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Pregnancy

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

Original poster

HELP- Flu and whopping cough vaccine while pregnant

52 replies

worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 15:36

Hi mothers of the group,
i have a question which is keeping me worried - i soon have to go for my first scan and will be suggested flu vaccine (recommended by GP) and i am not sure. I have done a lot of research although majority seems to get both these vaccinations during their pregnancy there is a minority that does not and the reasons they have for not getting it makes sense to me. We are injecting into our body things for which there is no 100% guarantee of being safe or working. Also long term effects are hard to judge anyway.
I have read about people loosing heartbeats of their unborn after vaccinations and it has scared me. Please can you help by confirming what you chose and what the outcomes were?
I just to put my mind to rest. My gut feeling is to avoid flu vacinne and get the whopping cough in the 3rd trimester OR not having either...
Thanks alot.

OP posts:
Darkstar4855 · 21/02/2019 15:39

I am a doctor and I have had both. I have seen pregnant women in ITU with flu and locally a six week old baby ended up being ventilated and was in hospital for weeks after catching whooping cough. Personally I feel the benefits far outweigh any potential risk.

Megan2018 · 21/02/2019 15:40

I had flu vaccine at 7+1, having whooping cough at 20wks.
I’d never risk flu, the consequences on an unborn baby are potentially horrific.
I’m afraid I don’t understand why people are afraid of vaccines-I’ve seen no convincing evidence of harm, but plenty of evidence of the harm caused by contracting a preventable illness.
I think you are risking your pregnancy by not vaccinating.

Reccy2018 · 21/02/2019 15:41

I had them both. The outcome was that me and my baby were healthy.

Jackshouse · 21/02/2019 15:43

Have you looked into the risks of a pregnant women getting flu? The risks for you and your baby? The whopping vaccine was brought in after several babies died from it before they were old enough to have the vaccine themselves. It has been standard practice in Australia for several years without issues.

Sexnotgender · 21/02/2019 15:45

When you say research do you mean google?

Jackshouse · 21/02/2019 15:45

I had both when pregnant with my now nearly 3 year old and she is fine. I had already had this year’s flu vaccine when I became pregnant this time so I’m covered and I will be getting the whooping cough vaccine at the appropriate time.

Original poster
worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 15:56

yes google also few articles from doctors as well.
Can you have flu vaccine done after 1st trimester is over or is it too late?

OP posts:
Original poster
worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 15:57

also i would like to add that i live in London, Uk

OP posts:
randomsabreuse · 21/02/2019 16:04

Flu vacc is flu season so I had mine 3rd trimester. Given my ability to breathe was compromised by position of baby I wanted to minimise the risk of nice things like pneumonia secondary to flu... 1st trimester fevers are dangerous anyway - and in London presumably you use public transport - plenty of opportunities to catch stuff!

Whooping cough is a no brainer- transfer of antibodies through colostrum and across the placenta is generally seen as a good thing... hence the timing of the whooping cough vacc

GabbyGal · 21/02/2019 16:18

OP I can understand why you’d feel nervous having read something that implied the vaccine could increase your risk of miscarriage. However, 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage anyway so I’d be fairly confident that any correlation made between the two is by women desperately searching for a reason for their miscarriage.

All the fact based evidence supports pregnant women having these vaccines as the benefits far outweigh any risks. I had the flu vaccine at about 3/4 weeks pregnant before I knew I was pregnant, and I will definitely be getting the whooping cough vaccine in a few weeks’ time.

burritofan · 21/02/2019 16:27

I have had both vaccines and I'm ticking along with a healthy pregnancy at 33 weeks.

Sidge · 21/02/2019 16:29

If you’re in England and wait much longer the flu vaccine won’t be offered, it’s available in principle until March 31st but most practices won’t have much, if any, stock left by now.

Whooping cough vaccine is offered from 16 weeks but most practices will suggest it from 20 weeks after you’ve had your scan. There is no evidence at all to suggest a link between the vaccine and foetal loss. It benefits your baby hugely and has led to a massive reduction in neonatal pertussis cases.

CeeCee88 · 21/02/2019 16:35

I've had the flu vaccine done at 10 weeks pregnant and the whooping cough one after 16 weeks. Neither had a side effect on me (Apart from a slightly sore arm for a few days after the second one) and the benefits far outweigh the risks. It was a complete and utter no brainer for me and having spoken to a (pregnant) doctor friend of mine beforehand, she put my mind very much into the pro vaccine category. I hadn't been sure about the flu one before but having heard of the catastrophic effects of having the flu during pregnancy, I chose the safest option for me and baby.

