Anyone NOT having the whooping cough vaccine?

[Bluepetra]

Im not on here to sway anyone either way, for or against but I'm not entirely convinced I need to have this vaccine. I'm not anti vaccine, but this one has too many negatives for myself. Has anyone else decided not to have it ?

Just wanted to say - my nan persuaded my mum not to have the vaccine and I got whooping cough when I was little. It was not a fun experience, for me or her. I will definitely be having the vaccine.

I've had it. Whooping cough is killing babies. I think that that should be enough to make anyone get the vaccine... Plus this is (injection) is just to help baby build up an immunity to it - baby still keeps to have the vaccine him/herself at vaccination time as normal anyway. I had to have the swine flu vaccine (when i was pregnant with DD) and she's perfectly fine... I'm not sure why people are still on this vaccinations are bad thing. Vaccinations are GOOD. Herd vaccination is even better. (my opinion but when children are dying/getting seriously ill something has to be done. Rant over x

I didn't with my first and won't with this pregnancy either. I'd rather they have the jab when born.

My midwife even said she wouldn't have it I don't think it's dangerous though, just my choice

I am shocked that a midwife said that to you fugghetaboutit. She should absolutely not be swaying you one way or another. Very irresponsible.

I cannot think of one good reason why someone wouldn't have it. Babies don't get the jab themselves for a number of weeks so they're unprotected in that time. It is there to stop your tiny baby from getting very poorly and possibly dying.

Whooping cough is very real in the uk. Fewer babies are dying but that's because they're being vaccinated.

Please also be aware to disregard stories from the 80s about children being damaged by the vaccination. They used a different vaccine back then.

Fugg - babies can't have it when they're born, that's the entire point. They have to be six weeks old.

And why would you wait for them to have it when born, instead of 'taking the hit' for them, as the adult, when pregnant?

I don't understand.

I didn't have it when I was pregnant last year for a number of reasons. I did have it when she was born and passed immunity through breastfeeding. I am pregnant again and won't have it as I had it less than a year ago so will still pass antibodies on.

I thought not enough antibodies are passed to the baby through breastfeeding hence the recommendation to have the vaccine whilst still pregnant?

Just because you don't know anyone who's had it doesn't mean it isn't still out there I think that's a pretty ridiculous stance to take.

I had the jab because I thought it the best way to protect my baby before she could have her own vaccine. Like pp have said, if she'd caught it before she was vaccinated I'd never have forgiven myself.

Oh, and I had no ill effects at all. I felt worse after the flu jab.

There was also this case as well, which shows just how quickly these illnesses can catch hold: www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/04/14/anti-vax-mom-changes-her-tune-when-all-7-of-her-children-come-down-with-whooping-cough/

No, the idea is because we have the vaccine as a baby; as a pregnant adult we no longer have the antibodies to pass on during pregnancy. They recommend in pregnancy to protect as soon as baby born. Can't remember all figures as researched last year (mainly from HPA website so reputable) but the HPA said the option of having vaccine post pregnancy should be available but to be aware it can take up to two weeks (if I remember rightly) to create antibodies that pass on to baby but effect will be same.
It's a personal choice; I considered my baby's risk low given geographics, personal circumstances etc. Ultimately like anything you make your decision and live with the consequences.
When breastfeeding any antibodies mum gets through illness/vaccination is passed through milk x

Babies in the UK can't start their vaccines until eight weeks old, Dowager.

The vaccine is primarily for the baby's benefit, though of course there is some benefit to the mother too.

So much misinformation on this thread, no wonder pregnant women are confused. Please speak to your practice nurse who will be administering this vaccine if you have any questions and concerns.

It is not a live vaccine.

It cannot be given before 28 weeks.

It also contains diphtheria, tetanus and polio.

It is the "same" vaccine given to preschoolers. (Not literally but has the same components).

Vaccines have changed since we were children, and the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine used now is completely different to the vaccine used in the 70s and 80s.

It is not compulsory, but has reduced the numbers of infant deaths from pertussis to virtually nil. It has been a very effective immunisation campaign hence why it is to continue for the foreseeable future.

My point was I thought not enough antibodies were passed on through breastfeeding to fully protect the baby. But as you say, we all make our own choices.

My partner had whooping cough as a baby, that was 23 years ago and my MIL is still traumatised by the whole thing. So in my last pregnancy 2 years ago I didn't hesitate to get the vaccination.

Whooping cough is on the rise in this country and it can kill babies. Does the NHS roll out an expensive vaccination programme for no reason? Of course not! The evidence is out there. The vaccination is good because the baby gets some immunity before it is born. I will be getting it done next month in my current pregnancy. It protects them until they are old enough to get injections themselves (at 6 weeks).

