Injections in pregnancy

[Mum2b25]

Im 16 weeks and im in 2 minds on the whooping cough infection and rsv infection they offer you . This is my first but I don't know whether to have the injections or not while pregnant.
Any thoughts on this

Why would you not want to protect your baby?

It protects your baby when they have no immune system when born.
Its not going to hurt you and you should have it done!

Why on earth are you in two minds? Whooping cough kills babies. I personally would never risk it for my baby.

Of course you have it.

Look up videos of babies with whooping cough on YouTube if you have any doubts.

Why would you not have them?

Why wouldn’t you? These viruses can be deadly for newborns. RSV is one of the most common causes of hospitalisations of babies under 1. I had to sign my last one up to a medical trial to get protected against RSV but I’m glad it’s available to pregnant women now.

I didn't with my 2 children.
Innursed my children and no infections or issues with either.

I had mine OP and never regretted it, babe was born 1st Nov and at the time there was so much of it around. Considering she was winter born she didn’t get her first cold until April.
A friend of mine that gave birth 3 months before wasn’t offered RSV as it wasn’t available and her baby was very ill during winter and had to be admitted to hospital on oxygen.

You don’t want to risk whooping cough, it’s very dangerous for babies. Get the vaccine.

They didn't offer me an rsv injection when I had my two, and the night I spent in hospital with my dd while they cared for her with suspected rsv was terrifying. She was fine in the end, thankfully. I'd take it in a heartbeat to not go through that again.

Just had a Google. 10 babies have died from whooping cough between November 2023 and June 2024. Whooping cough is on the increase (probably due to the anti vax trend that came out of Covid).

Google videos of young children with whooping cough, it’s awful. You do not want to risk your baby going through that.

Why wouldn’t you have them? Surely you’ll consent to the baby having its vitamin K and heel prick the minute it’s born anyway, and then it’s immunisations - what’s the difference?

That's luck not evidence.

And it's people like you not getting vaccinated that are increasing the risk for babies/women who can't be vaccinated or have poor immunity.

You are obviously entitled to make your own choices but it's like saying that you crossed the road with your eyes shut and you were fine so everyone else will be to.

Most will be, but some won't be.

What is your reason for being unsure OP?

Because of the way my appointments fell, I ended up having whooping cough, RSV and flu vaccine at the same time. The nurse joked I was like a pin cushion. I was fine, and my 3 week old baby is so far very healthy and hasn't shown any signs of so much as a sniffle despite there being a lot of summer colds seemingly doing the rounds (and we've been very social with her since birth).

What's your reasoning for not having the vaccine? There was a study published yesterday saying that some countries are going backwards in terms of disease spread because of the low uptake of vaccines. I presume it's a result of social media, which has a lot to answer for in terms of fuelling an anti-science, alternative facts mindset. Children are dying of preventable illnesses again because of people's rejection of vaccines. It's just not worth the risk.

Be thankful for the other responsible mothers who vaccinated their kids, as it's more down to group immunity than luck from breast milk.

denying your child life saving vaccines is neglectful

I bf both my kids too. It didn't stop my dd from getting sick. Anecdotal evidence can go both ways.

Please don't listen to the "I didn't and my baby is fine", because unfortunately there are people whose babies were NOT fine. These are very well tested vaccinations had by millions of women each year. Please join them and protect your child.

Please also get the baby vaccinated once they are here!!

What are you most concerned about?

Personally I’d take the vaccines, but obviously don’t know your medical history.

I possibly had whooping cough in my first trimester it was awful. Coughing continuously for hours without reprieve and to the point of vomiting. I will absolutely will be having the vaccine.
Rsv is the leading cause of hospital admissions for young babies.

My uncle was born with a heart defect and died in infancy due to my gran contracting rubella in pregnancy. A simple vaccine would have saved him 7 years of pain and my gran 60 years of grief. We are so incredibly lucky to live in the time we do.

I had both, I wanted my baby to be protected

Very similar to my family and it makes me pretty angry when people in developing countries just throw away the opportunity to be safe and vaxxed

my uncle was born deaf and blind because my gran contracted German measles when pregnant 😢 if only she’d had the opportunity to have a vaccine

In many countries pregnancy is one of the few points where women seek healthcare, and so it is then that vaccinations are given. I would expect that many hundreds of thousands of women (if not millions) have had these jabs in pregnancy by now. If they were not safe we would know about it. We do know that whooping cough etc can be awful.

I was not vaccinated against whooping cough. I caught it. It was truly awful.

I had both, whooping cough is a foul thing for a little one to have when it’s pretty much preventable.