There are some very nasty colds going about. DS has just got over a horrible cough that made him vomit (fun). Hope she feels better soon.

You can still have it I believe - even if you had it after birth you would still pass on some immunity via breast milk. Not as much as if you'd had the vaccine and your body had built up antibodies to cross placenta however it's something rather than nothing. If you've changed your mind

If you have actually had it you likely pass on some antibodies anyhow

Kids should be immune because of vaccines but it's not 100%. DD not ill enough for Drs. Had sore throat and tummy ache last week. Now is feeling better - just has cough. Maybe I should take her to Dr and see if they can test her for it? Still scared to get vaccine. Can't get what I read about those women out of my head. :(.

If you google you should find an audio file somewhere of what whooping cough sounds like. It's very specific, and I don't think you would be in any doubt if your DD had it. If you're worried and it will ease your mind then by all means get her looked at.

Do you remember having whooping cough as a child? I do very clearly and would be able to distinguish between that and a normal cough. Whooping cough has a very distinctive noise which sounds like a "whoop" when you cough. I also wasn't able to stop coughing most of the time. It is also accompanied by vomiting whilst you are coughing. I recall being sick 20 times in one night and exhausted from coughing. Do you think your DD has similar symptoms? Fwiw I had it for six weeks although I have no idea if this is normal or not. I would expect that if your DD has a normal cough you may see signs of improvement fairly soon (unless it's a chest infection and she needs antibiotics).

As others have said, you can still choose to have the vaccine if it would put your mind at ease. As scary as stillbirth is, in my opinion, it's still a vast unknown. You can only make the best decision based on the information that you have.

Thanks ladies. Listened to audio file and her current cough does not sound like whooping cough. Could it develop into it? Really don't know what to do still.

I've refused it too. Can last 10 years and had it 3 years ago. I will pass immunity to baby then through breastmilk will offer protection. YANBU

I refused it for other health reasons but as immunity peaks around 2 weeks after the jab if you changed your mind you could still have it.

Whooping cough is really quite rare, particularly at this time of year. It is unlikely that is what your daughter has. But as others have said you could still have the vax if you are worried.

I'm was actually due to be vaccinated today (31 weeks pregnant) but having to postpone (kids off school ill). I feel a little bit stupid that I haven't read about the risks!

I hope everything is ok with your daughter OP

What article did you read, OP?

To anyone reading this who is now worried about having the vaccine, please read this and be reassured.

I also think you should have the vaccination and as others have said if you go to 40weeks there is still time. However that is your decision.

The other thing you can do is make sure all the baby's main caregivers have the vaccination asap - you straight after birth, DH and any grandparents etc who will have regular contact before the baby has his/her own vaccinations.

If you choose to have it, you need to have it with every pregnancy.

This is because it's not being given to confer up immunity on you, but so that your immune system produces antibodies which are then transferred across the placenta. If you are not exposed (by immunisation, as relying on exposure to the wild infection is not a good idea) then you do not produce the antibodies for transfer and there is no protective effect.

Yes, some maternal antibodies do transfer in breast milk, but that is less effective at preventing the disease (or if caught, making it milder) because the timings might be wrong (if your baby gets it at the same time as you and your antibody production is only just beginning in response to them infecting you) and of course quantity is less in milk than in blood.

The immunisation was introduced in pregnancy following the outbreak in UK a few years ago, where unfortunately 14 babies (too young to be immunised) died.

There is no evidence that the whopping cough vaccine causes stillbirth. I think you've been caught by an internet scare story.

They've been monitoring it since it was introduced in pregnancy and the rates of stillbirth amongst vaccinated and unvaccinated women are the same.

I don't think it's too late to get it now if you still wanted it. If nothing else, it might put your mind at ease a bit.

A normal cough / cold isn't going to develop into whooping cough - it's a specific illness and you'd know if she had it. Plus she'll have been vaccinated against it so the chances are remote.

You could still get your vaccination now if you're concerned. I didn't get it (complicated pregnancy and I didn't want to add anything else to the mix) and I did worry about it until baby had her 8 week injections. (But if you decide not to it'll likely be ok - I think it's quite a rare disease still)

I've just re-read my post - I'd like to add I wouldn't listen to internet scare stories- the vaccine will be as safe as any other (small risks but offset by big benefits)

OP - never believe anything you read on the internet (or DM) without checking it out first. This is the original paper submitted to the BMJ which shows NO increased risk of still birth in over 20,000 women after whopping cough vaccine.
www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g4219

Your DD probably just has a cough, but keep an eye on it.

your not immune for life if you've had it once.
i had it 1979 and again in 2014 .
gp said theres more and more people having it second time round with most people getting it again 30 + years later ,so your immune system either does not recognise it after 30 + years or the whooping cough strain is different.
my children 12,19,and 17 were not at risk as they were vaccinated and gp said that would hold and it did.
it is very contagious and according to public health i must have picked mine up from the gps surgery as that was the only link .

forgot to add
op -whats your daughters eyes like??
i had terrible scratchy sore red watering eyes the first 2 weeks.
talk it over with your gp or midwife ,they should know the risks at this time of year and if anyone in the locality has it(its certifiable)

sorry supposed to be notifiable not certifiable -

Vaccination of pregnant women for pertussis was introduced because we are seeing more cases and whooping cough makes SOME very young babies extremely sick where as older children are generally less unwell. The whooping cough vaccine wains after 7 years or so, so older kids less protected even if immunised. Research paper PP linked to shows it's as safe as can be. OP the chances your older daughter has whooping cough, and the chance of your baby getting it, and getting very sick are slim, but in general I think the benefits of vaccine still out weigh the risks... So if it was still possible to get a booster I'd seriously consider it.

You have chosen not to have it. You need to own that decision, worrying about whether your child's cough is whooping cough suggests you are not completely comfortable with your choice.

I debated whether or not to have the jab, I researched various things - read a lot of information online but stayed away from forum posts and silly stories, I wanted fact and research. I made an appointment and didn't have the jab, I discussed it with the nurse instead and took the patient info leaflet home to read and digest (it's now boostrix btw so the previous info about repevax is not relevant) and then made my decision. My point is, when you are making a choice and it is a choice, no one can force you either way, it is down to you to determine what you need to know to be able to make it in an informed way and then go and get that info. If you aren't 100% comfortable with your decision you need to find out more.

Just recovering from DD's whooping cough here. 4 horrid months and she was fully vaccinated.

It's very important to know that a large proportion of whooping cough cases, particularly in very young children, do NOT have the characteristic 'whoop'. An absence of the 'whoop' doesn't mean that it isn't pertussis. My daughter didn't 'whoop' once in the 4 months of the illness.

You should be more worried about your apparent need to believe crap you found on the internet instead of reasoned medical fact.