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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

whooping cough jab

16 replies

tyra78 · 15/01/2014 19:50

i have just been reading up on the whooping cough jab and some people have said it is linked to stillborn babies.i was just wondering who has had it and where you babies ok?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

NorthEasterlyGale · 15/01/2014 19:57

I had it at 27 weeks. Now 33 weeks and baby is fine - merrily wriggling round as we speak.

My arm was sore for a couple of days, then the jab site was red, itchy and a bit swollen for a while but by a couple of weeks after, everything had settled down.

tinkerbell666 · 15/01/2014 20:04

I had it at 28 weeks, i now have a healthy 5 month old baby boy :)

FrumiousBandersnatch · 15/01/2014 20:27

Is there a study which indicates a link to stillbirth? Because there are hard statistics relating to the rise in whooping cough cases, and how dangerous it is for tiny babies.

If you want another anecdote: had it at 38 weeks, baby now 5 months and absolutely fine.

Mummyk1982 · 15/01/2014 20:42

I had mine last week (am 31 weeks), I had similar concerns to you. If I recall the evidence regarding still birth is negligible, the risk of baby getting whooping cough before it has it's vaccinations is very real. I was still anxious having it done but had to consider the bigger picture

Writerwannabe83 · 15/01/2014 20:45

I've got mine on Friday - I didn't even know there was a risk until people started putting threads on MN about it. In my job I remember a few years ago looking after a very young baby with whooping cough and she got seriously ill and ended up ventilated, it was very sad. I'm just going to go with the flow and put my trust in the professionals.

PenguinsDontEatKale · 15/01/2014 20:53

Is there actually a study? Do you have a link?

Original poster

tyra78 · 15/01/2014 21:10

no i don't have a link .i was on another pregnancy forum and there were some women saying on there about the link between the whooping cough jab and stillbirths.

OP posts:

PenguinsDontEatKale · 15/01/2014 21:27

The thing is, people panic about all sorts of 'links' in life. But I wouldn't base any decision making on a rumour. I'd try and track down where they got their information from before giving it weight

Dusty04 · 16/01/2014 09:32

I had both whooping cough and flu jab at 29 and 30 weeks respectively and was fine with both. Have a healthy 3 week old asleep on my knee as I type :)

polarpercy · 16/01/2014 12:12

I had the jab and also had no problems, as my dd was a winter birth I wanted her to get the benefits before she has her jabs at 8 weeks. There are a number of posts on pregnancy forums and in the comments section on the NHS site, none of them ever refer to any evidence and instead cite the lack of studies (would be unethical to study vaccine effects on pregnant women - something they conveniently ignore). It is not a live vaccine so there is nothing that could 'infect' the baby or give it whooping cough.

Sadly there will always be stillbirths and a number of them will have no explainable cause, so people look for something to blame as it helps with grief. But it is not helpful to suggest that a non-live vaccine caused it and I think it only serves to frighten women when they already feel vulnerable.

LastOneDancing · 16/01/2014 13:30

I'm also a bit concerned, although I'm very pro vaccination.

When I mentioned it to my MW they were both 'never heard of that' so I'd draw from their response it's not causing concern in the MW community.

I haven't booked yet but I'm pretty much decided I will.

highlove · 16/01/2014 19:05

I had mine today and also had reservations, though like others I'm generally very pro-vaccination. Had a chat with lovely GP before who also wasn't aware of the reduced movement/stillbirth suggestion. She did though say that it is on the increase and that she'd been a junior hospital doctor during the epidemic in the 80s and whooping cough us really nasty in little babies - she said "it doesn't kill many these days" (which implies it does some) but that it makes babies ill for 3-4 months and during that time their development pretty much grinds to a halt. On balance I decided I couldn't take that risk based on vague anecdote.

vj32 · 16/01/2014 19:09

I had it two weeks ago at 29 weeks. Baby is kicking hard. No reduced movement here.

I wouldn't trust anything written on a forum compared to professional medical advice.

greentshirt · 16/01/2014 19:10

I've got reservations too, again despite being massively pro vaccination. Someone in a fb group im did a great post about the risks involved, of getting whooping cough and it really got me thinking. Im still very undecided about what to do

Misty9 · 16/01/2014 19:39

I had my reservations but did the research and will have it. That said, my midwife didn't even mention it at my 28wk appt this week! Will have to wait until 34wks.

Writerwannabe83 · 17/01/2014 13:46

I had mine early this morning - it is a 4 in 1 jab apparently, also covering polio, diphtheria and another disease that I can't remember. Baby has been moving fine so far

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