DinoMamasaurus · 21/02/2019 16:44

I had both vaccinations in my first pregnancy - no side effects and my son was born healthy and has remained so since.

There was a BBC article a while back I think about a lady who didn’t think she needed to get the whooping cough vaccine and it was better to be natural etc. Well then her little baby got whooping cough which was both very dangerous and absolutely terrifying and distressing so she wanted to make the point that she was very sorry she hadn’t taken the vaccine advice.

I’m 26 weeks pg with my second baby - and have had both vaccines again. I am totally satisfied that the evidence shows these vaccines are safe and given to protect you and baby from the risk of very serious complications.

Original poster
worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 16:46

I can see that Whopping cough is a no brainier so should be done. In regards to flu vaccine because i have never had this vaccine in my life i am not sure how my body will react to it -that's also part of the reason i was concerned.
@Ceecee88 i thought the W cough vaccine is given in third trimester and not before.

OP posts:
Megan2018 · 21/02/2019 16:49

@worriedmomtobe1
I'd never had it before either, I had no reaction at all. It's not a live vaccine so side effects are minimal.

This is the whooping cough guidance www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/whooping-cough-vaccination-pregnant/

burritofan · 21/02/2019 16:50

Whooping cough is after 16 weeks in my area, don't know if they do it differently in different NHS trusts.

Flu vaccine I had no reaction to at all, maybe a bit of a sore arm & headache afterwards. They do ask you to stick around for 10 minutes to make sure you don't have any reaction or to deal with it if you do.

SinkGirl · 21/02/2019 16:50

Flu is extremely dangerous for pregnant women. This year although fewer people have caught it, the number of people treated in ICU or HDU for flu in the U.K. is over 2100. Pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk of very serious complications including inability to breathe. It’s not worth the risk.

One of my boys contracted whooping cough as baby - the vaccine worked for me and his twin but not fully for him. He still had to spend nearly two weeks in HDU but it could have been much worse.

Buddytheelf85 · 21/02/2019 16:51

No, you should have the WC vaccine between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. The NHS page on pregnancy and the vaccine is really informative:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/whooping-cough-vaccination-pregnant/#when-should-i-have-the-whooping-cough-vaccine

Personally I wouldn’t dream of not having flu or WC vaccines, but in your case is the the current flu vaccine relevant anyway? I mean given the current flu season’s drawing to a close? As a PP has said I doubt many practices will have any left.

SinkGirl · 21/02/2019 16:54

You need to have whooping cough done around 20 weeks. It takes time to be fully effective and if your baby is premature having it early means it’s more likely they will have immunity.

UserUser123 · 21/02/2019 16:58

I didn’t have them with this pregnancy as I made a choice not to. They didn’t offer these when I was pregnant with DD1 but offered the combined flu & swine flu vaccination when I was pregnant with DD2, which I got and it made me ILL.

CeeCee88 · 21/02/2019 16:58

@worriedmomtobe1 as previous posters have pointed put it's perfectly fine to get the whooping cough vaccine from 16 weeks onwards. :) That's what my midwife advised me of and I just thought the sooner I get it done, the less I have to think about it . On top of that I actually had WC 6 years back and it was absolute hell, so didn't want to go through that ever again and definitely wouldn't want the little one to catch it. I'm 26 weeks on now and all has been going really well, so you genuinely do not need to worry. :)

Original poster
worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 17:00

@buddytheelf85 i will have the scan in probably another 3 weeks and yes may be as it will be March the midwive may not feel it is necessary anymore since the most dangerous time would be coming to an end anyway?
I was told by my GP that she will be doing it but as winters are coming to an end it might not be necessary

OP posts:
Torsz · 21/02/2019 17:00

I didn't even consider not having either - I've not had them before but for me it was a no brainer.
I had flu at about 10 weeks and wc at 20 weeks, currently at 26 weeks ☺️

Original poster
worriedmomtobe1 · 21/02/2019 17:01

It is actually my first time - i havent shared with my family yet as they live in another country and i know they will be sooo excited so i want to wait for the first scan just to be sure that all is well.
Hence i have no one to talk to for now about it - apart from google and articles which actually make you so anxious and confused...

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