Anxiety after Boostrix IPV

[Mia098]

Hello. a week ago I had the vaccine boostrix ipv (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio). and I've had so much anxiety since taking it because I'm so afraid that the fetus has been damaged by the vaccine. I can't relax, sleep, and I cry every day and regret taking the vaccine. I feel so stupid and that I should have thought much longer about the vaccine than I did.

I just listened to the doctor but should have done more research myself. I feel so stupid and angry at myself :( I will never be able to forgive myself if my child gets hurt because of me..

@MargotBamborough Thank you very much for the good information. yes, it has not been recommended here until now because Denmark now has a whooping cough pandemic and Norway fears that there may be more people who become infected with whooping cough as countries close to us have now got it. but we've been very careful with vaccines during pregnancy here, so that's why I think it's a bit scary that I took the vaccine without it having been used on pregnant women here before. but as you say, the UK has used it for a while. were you confident that you would have the vaccine in 2021 even if it was not recommended in France? When was it recommended to all pregnant women in France?:)

Yes I absolutely would have had it in France first time round because I know it has been standard practice in the UK for a while now, and I was glad that the advice changed sometime in the last couple of years so I could have it again during my next pregnancy.

@MargotBamborough I think you're tough for daring to take the vaccine when it wasn't recommended in France yet. I am so afraid of the consequences of the vaccine, and making the wrong choice that could harm the child. we have to make some choices as pregnant women and the choices you make don't always feel so good afterwards. I was also a little scared when I took the vaccine because I spoke to the doctor and he knew I was pregnant, but it was a nurse who took the vaccine. she didn't ask me which vaccine so I'm afraid I got the wrong vaccine. I'm probably just scared since I'm pregnant.

I didn't see it as risky at all. I saw it as far more risky not getting vaccinated during pregnancy and I was annoyed that it wasn't yet recommended in France and that I had to explain why I wanted to be vaccinated again despite having already been vaccinated.

@MargotBamborough yes, I understand that very well. it's also a horrible disease for babies to get. although very few babies die from whooping cough, I have understood that the disease can harm the baby in other ways.

Please, please trust your doctor over Google. Anyone can write anything and post it online, there's no quality control.

All vaccines are thoroughly tested before they're offered to the general population. They're not routinely tested on pregnant women because that would be unethical.

You will absolutely not have harmed your baby.

@Sa11yCinnamon thank you very much. It wasn't my usual doctor, so I feel a bit stupid for trusting a doctor I didn't know. I should have consulted several doctors before taking the vaccine, but unfortunately it is too late now.

OP, what are you anxious about? What reason do you have to think vaccines are harmful?

@MargotBamborough it was not long ago that there was a vaccination office here that did not recommend it to pregnant women, and that it is so new here where I live. in addition, vaccines contain a lot and I am afraid that what the vaccine contains could harm the baby, for example brain damage or diagnosis. we have to be so careful with what we eat and then I started thinking about whether everything the vaccine contains is safe. I have also spoken to some doctors afterwards and it seems as if the vaccine is unknown to them, and then I became uncertain. also, it hasn't been that many years since there have been vaccinations for pregnant women, and that scares me too.

If it’s any consolation I have given this vaccine to hundreds and hundreds of women (Boostrix IPV) and not one has had any vaccine related issues with their baby.

None of had babies with whooping cough either.

Everything "contains a lot" though. Look on the ingredient list of any ultra processed food or most cosmetics.

We use products which "contain a lot" every single day without even giving it much thought. Most of them don't protect us from deadly illnesses.

It has been standard practice for women to be vaccinated against whooping cough in every pregnancy for quite a few years now in the UK and plenty of other countries. The evidence for it is good. There is no evidence that vaccines are harmful.

@Sidge Thank you so much for sharing. I hope the vaccine does not cause damage that will show up later in the child's life, or that the child receives a diagnosis. I am afraid I will then blame myself for taking the vaccine. Whooping cough is probably not that normal among babies, but it does happen. I've never seen a baby with whooping cough in real life. it must be horrible.

@MargotBamborough yes, what you say there is true. I felt it was just that much scarier when I injected something into my body, but it's not sure that there is any difference. I'm just so afraid of hurting my baby in any way. I only want the best for my baby, and then it hurts so much to feel that the vaccine can harm, give the child a diagnosis (I see that autism has been mentioned in some forums), or cause harm in another way. I just want to do the best thing.

The doctor who first claimed there was a link between the MMR vaccine and autism back in the 1990s later admitted he made it all up. Babies died from preventable illnesses as a result of what he said.

There has never been any evidence of any link between vaccines and autism but that doesn't stop the mad anti vaxxers pushing their fake news.

Any site that links vaccines to autism should be immediately discredited as a source of reliable information.

Honestly I think you're just trying to subtly spread antivax rubbish OP. You're not taking on board anything people are saying, you're looking for holes in things and then mentioning debunked and dangerous theories like the links to autism. People are trying to genuinely help but I don't think your agenda is genuine.

@MargotBamborough thank you very much. I guess I just have to try to trust that it's safe, even if it's hard for me. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me.

@qbadmrlauaminton it makes me sad when you think that about me, but I know myself that I'm not, so I won't let it get to me that you think I am. I myself know that I am not, and that is the most important thing. I appreciate everyone who has responded to me here, and I'm just expressing why I'm concerned. that's it.

@MargotBamborough - and one more thing: I have probably become extra scared by reading everything that is written on various forums.

Why would you believe what anonymous people with no qualifications have posted on forums?

@MargotBamborough good question. those who write seem very convincing and that they have researched it carefully. they talk about the ingredients as I mentioned yesterday, about the uncertainty about harm to the child later, that they have read research that supports that there is not enough research on pregnant women even though it has been used for many years, and some compare it to an anti-nausea tablet they gave to pregnant women many years ago which turned out to cause birth defects (the baby was missing fingers for example). and that this was a medicine recommended by health personnel. I have read a lot on forums before I finally wrote my own post because it was all this that made me afraid that I took the vaccine.

OP, I'm not going to lie, I am starting to have the same suspicions as @qbadmrlauamintonnow.

Either you are subtly trying to spread anti-vax propaganda yourself, or you are suffering from extreme anxiety and should ask your midwife to refer you to the antenatal mental health services, because it is odd to keep saying these things despite so much reassurance.

The thalidomide crisis you are referring to was short lived. It only lasted a few years because once babies started being born with birth defects it didn't take all that long to identify what was causing it and stop it.

Vaccinating pregnant women against whooping cough has been routine in many countries including the US for at least ten years now. It is also routine to vaccinate pregnant women against flu. There are no known negative effects from doing this, the safety and efficacy of these vaccines has been demonstrated time and time again in large population sizes, and the benefits of doing so in terms of reducing the risk of the mother and/or baby catching serious illnesses are clear.

If you are a genuine poster and are not repeatedly pushing back on what people in this thread are telling you to promote an anti-vax agenda, please please seek some support for your anxiety.

@MargotBamborough I'm not antivaxperson, so it's probably anxiety then. but I also think that many people can become scared and unsure when reading on forums because there is a lot written there. Or maybe it's just me.

There is a lot of nonsense written on forums by anti-vaxers.

These people are indirectly responsible for the deaths of babies and children.

@MargotBamborough yes, I have to try to remind myself of that too.

Why? All doctors are qualified. If you consulted several you'd be wasting a lot of people's time, including your own.