Not convinced about the whopping cough vaccine

[AlwaysBelieve19]

(Don't need people who are going to be rude or negative about the way I'm thinking)
Hi ladies at first I was definitely going to get the whopping cough vaccine but after a lot of research and a lot of asking questions I'm not convinced I asked my midwife if she got it she said No she don't think it's necessary but that's her opinion she said and as a midwife if she don't think it's not necessary then I'm not too convinced I would do anything to protect my baby but my thoughts are telling me other wise btw I'm 26weeks

I'm in my 40s. When my mum was pregnant with me, her friend's six week old son died of whooping cough. My mum gets tearful if I mention it.

I'm sorry if this post made anyone feel like I was trolling but I just generally had my concerns I didn't mean to get anyone upset or anything just wanted everyone else's opinion thank you

A family friend’s little boy died of whooping cough - in Australia where pregnant women weren’t routinely vaccinated & he was too young for his own vaccinations.

Personally having seen the pain they went through, I would always vaccinate if I can.

I’m a midwife. I’ve never heard of any side effects from the vaccine beyond the usual sore arm and potential for a mild immune response. There will be a minute number of people who are allergic or have a more serious immune response but this is absolutely minuscule. There are no medically documented cases of side effects to babies in the womb.

I wouldn’t wish whooping cough on anybody, let alone a newborn.

I had the vaccine yesterday and always knew that I would have it however asked the midwife out of interest if it was deemed essential. She was very clear that it was absolutely an essential for all of the reasons pp's have stated and many more and so I struggle to see why your midwife would have said that to you.

As an aside, she did tell me that it might be sore afterwards but my word, she did not prepare me for the pain I am experiencing now! It comes as a joint vaccine with tetanus and diphtheria and I also had the flu jab at the same time and so just be mindful of which arm you have it in, just in case.

@CaraDuneRedux I agress midwives are meant to be impartial they should give the facts so that pregnant women can make an informed decision and not their own personal opinions.

So on one side, hideous illness and your child might die. Which can be prevented with a safe well-established vaccine

On the other side the argument that outweighs that is...?

I had whopping cough at 6 weeks old as they didn't offer it to pregnant ladies at the time, I was hospitalized for a few days and was apparently quite lucky that the situation wasn't worse for me so I definitely wouldn't want my son going through the same thing when it's preventable.

It’s so irresponsible of your midwife to have given you her personal opinion, she should have given you her professional one. Informed choice is brilliant and you have every right to decline is as long as you fully understand and accept the adverse outcomes should your baby contract whooping cough. I really think you need to look further into this, it’s not for you but for your baby😊

As a retired doctor I absolutely endorse getting the pertussis (whooping cough) immunisation, but I just wanted to say I was in fits of laughter at your typo calling it “whopping cough” - it’s rather appropriate, as it certainly causes a “whopping cough”! Though perhaps Covid deserves that epithet rather more nowadays.

I & my sisters had whooping cough when we were very young - we were fit healthy kids before
My oldest ds had ling damage & constantly got severe bronchitis several times each winter after that, my other sister was ill -coughing her guts out - for months
It can kill - especially in young dc
Even midwives make errors in judgements
don't believe me just read this
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/whooping-cough-vaccination-pregnant/

I don't see the point of not having it, better safe than sorry. I had a cough that I thought was whooping cough (dry, tickly cough that made it very hard to draw breath) and it was awful.

If my midwife told me that one of the vaccines recommended for pregnant women was in her opinion unnecessary, I'd tell her manager. She can have whatever personal opinions she likes, but when working as an NHS midwife sharing them with patients seeking advice is inappropriate.

I am not trying to be horrible but why would you not have it if it protects you and the baby? My old job required examining why very young babies had died from pertussis and one of the things that kept on coming up was that the mother had not been vaccinated in pregnancy

Only you can decide if you have it but I think your midwife needs reporting for that comment

Is this a new vaccine? Genuinely interested as it wasn’t available when I was pregnant last time. Shouldn’t most people have immunity from being vaccinated as babies? Sorry, I’m a bit clueless but if it’s recommended I would get it.

I had mine

We had an outbreak of whooping cough here and 30 odd babies died. So it was timely.

I would again without w doubt. There's been no adverse effects as far as I'm aware anyway?

Is it for you or your baby? I've never heard of giving pregnant women extra vaccines unless they failed to have them as children, I would be very wary about having one myself whilst pregnant, seems an unnecessary risk (every vaccine had a risk element) as I was fully vaccinated as a child. My kids were vaccinated at children, I'm not antivax but I'm cautious because I've seen the harm they can do without adequate testing (rotavirus in 90's)

@henni85 the midwife who did mine said it was relatively new (last 8 years I think she said) due to a rise in cases. That may or may not be correct - if not I think someone more knowledgable will tell us!

It's done in late 2nd/early 3rd trimester so that the baby can pick up some immunity from it. It's solely for the benefit of the baby, unlike the flu jab.

Can anyone point me to any adverse effects from the vaccine?

I literally thought it had almost zero? One of the only ones?

Like a poster above. I had my premature baby at the time when it was rife from mothers not getting the vaccine.

I was in hospital with a toddler who had whooping cough

That sound gave me nightmares for months after. It's literally one of the most horrific things I've ever seen. Shudder. Even now it makes me feel sick.

Trust me. This is one of the vaccines you need.

@movingonup20

It's a well known vaccine. Been around for ages.

My mother made sure I got my vaccinations and boosters, but for some reason my grandmother persuaded her that if was a bad idea to have the whooping cough one. I have no idea what the logic was, but it led to me almost dying aged 8 months. My mother says she was beside herself and realised how stupid she had been, she would have done anything right then to have had me vaccinated.

My next door neighbour (in her 50s) caught whooping cough last winter - her grandson passed it on to her. She was incredibly ill, she woke me during night for weeks coughing through the wall. It sounded horrific - I'd avoid that for myself and my baby if I could.

@Shmithecat2

Oh that video is awful

Awful awful awful.

I couldnt watch it all. Made me gasp.

@henni85 adults will have immunity through their childhood imms, the whooping cough vaccination is given to mums to provide the baby with some immunity until they have their own jabs at 8 weeks😊

[quote WednesdaySpinner]@henni85 the midwife who did mine said it was relatively new (last 8 years I think she said) due to a rise in cases. That may or may not be correct - if not I think someone more knowledgable will tell us![/quote]
I think that it being offered to all pregnant mothers is a relatively new thing, not the vaccine itself.

There was a big increase in cases a few years ago, I remember several children at DS2's school contracting it and lot of stories in the news about the number of cases.