Confused - Swine Flu Vaccine

[Louisa K]

Sorry probably already been discussed but I have just received a letter inviting me to take the swine flu vaccine on the 22nd. I really don't know what to do for the best!

I've read that you feel really ill after and can suffer with a really painful arm.. But things I've heard in the news etc have left me feeling 'scared' about having it..

Just wanted to hear from people who are in the same situation as me, what did you do? How did you feel after if you had it?

 

[jolou]

i had mine about 2 weeks ago, i felt fine after it just a sore arm, it felt like i had being doing too heavy a weight at the gym lol i felt a little run down a couple of days after, just tired but i think that was due to the cough i had for the week previous

hope this helps lol i didnt know what to do when i first got my letter either but after speaking to my friend who is a MW and my FiL speaking to one fo the health advisors in his work and the fact i felt rough as a dog with just a cough i decided i should go for the vaccine, i didnt want to risk getting swine flu.

 

[SugarKisses]

I turned the jab down. Its up to you what you do but I personally didnt want to get it done as I feel it hadnt been tested enough. x x x

 

[Sazzoire]

I am completely torn as well..... I had decided not to have it as the side effects on an unborn child are not fully known yet. Then I got the mother of all colds and I am currently off sick I can't take anything other than paracetamol and can't imagine what I would do if I actually got Swine Flu....

 

[Boudica]

I had mine done at 12 weeks.

I read loads about it and there are some horror stories on the net if you look. I spent hours looking for stories and if you google swine flu jab and miscarriage you will find references to all sorts. In fact, all the sites tend to direct you to the same accounts, and it is a truism that unfortunately there are so many miscarriages out there that it is inevitable that some might occur coincidentally after having the jab.

I cried when I had it done. I really was in two minds. I felt horribly responsible for anything that might happen. Before I had it done I rang my MW and my doctor for reassurance. They didn't help me that much to be honest! But I decided to go ahead with it. My partner was very relieved I decided to have it.

When I got home I found a really useful thread on here actually, with lots of ladies saying they had had it done, and apart from the sore arm there were no ill effects. I wish I had found that thread before. It made me feel a lot better.

I am fine, and happy that I had it done. I had trouble sleeping on that arm for a few days as it did really hurt. I think it might have hurt more than it should because the nurse put the needle right into the centre of a scar from an old TB vaccination that had gone wrong when I was a child.

Apparently your baby is immune from swine flu for the first six months after birth if you get it done.

It is true that it hasn't been tested on pregnant women, but most vaccines aren't. It is not a live vaccine, so you do not get a mild form of the flu in order to gain immunity. It uses the same technique as the normal flu jab, which has not been shown to have any harmful affects on pregnant women.

The dangers of swine flu in pregnant women are high towards the end of the pregnancy because of the pressure on the lungs from the size of the baby.

Hope this helps xx

 

[1sttimemummy]

i have mine this afternoon, i was booked in for the 1st dec but cancelled as i was on 2 minds about it, i have thought and stressed about it for the last 2 weeks and decided after a lot of thought that it would be best for me and baby to have it , to be honest if i was you i wouldnt look on the internet to much as it confused me a lot, its a really personal choice and not 1 i took lightly but i do think the risk from swine flu is a real risk to pregnant women and babies aswell xx

 

[Emx]

I havent decided either way that i want it yet...

Havent been invited for it as yet, although expecting a letter any day... in terms of timing, if I do have it, I will wait until after Xmas as it would be too close to risk feeling pants over Xmas if I did have any ill effects! It doesnt give you immunity for 3 weeks anyway so wouldnt cover you for meeting lots of people over the holiday period anyway xx

 

[newmummytobe]

hi, i had mine done last week - i was the same as you, in two minds whether to have it or not but i feel glad i did as it is a releif to know that i wont be able to pick up swine flu when i am pregnant and that my baby will also be immune for six months after birth. everyone i have spoken to at the hospital/doctors has recommended it and a couple of other pregnant women i know have had it and that kind of made my mind up. i am scared of needles so was worried about that too but i was over in literally a second! my arm really did hurt for about two days afterwards, and the next day i felt a bit under the weather but nothing dreadful. as the other lady said tho, it is a very personal decision. good luck - im sure you will make the right one for you and your baby xxxx

 

[Sparx]

There are two types of vaccinations, Pandemrix and Celvaplan. My GP told me that the GP surgerys will only have Pandemrix, and this vaccine contains mercury and something called "adjuvant" which has been linked to autoimmune illnesses. You can ask your GP to have Celvaplan from the Public Health Authority and, if you're like me, you'll get an appointment about 2 weeks later at a clinic. See https://www.babyandbump.com/pregnancy-second-trimester/235115-celvaplan.html for a thread on celvaplan.

