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Parenting

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Original poster

Mum who hasn't had chickenpox - vaccination?

29 replies

Sarah239 · 23/10/2022 19:28

I am mum to a 5 month old baby and as far as I know I have never had chickenpox. We aren't 100% sure though.

I did ask to be tested for antibodies when I was pregnant but I don't think it was ever done in my blood work. I was lucky not to catch it while pregnant.

Now that I have a young child, some friends have suggested I pursue getting vaccinated as if my child catches it could be really nasty for me. Not to mention if I one day got pregnant again.

Has anyone got experience of being vaccinated on NHS or how to pursue privately? Is it something you would recommend?

OP posts:

PinkPlantCase · 29/10/2022 22:16

Sarah239 · 29/10/2022 20:28

@PinkPlantCase ugh that's really annoying. I am exclusively breastfeeding. I have just checked online though and apparently it's safe to have varicella vaccine when breastfeeding?

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/vaccinations/

https://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy-advice/vaccinations/chickenpox-vaccination-service

It probably is safe but I couldn’t find anywhere that said they would vaccinate a breastfeeding mother. Even in my case where my son was old enough to have the vaccine himself. I didn’t ask the GP but assumed they wouldn’t do it on the NHS anyway.

I could have just lied and not said anything but that didn’t sit well with me.

justanothermagicmonday · 05/04/2023 10:15

I realise this is an old thread but it just came up as suggested when I commented on another thread.

I’m not sure if you went ahead and got it but just to reassure you DP had the vaccine as an adult and he was absolutely fine. No side effects at all.

ChickenMacaroni · 05/04/2023 10:20

I had the vaccine privately at £65 per dose. I was breastfeeding a 2 year old and told the pharmacist I accepted the risk as she could have the vaccine herself. The chance of passing it on by vaccine "shedding" as it's called from a live vaccine is very small but something to consider with a baby as little as 5 months.

We also had the DC vaccinated and it was 100% worth it for peace of mind. As far as I could tell the biggest risk- outside of immediate vaccine reaction eg unknown allergy - is of vaccine efficacy wearing off in late teens which could be worse (especially for girls who might become pregnant) - but we'll just pay for a booster if it comes to it.

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3-6 months old Babies & sleep Families General health

TheFTrain · 05/04/2023 10:28

I had it about 15 years ago before I tried to conceive my 2nd kid. I had no side effects. From what I remember (I could be wrong, it was a long time ago) I purposefully didn't get pregnant for a few months after having the vaccine. I'm not sure if the doc who did the vaccine recommended I didn't or if it was something I'd read.

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