Whooping cough vaccine

[Nikki1979]

Hi,
My GP has been pushing me and hubby to get the whooping cough vaccine but I am still undecided about it. Its not that I am against vaccines ( My 8 year old son is fully vaccinated) but I am worried about it hurting my unborn baby.

Has anyone had a reaction or negative effect from the vaccine?? I know I am crazy but googling doesn't help as some women have said that they had reduced fetal movement after it. I am scared of harming the baby in the womb and also scared about not having him protected for the first 2 months of his life.

 

[MrsMA]

I had it with my last pregnancy in 2012 and had no problems and had it again a few weeks ago

 

[whittnie117]

The point of getting the whooping cough vaccine is to protect the unborn baby from pertussis after birth until they can get their first shots. It protects them for up to 6 weeks. The mother produces the antibodies that are then shared with the fetus
With that being said, having fears is normal. It is a decision for you to make. For me, I got the vaccine in my first pregnancy with no complications, sans a sore arm (because of the tetanus portion) and will get it again at 36 weeks in this pregnancy as well. They recommend it be given in each pregnancy to protect the fetus once born.

Edit: Also, it takes the vaccine two weeks to react with the immune system to give a proper immunity. Having both yourself and hubby vaccinated allows for a "cocooning" effect. Basically herd immunity in order to protect the newborn. If you get it after the birth, the baby don't have the immunity for those 6 weeks and it will take two weeks to work in you, leaving you, and subsequently the baby, vulnerable to contracting pertussis, which can be deadly. For me, the benefits outweigh the risks in this case, but I also live in am area where pertussis outbreaks happen every year.

 

[flowergirl7]

I had it with my last pregnancy and just had it the other day for this baby. It does protect the baby after they are born and that's the most important thing. My midwife actually suggested anyone who will be around the baby a lot should get it. So my husband is going to get it too. I honestly thought it protected the baby for 12 weeks though not 6?? Either way i think it's a good thing to get.

 

[whittnie117]

I had it with my last pregnancy and just had it the other day for this baby. It does protect the baby after they are born and that's the most important thing. My midwife actually suggested anyone who will be around the baby a lot should get it. So my husband is going to get it too. I honestly thought it protected the baby for 12 weeks though not 6?? Either way i think it's a good thing to get.

You may be right, but that is what I was told by my last doctor. Although, she wasn't the best, lol. A quick search doesn't give any definitive answer, but does state that vaccination in late second to third trimester protects the newborn until first shots can be given. It says those shots are routinely given at 2 months of age. I apologize if the 6 weeks is incorrect, 12 weeks sounds even better to me though

 

[pradabooties]

The only side effect I experienced was about 48 hours later I had a day or so of feeling very lethargic, weepy and exhausted. Exact same thing happened to my mother the week before when she had it done. My OH just got a bit of a sore arm and was particularly tired for about a day too. But the protection for bub of course outweighs those little things!

 

[cosmicgirlxxx]

I refused it last time and will be refusing again. It's your choice, do your research and make an informed decision x

 

[flowergirl7]

I had it with my last pregnancy and just had it the other day for this baby. It does protect the baby after they are born and that's the most important thing. My midwife actually suggested anyone who will be around the baby a lot should get it. So my husband is going to get it too. I honestly thought it protected the baby for 12 weeks though not 6?? Either way i think it's a good thing to get.

You may be right, but that is what I was told by my last doctor. Although, she wasn't the best, lol. A quick search doesn't give any definitive answer, but does state that vaccination in late second to third trimester protects the newborn until first shots can be given. It says those shots are routinely given at 2 months of age. I apologize if the 6 weeks is incorrect, 12 weeks sounds even better to me though

No need to apologize I wasn't sure either.

 

[Fezzle]

I had mine recently and definitely no decrease in foetal movement (it's increased, but that's due to how far along I am now rather than the vaccine, I'm sure!). I didn't have any side effects either other than a lump on my arm where the shot went in that was a bit sore.

I hadn't thought about DH getting it too so will look into that!

 

[Cupcake9596]

I had mine 2 weeks ago and the only side effect I had was a sore arm. For me, the benefits far outweighed the risks x

 

[Lil_Pixie]

My sister did have the whooping cough vaccine when she was pregnant but her son still got whooping couch when he was a few weeks old. He spent a week in isolation in hospital and turned blue every time he coughed for weeks and weeks. It was very distressing for him but obviously his parents too - they were too scared to sleep for so long.

My mum recently told me I was never vaccinated against whopping cough at all so I'll definitely be getting it. It's no guarantee but I'll settle with knowing I've done everything within my power (not that that's helped me with rubella - I've had 3 vaccinations now and I'm still not immune lol)

 

[laila 44]

My OB does not vaccinate at all while pregnant. Where I am it's really not recommended if u are pregnant. I'm pro vaccines but if I were you I'd wait until after birth.

 

[PitaKat]

It's pushed pretty strongly where I am. I got vaccinated with my last pregnancy and with this one too. I'm not ultra pro-vaccination, my son is selectively vaccinated, but we are in the risk category for whooping cough, there are outbreaks every year here.

 

[struth]

My OB does not vaccinate at all while pregnant. