Haven’t been offered whooping cough vaccine

[grosgirl]

…and I’m now 32 weeks pregnant. Hadn’t even thought about it until I read the ‘32 weeks’ email that I sometimes get from Tommy’s Midwives and whooping cough was mentioned as something that should be done between 16-32 weeks. So I’ve missed that window…how has that happened and what do I do now??

Thanks!

phone your surgery on Tuesday and ask for an appointment with the practice nurse for it. The midwife should have mentioned it and advised you to book really.

Pregnant women can help protect their babies by getting vaccinated – ideally from 16 weeks up to 32 weeks pregnant. If for any reason you miss having the vaccine, you can still have it up until you go into labour.
www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/whooping-cough-vaccination/

Sorry, I’m not being snarky with the username btw!

Your practice nurse will give it at your GP surgery. Just call and make an appointment. Your midwife should have told you to book in for it earlier.

16-32 weeks is ideal but it’s not too late to get it now. It can be given up to delivery.

I believe you can get it after 32 weeks, it is just less effective. I know some ladies get it postpartum and pass the antibodies on through breastmilk, so later is still better than never I guess.

Did your midwife not mention it at all? I think mine mentioned it at my 16 week appointment and then I rang the surgery and got myself booked in with the nurse.

No, not been mentioned at all! I’m cross with myself because this isn’t my first pregnancy but it just hadn’t entered my head.

I’ve got a midwife appointment on Tuesday morning so I’ll bring it up then but it doesn’t fill me with confidence to be honest. This is probably a huge, hormone related, overreaction but I’m supposed to be having a home birth with this team of midwives and this has actually really put me off. What else have they forgotten!?

It’s not less effective per se, it’s just that it can take a few weeks to be fully effective and so if you have the baby prematurely it won’t be protected as much as it otherwise would.

I've never had it and had 3 children. Is it common to catch?

@VanillaIce1 you would have had vaccines in childhood to protect against whooping cough (unless you’re unimmunised). The vaccine offered to pregnant women is for baby’s benefit to give them protection until they can have their own immunisations from 8 weeks.

The programme to offer this vaccine to pregnant women started in 2012 in the UK.

I forgot that as well and had the jab with 34 weeks. The midwife said that it takes 5 weeks to be fully effective. I gave birth at 40+5. Just call your GP and make an appointment with the nurse. You will be fine.

I mean the nurse said that. The midwife never mentioned the whooping cough vaccine. I think they didn't want to discuss the covid jab hence no jabs mentioned.

It's set at 32 weeks so even if you give birth early, the protection has time to kick in - i think it takes around 2-4 weeks, and if the aim is to have everyone protected by about 36 weeks it makes sense to recommend having it by 32. But it's still safe after that, and still effective if your baby is not preterm

I've never had it and had 3 children. Is it common to catch?

Yes. In 2012, 14 babies (too young to be vaccinated themselves) died in UK from whooping cough. Protection via transferred maternal antibodies is not as effective as vaccination of the individual, but for newborns it's all we've got. And since the roll out of vaccination during pregnancy, there hasn't been another year like that for deaths.

Even if not fatal, it's an unpleasant disease to have, and very distressing to witness in small children

Thanks all; this is really helpful info. I’ll get it booked on Tuesday!