I have asthma so I'm having the jab, as I have a tendency to get bronchitis if I get normal flu / cold.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[MrsJD]

I had the Pandemrix injection a good few weeks ago and my arm ached for about 4 days. The reason I got the jag was I have a poor immune system and felt this was right for me.

X

 

[Louisa K]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, I've found your replies very helpful..!

I was swaying on the side of not having it until reading through your replies.. I'm still not 100%..

I keep thinking of that young girl who died right after having the jab, although thats just one case and they did say that it wasn't actually linked to the jab after all, I just can't help but feel worried..

On the other hand, I had a pulmonary embolism after my last baby and it's left me with a damaged right lung so I tend to suffer more now if i get a common cold/flu.. So goodness knows what would happen if I got swine flu...!

Does anyone know if anyone has had the jab and go on to have a fully successful pregnancy and birth and have a healthy baby etc..?

 

[1sttimemummy]

i have read a couple of threads on here of people who they know having the jag and then having healthy babies not sure which thread it was on but deffo seen it x

 

[JessiHD]

Decided not to have it for various reasons which I won't go into now(there is a thread for those who have refused it which explains them on, its called something like "Very sorry to do this, for those who have refused the swine flu vaccine"). I'd advise you to properly research the pros and cons for you in particular.
Once you make your decision one way or the other, it's such a relief!

 

[JessiHD]

BTW no-one knows yet quite how effective the vaccine actually is, so it might not do you any harm but it might not do you any good!

 

[Kitty23]

I decided not to have the jab. Its a very personal decision though xxx

 

[alibaba24]

I had the letter weeks ago but iv turned it down iv seen the doc and mw since then and they hadnt asked me or questioned me about it which to me the fact theyr not trying to talk me into it makes me feel even better

xx

 

[abz]

i had the jab and it was pandemrix. where my mum lives there is a lot of it about so wanted to get it so i could see her. but am travelling around christmas and goodness knows how many people at the airport will have it.

but my biggest deciding factor was that my baby will have my immunity when it is born. i can't imagine swine flu being good for a teeny newborn baby...

abz xx

 

[Las78]

I'm having mine tommorrow so can let you know more then. My 8yo had hers a couple of weeks back and yes she had a sore arm 2-3hrs after the jab for about 2 or 3 days but thats it.

You need to do whatever feels right for you, so many varying oppinions.

When I went to take my 8yo there were 3/4 preg women there having theirs, have to say that reassured me. the govt figures show several hundred preg women have had the jab.

 

[Alias]

I got it a few weeks ago, and I'd by chance had a scan scheduled for the next day. Baby was doing great, so said the consutant. Since then I've started getting kicks as well, so all seems well. I put a lot of thought and research into the decision (as most of us did!) and was hesitant but felt getting the flu would be worse. I had a slightly sore arm afterwards, but that was only a day or so.

Just remember when doing your own research to use respectable and balanced websites. There's a lot of scaremongering out there... and even threads like this are essentially useless when it comes to making a fact based decision. The plural of anecdote is not data

 

[Minstermind]

Agreed on that. It's one of those things ultimately that is a personal decision as there are women gravitating to both sides, and both sides can give some really valid reasons for their decision. I think in the end you just gotta do your own ''risk-benefit'' analysis after doing your own research and come to your conclusions from that. It's a tough thing to decide for many women, myself included. If you're doing research you've got to sift through the information and try to separate the scaremongering from the facts and probabilities (that goes for BOTH sides). I've noticed people often differ on their opinions of what a ''valid source'' is and that can really affect the outcome one way or the other. I wish you the best in your decision-making process.