FWIW I had a sore arm for a couple of days and no other side effects (for me it was the flu jab that made me quite unwell last time).

I didn't hesitate to get this. There was an outbreak of whooping cough which killed a number of babies about a year before I had my son - I could get this jab (the only side effect of which was a slightly sore arm for a couple of days) which would protect my baby from whooping cough until he was old enough to have the vaccine himself. It was a no brainer.

I've had it this pregnancy too, again, nothing more than a slightly sore arm, a small price to pay to protect my baby.

Bruised arm, but that's cos I am sensitive, ask for it in other arm to the side you sleep on, wouldn't dream of not having it done, why potentially have a sick baby for months, rather than slight miscomfort. Ps even I wiped out for a week surely better than baby catching it?!?!

If not I

I had wc at 6 months .Mymum said it was the worst time of her life ( including when I had pneumonia at 6 .At 65 I am still prone to chest infections)
My DM ,most unusually as she never interfered in the way I raised my DCs, made me promise I would have them vaccinated ( not that I was considering not doing so) I'm not sure if I passed any resistance to them
Apropos another MN thread is vaccination against chickenpox yet offered in the UK ?

It cannot be given before 28 weeks.

I thought the whole reason for this was that, for sufficient antibodies to be passed through the placenta and onto the baby, you needed to have had it fairly recently. The latent level in your blood from your own immunisations is unlikely to be sufficient. Plus, a baby's immunity is quite short lived which is why they need repeat immunisations when they are small.

Therefore presumably you need it each timer you are pregnant, regardless of your own vacc history?

Whooping cough affects new babies differently from how it affects older kids. Newborns don't have the characteristic whoop and in the early stages have no cough, they just have pauses in their breathing which can be significant enough for them to develop low blood oxygen levels and even have a cardiac arrest (it's one of the things we always check for in the case of sudden unexplained deaths in newborns)
The other thing it can do is cause a very very high white blood cell count. This makes the blood sticky and thick and it can affect the blood supply to the lungs. In a baby who is still very Young and who has a circulation that is still getting used to needing a high blood supply to the lungs (before birth as babies get their oxygen from the placenta they have much smaller blood supply to the lungs), having whooping cough and thick sticky blood can lead to pulmonary hypertension which means the vessels from the heart to the lungs don't let enough blood through. In whooping cough in babies, when this has developed it is usually fatal.

I work in children's intensive care. Completely anecdotal but before the jab for mums was introduced I looked after 2 babies in the space of 2 years who died of whooping cough, both too young to have the immunisation themselves. Another baby I looked after with confirmed whooping cough, the mum had been coughing from about a week before she had the baby and ended up being on the postnatal ward for nearly a week establishing feeds, so every baby on that ward was exposed to whooping cough before theyd even left hospital.
Since the vaccination in pregnancy has been introduced I've not looked after any babies with whooping cough on intensive care

^I thought the whole reason for this was that, for sufficient antibodies to be passed through the placenta and onto the baby, you needed to have had it fairly recently. The latent level in your blood from your own immunisations is unlikely to be sufficient. Plus, a baby's immunity is quite short lived which is why they need repeat immunisations when they are small.

Therefore presumably you need it each timer you are pregnant, regardless of your own vacc history?^

This! This is why I had the vaccination 2 years ago and need it again towards the end of my current pregnancy.

"Is this a new thing. As far as I'm aware noones had whooping cough for years"

14 babies, too young to be vaccinated, died in 2012.

So, yes, it's a new thing. Because that death rate is avoidable.

Yes - it's to provide baby with some antibodies to provide immunity until baby gets their own 3 month jabs. That's why they recommend 28 weeks as it gives sufficient time for the antibodies to cross the placenta.

I've been vaccinated in both pregnancies and apart from a slightly sore arm for a day or two I've been completely fine otherwise. Small price to pay IMO to protect baby for those first few weeks when they are so vulnerable.

I'm having my WC vaccine tomorrow at 30w. My MW said there have been deaths of babies in this area from WC in the past few years which were obviously all in the groups of people who didn't have the vaccine.

I am not taking that risk with my child, I find it extremely concerning how people read tenuous links on the internet and then place more trust in that than actual medical research and advice.

As for diseases not being 'common', when my sister was a toddler she contracted Scarlet Fever which has left her deaf in one ear. That's one my parents thought went out with the Victorians, so just because you don't hear about it all the time doesn't mean it isn't there.

Can you clarify what you feel the negatives are? It's not a live vaccine, it should have no negative effects at all.

I've had whooping cough - it nearly killed me. The vaccine is a no brainer - it will protect you and it will protect your baby in those vital first few weeks.

Whooping cough is on the rise because people aren't vaccinating - please don't put your health, the health of your child AND the health of others around you at risk.