To have the whooping cough vaccine?

[cherryontopp]

Im 32+5 and still havent decided whether i want the vaccine.

When I've researched into it, theres a hell of a lot cases where they have healthy pregancnies and the baby has stopped growing within days of having the jab.

Its took me 3 years to conceive and itneas through IVF. To say im anxious about anything happening to the baby would be an understatement.
I know if a baby does get whooping cough it can be dangerous.

I really dont know what to do

I would not put much stock in some random person's conspiracy theory on a forum or blog post about what they think did or didn't cause them to lose their pregnancy. I'm a health rsearchered and tere is some good research on adverse reactions to the Tdap vaccine (posted on the U.S. CDC website, as it's been used in pregnancy for a long time in the U.S. and well researched in community-based studies of pregnant women). You should have a look for that.

Even taking into account any adverse reactions reported after the jab (like anything that happened as as potential side effect, including anything from a rash or a runny nose to stillbirth, even when there was no evidence at all there was any connection to the jab), the outcomes were still better than they were for babies who got whooping cough. So basically, your baby is much more likely to die from whooping cough than from an adverse vaccine reaction. Whooping cough is horrible, lasts for months and can be very easily fatal in small babies.

I got pneumonia at 3 months old (no connection to whooping cough specifically, but to another respiratory infection) and I nearly died, was in hospital for a week, and I have had lifelong recurrent pneumonia and asthma as a result. I wouldn't want my kids to go through that if I could prevent it. I got the jab with my dd (who's 5 now) and I got it with this pregnancy too. Totally your choice and you have to be comfortable with what you decide but definitely look at the research and don't make any decisions just based off some random unsubstantiated blog post.

I had the jab. Dd is 8 months old and perfect.
I was anxious during pregnancy due to a previous loss, but felt it important to have.

Hi OP! I would type wooping cough into youtube. I show the vids to my GCSE students when we're learning about vaccinations. Watching a little baby struggling to breathe for what looks like hours on end is utterly heartbreaking. Especially when it is so easily avoided. Remember the story you read might well be true but that baby might have stopped growing for all sorts of reasons.

I had it twice for each of my pregnancies- both fine x

I understand your anxiety. The vaccination programme is a balance of risks. There is a higher chance of your baby dying of whooping cough unvaccinated, than being harmed by the vaccine. Imagine your baby lying safely in your arms, then a few days later catching whooping cough and there being a very real risk of a very traumatic and preventable death.

I've had whooping cough as an adult, it was horrific. I later had the jab when I got pregnant. I would do anything to protect my child from it. Good luck op.

We had an outbreak of whooping cough at work a few months ago when I was early in my pregnancy. in my ignorance I went to see the nurse to get the vaccine early in case it put my at risk. The Nurse was lovely and explained it all to me that the point of the injection is to project the baby for the first few weeks of life before they have their own jabs. I couldn't have it early because it has a limited effect time wise and having it that early would have meant it had worn off by the time my son is born in Feb.

She also gave me some scary information about just how bad we are as a country at giving and getting vaccines and we have fewer jabs for babies and children then most of Europe. You know the 5 in one jab? it the 6 in one on the continent. I'm planning on giving him as many vaccines as I can, even paying for some. It simply isn't worth it. Do you know that most of Europe imunises against chicken pox? we don't as standard and that can be very dangerous for a small percentage of children who get it and even if not can give you scars (I have some on my face) why not vaccinate against that too?

Unfortunately there is a lot of baseless assertions around vaccines that has led to a low rate of immunity in the UK and as a result a spike in the diseases they seek to control. We are taking our own health for granted. the only reason chunks of the population haven't died off to disease is vaccines. We can go back to those times if we so choose.....

I appreciate completely that you would be concerned if you'd heard things like this about the vaccine, but have you actually seen any scientific studies with solid evidence and results to base this on? Or has this just been things you've read on the internet? If the former, I would love to see the studies saying as such.

Aside from what other people have pointed out so far, that whooping cough is horrendous for a baby to get and could kill them, there's also another side to think about: my uncle had a really nasty reaction to whooping cough vaccine as a child (nothing wrong with the vaccine, just something rare and genetic within my family which meant we didn't react well to it). Because of this, myself, my brother and sister weren't able to have the whooping cough vaccine as babies in case we had the same reaction. This wasn't my mum being cautious, this was doctors making the decision based on risk. Because of that, we absolutely had to depend on herd immunity in order not to catch it, especially when we were really tiny and vulnerable.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad but it isn't just a case of it's just for your child and that's all you should be concerned about, it's others around you too - some people just can't have vaccines for medical reasons because of health issues (maybe they have a lowered immune system from medical treatment etc) and herd immunity is the only way of protecting them. People who aren't immunised can, unwittingly, allow these things to spread and it can put very vulnerable people in your community at risk. I'm sure if your child wasn't able to have the vaccine for a reason like that, you'd be putting all of your hope that herd immunity would protect them too.

I'm absolutely not trying to attack you (sorry for the essay) and I understand completely why you would be worried, it's natural when you're pregnant, but I just wanted to offer that as something for you to consider.

I had the vaccine when pregnant with my daughter, she is nearly 3 and no problems at all from the vaccine. I have had it again this time and baby is growing fine, I am due in just over a week. So I would say have it. And congratulations on been pregnant!!

I caught whooping cough when I was a baby. I was in intensive care for 13 weeks and I almost died. My mum was told to prepare for the worst as they didn't think I would pull through.

