are you having the whooping cough vacination?

[whiteandyellowiris]

i'm 29 weeks, this week.

not sure if i should have this or not

my midwife said I should, and I am - at 35 weeks

I certainly am- next week at 29 +3. It simply comes down to the fact that whooping cough is very dangerous for newborns and the only way for my newborn to be protected is for me to pass on my immunity, which I get from the vaccination.

Yes, I'll be having mine at about 29 weeks, I live in an area where there's been a bit of a resurgence of it, we even had a health warning go round at work.

I had it last week and glad I did. The only side effect was my arm was a bit sore for a couple of days. :)

I didn't think twice about having mine as I want my baby to have some protection before it can have the vaccination.

I came on this page to ask pretty much the same question.

I know the midwives say we should but they are simply government messengers. If its current government policy then that is what they'll tell us. So I'm desperately trying to find somewhere that gives NEUTRAL advice. Everybody seems to fall strictly into one side or another.

I'm not anti-vaccine (my DS, 13, was vaccinated for everything but I was at an age where I would just do as I was told and not question anything) and I dont want to be wreckless by not vaccinating. But I really dont want to give any chemical to my tiny baby before their tiny body has even been born (I know its not supposed to be as bad as getting whooping cough, but...).

Hmm, I cant decide

I have just come across this blog post that was shared on a previous MN discussion about this. It gives a pros and cons view about the vaccine - makes interesting reading...

www.ramblingsofahealthfreak.com/2013/05/whooping-cough-vaccine-during-pregnancy.html#!/2013/05/whooping-cough-vaccine-during-pregnancy.html

That makes interesting (if worrying) reading StillPukin. Most of those links were from last year and the author of the blog mentions there were some results due from the initial trial in June 2013. Does anyone know if these results have been released yet?

I am also shocked to learn that the current round of WC vaccines in pregnant women in classed as a trial? Don't know if I want to be part of a trial whilst PG. But equally I don't want my baby (21 weeks pg) to be faced with anymore risk.

I was born in 1977 so had the 'old' style of vaccine which I think offers more protection than the new one. So would I even need the current vaccine and is there anyway for them to test my immunity?

Also something else to bear in mind is having the vaccine immediatly after giving birth so the vaccine is passed on via breastmilk. And if WC is such a big risk why don't they immunise baby when it is born instead of waiting until 8 weeks?

Was clear that I wanted this, now I'm not so sure. And without further information being released I don't know how we can make an informed decision.

I'm not againt immunisations. DD has had everything she should have. And if it were just side effects for me then they can jag away and I will cope with it. But those anecdotal stories about stillborns following the WC jag will haunt me as much as the deaths of the infants that have already occured due to WC.

I have an appt at 28 weeks with M/w then a growth scan the same week and seeing the consultant after the scan (nothing to do with this PG, DD was on the small side) so intend to have both M/W and consultant and do some more research between now and then.