Whooping cough vaccine - how safe is it during pregnancy?

[AsereT123]

Hi all,
Am a first time mum and curr 21 weeks..... I had been advised to have a whooping cough vaccine at 20 weeks. When I looked online, however, it looks like any research done, (seems to be in the US) had looked at women having had the vaccine from 33 weeks.
Im not sure there's been much research into any potential long term side effects that having the vaccine could create.... so am feeling very unsure - as I think the baby would be vaccinated at 4 months to build her own immunity.
Whooping cough in London - I think there were 500 cases reported last year - can't say I've ever encountered anyone with it.
Am seeing my GP next week for an antenatal appt so maybe I should ask her.... am just very wary about taking any medication - especially in this case, a vaccine that hasn't had long term research studies.
Any advice appreciated...
Have any of you had the vaccine? Were you told it is definately safe??

I had it purely for the reason to protect my baby. I've been told by the nurse to come Back for the flu vaccine Which I'm unsure about

I believe the new guidelines are to have it any time after 16 weeks, the sooner the better. I had mine at 16+3 and am now 19+3 and all is fine.

My nephew had whooping cough (thankfully he was fine) it was seriously horrible thing for him to go through, watching him struggle to catch his breath was heartbreaking , thankfully he caught it when he was a bit older and stronger and not a newborn.
I didn't hesitate to get the vaccination when I had DS2 as I wouldn't want my child to go though that and would do anything I could to prevent that.

I had mine before 20 weeks and everything was fine with me and baby. Go with your instinct when you want to have it but I didn't have a bad experience with it. Everyone is different.

I had mine at 21 weeks. Also read up on the (mostly American) research, decided that any risks of the vaccine were far out weighed by the risks of what can happen if the baby got whooping cough. Had very few side effects to the vaccine, just a little soreness at the injection site, other than that it was fine!

Like tailspin I have had whooping cough even after being vaccinated as a baby. You are contagious (unless on antibiotics) for the first three weeks (if I remember correctly) and for 5 days if on antibiotics. Given that it is generally diagnosed by blood test, the time it takes for that to come back means that you've already been walking around with it for weeks passing it on to the world and his wife. It has a very high fatality rate if caught by a baby before they've had their own dose of the vaccine. They give the vaccine to the mother for a reason. Please rethink

My reasoning - as with all vaccines - is would I rather take the risk of a side effect of the jab or live with an increased risk of my baby catching whooping cough? No contest. Have you googled and watched any videos of any babies suffering from it? So, so awful. I would do what I can to avoid it. There is a higher risk of a car getting into your car with your baby, but no doubt you'll do that most days without giving it a second thought. (Not having a go, just putting it into perspective).

I had mine at 37 weeks - I was told that it would be fine because I'm planning on breast feeding and they continue to get the antibodies through that. But having now hit almost 40 weeks, I've had the 2 weeks required for the antibodies to build up anyway - they just suggest you get it done earlier in case baby decides to come early. I think it's a personal choice, but as someone with a scientific background and having studied pertussis, there wasn't ever any question about it for me. Everything carries a risk, but I sure as hell wouldn't want a tiny baby getting whooping cough - it's extremely dangerous.

Better to trust medical science or internet rumours.
Personally I'd rather my baby protected from fatal disease

Dear Aseret, you are absolutely right to be suspicious. Anyone who say's vaccination is safe just because they were told so by their midwife, health visitor or anyone else is naive. Like many have pointed out on here no vaccination is 100% safe. For those who think it's safe because someone in a nurses uniform told them, most research is done by the drug companies who are trying to sell the stuff and do not hold your babies health as a priority. They reward their buyers in lot's of different ways which encourages bias relationships. The priority of these companies is to make money and reward shareholders. Independant research is very hard to find because the drug companies try to shut these people up and because there is no financial motive for these independents. My midwife had no idea about what was even in the flu jab that she was trying to persuade me to have. It contains formaldehyde which is really toxic and mercury, which when absorbed through the stomach has completely different effects to when it is injected directly into the bloodstream, along with a load of other nasties. After trying to research the whooping cough disease and vaccine I did decide to go ahead and have it but it was, as far as possible an informed choice.