Imagine if that was your tiny baby hooked up to machines unable to breathe and it all could have been prevented by a single injection.

I didn't hesitate to have the jab when I was pregnant with Dd and she was absolutely fine.

If you don't and your baby contracts whooping cough it could die. I fail to see why you would hesitate. There is no proven link to any issues.

I have had it twice, it is horrid. It is also referred to as the 100 day cough, you can guess why. I fractured 3 ribs coughing and coughed a hole in my lung. As a woman in my 30's it was absolute agony. Can you imagine what that would do to a newborn?

I've seen some very poorly babies with whooping cough - there is very good quality peer reviewed evidence that this vaccine is safe in pregnancy and reduces the numbers of babies who are getting whooping cough. Don't believe what you read on Arnica or any of the various other anti-vax sites. They are generally written by people who don't have a good understanding of scientific evidence or how to interpret it. If this vaccine wasn't safe the government wouldn't be spending so much money on it.

I didn't have the vaccine, and caught Whooping Cough 4 years ago as an adult. I was ill for 3 months, and it was truly dreadful. But it's even worse if you're a babe.

I've seen lots of babys with whooping cough and, even as a medically trained professional, it's very scary. If that was to happen to your baby because you didn't have the vaccine you'd never forgive yourself. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, i just think it's important for people to know how dangerous whooping cough is. Its highly likely that those babys who stopped growing after the vaccine already had some problems and it happened to coincide with the timing of the vaccine. We should be really grateful for our UK vaccination programme and that its free for us all. Please seriously consider having it and don't let the window of opportunity pass

Thanks everyone, been at work so couldn't reply earlier.

When ive been looking, theres too many cases just to be a coincidence. Going into labour the day of or day after vaccine, or the baby stop growing around the time of vaccine.
Studies have showed even vaccinated babies have still got whooping cough.

Im going to speak to my midwife tomorrow. NHS website says its recommended between 16-32 weeks and im 33+5.

I think you can have it upto labour, im just very anxious. If i got it when my pregnancy has been okay so far, and something happened I'd never forgive myself. If i didjt get it, and my baby got whooping cough, id never forgive myself.

Just in a pickle n don't know what to do.

OP could you link to some of these cases please? As a PP said, are these cases published in peer reviewed medical journals or are these internet scaremongering stories?

I have had the vaccine in all 3 of my pregnancies.

There is no evidence to suggest that the vaccine causes premature labour, stillbirth or an increased risk of miscarriage.

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/pertussis-vaccine-in-pregnancy

The link above demonstrates the effectiveness of the vaccination programme. It has significantly reduced neonatal pertussis incidence and mortality.

Whooping cough vaccine has very low chance of miscarriage, a lot of the stories you'll hear are anecdotal rather than fact based. Anecdotal stories have also given way to the idea that not eating the heel of a loaf of bread means it's a girl 😂😂😂. Here's a link with more information www.medicinesinpregnancy.org/Medicine--pregnancy/Repevax/

Also my mums a midwife and she says there's nothing that breaks a midwife or doctor's heart more than the sound of whooping cough - it really is one of the most horrible things you'll ever hear in your lifetime if your baby does get it.

If you are conflicted then go for the statistical arguments. Your baby is more likely to be seriously with whopping cough than the vaccine is to affect your pregnancy.

OP, I feel like you've skirted past a lot of good responses here, so can you post to us the studies you are talking about? Are they peer reviewed etc? I know it's very easy to worry but if you're going to query this decision at least do it with some solid evidence instead of allowing yourself to be scared by stories which have absolutely zero scientific basis and serve the antivac campaign.

I'm trying very hard not to get annoyed but as I said in my previous post, I can't have this vaccine due to medical reasons. I'm pregnant right now and that is so frustrating and upsetting for me because I want more than anything to be able to have it and protect my baby. But I can't and I will be depending on herd immunity. It worries me a lot and I can't help but become infuriated when people (who have no genuine medical cause to skip the vaccine) allow themselves to be unnecessarily scared out of having it when they have no factual basis to be scared.

Try to think about the bigger picture if you can and if that means waiting a bit later in your pregnancy, fine, but please consider the gravity of not doing it at all.

It was on a thread, similiar to ones on here. Where a lot of women (im saying 200 posts or more) where they were women who had stillbirths and pre term labour not long after the jab. But doctors have put it down to infection for mis miscarriage and SIDS. So that will affect the statistics

There is links provided but dont know how to put them on here. I dont think there is enough research on it.

Ill see what my midwife says tomorrow. If i do get it i might ask for extra monitoring as i do have anxiety in general.

I get the anxiety, I do. DS was also an IVF Baby after 4 years of trying. I read all the medical literature on every single decision I made. I was terrified I would loose him at every single stage, never actually believed I would get to go home with a Baby.

Still, I had the vaccine. All the evidence is there for it. What you've read isn't evidence. Your anxiety is tipping you in the wrong direction.

DS is one now, by the way.

I had it a month (or 2) ago and everything was fine

What convinced me was seeing a video of a new born with whooping cough who I believe later died. Seeing that poor tiny body fighting so hard. It was heart breaking.

Yes you can have it later but it may not be as effective which is why they give you a recommended time frame.

Do not trust stories on the internet over solid scientific evidence. What you have read isn't research, it isn't evidence. Speak to your midwife or GP and read what the nhs has to say on the matter. Anxiety in pregnancy is a difficult thing to get over but don't let it prevent you from making a sensible decision.