Whooping cough vaccine. How common is whooping cough anyway ?

[NightSkyWanderer]

I am hesitant about the vaccine.
My midwife is very adamant about pushing the whooping cough vaccine.
What's people's opinion on whopping cough? To be honest I'm rather reluctant to take a vaccine for something I'd never even heard about before. Midwife says it's common but at almost 40 years of age I've never had whooping cough so it begs me to wonder how common is it really? While i want my baby to be safe and I'm not opposed to all vaccines in life, however I am against having vaccines while I'm pregnant. I've already declined the flu vaccines and covid vaccines due to horrible responses from both past injections.
Since becoming pregnant I'm hardly out of the house , I'm fortune enough to be at home during the day and I only go out once in a while to supermarket. Ive stopped socialising and I've become somewhat of a hermit due to exhaustion and fear of exposure to virus's ect while pregnant so really wouldn't my risk be low anyway ?
I'd value some other opinions as to your experiences

The reason you haven't heard of it/had it is because the vaccine works to reduce prevalence.
If people like you stop having the vaccine then whooping cough will become more prevalent again. It's common sense! Just look at what is happening with measles now.

I had the whooping and flu vaccine at the same time in my last pregnancy and will do so again this time, no reactions beyond a tender arm. I won't be getting the COVID one but every vaccine I will be getting, like people have said WC is for the baby.

From the tone of the OP they came straight onto Mumsnet.

It's not that hard to find info about whooping cough online really?!

It’s definitely a case of passing protection to baby before they are born - also protects you while pregnant, but main benefit of it is protecting the baby while it’s so young and whooping cough can make them extremely ill.

I’ve had it with both my previous pregnancies and had it again last week with my 3rd, no side effects. It’s apparently rife this year, I wouldn’t have taken the risk x

Also, I consider myself pretty balanced when it comes to vax, had flu and whooping cough done, won’t be having covid as to me that’s too new and it doesn’t sit right with me

You need to do a bit more than ‘reconsider your stance,’ IMHO.

I spent my first birthday in hospital with it, close to death.

If you believe the papers it has seen a massive apike im recent years - partly due to COVID and lockdown and parents not being able to get vaccines for thwir kids. Missing the schedule etc.
Although they would liiw to blame antivaxxers.

I didn't have it with DC1 and have opted not to with DC2 as a HCP I been used as a pin cushion for way to long and want to leave my body alone now.

We all have COVID inclusing DC1 - it was like a mild flu.
We discussed and weighed up the pros and cons and what worked for us and decided against it. For now.

Our midwife was supportive and no one pushed us. That is coercion and illegal in the NHS. It is called CONSENT and your body your choice. Just as anyone can terminate a baby. You can choose what goes into you.

P.s I am a HCP. If I ever was caught bullying patients to have the vaccine Or do any medical examination or anything they didnt want and said No top then I would have my license revoked

I used to get Flu Vax yearly for work in sept at the start of flu season. But come jan/Feb I would be off 2 weeks with flu.
Always caught another strain especially in my line of work I used to meet people from all over the world. So it didn't protect me so I stopped getting it. It made 0 difference.

Yes and No.

At school back in my day (2001), there was a massive outbreak of Mumps even though everyone was vaccinated. A vaccine doesn't garuntee jack all. A bit I of a gamble. So we all had to have more MMR even though we had the full course!! Those affected were all vaccinated.

If you had the full course yourself that is already passed to baby. And if you were unlucky to get it previously then even better for baby as you have antibodies. So there is always protection if previously exposed or previously inoculated.

Completely agree! It’s not bullet proof, and I’m not in any way a ‘pro vax’ I hate having things done.

I am immune suppressed and get offered jabs against all sorts, some years I take them and some I don’t. The whooping cough one I have taken in this pregnancy and in my previous 2. Purely for the fact that it may prevent the baby from catching it. Especially with 2 other young school children at home and half the school (including my own children) currrently coughing their guts up!x

100% if you are immuno compromised I would strongly suggest you do. Just with anyone who is more vulnerable. It is not worth the risk and being pregnant dampens the immune sytem even more.

Just like with anything the benefits needs to be weighed against the harms. And if the benefits far outweigh any harms then yes go for it.

I know two adults, an older baby, and a toddler who've had it. Adults had a pretty tedious time coughing for weeks, but not seriously ill. Baby was vaccinated and started treatment very quickly so it wasn't bad (though getting antibiotics down a baby four times a day was obviously a PITA). The toddler was unvaccinated and had a miserable time of it- weeks and weeks of coughing and vomiting. As others have said, they vaccinate pregnant women to protect newborns before their own vaccinations, as babies under 6 months are at risk of serious complications from whooping cough.

It's not that common because of the vaccine. Prior to its introduction in the 1950s there were hundreds of thousands of cases a year, and hundreds (if not thousands) of those cases ended in death... especially of vulnerable people like babies and pregnant women.

It is currently being discussed on woman's hour on radio 4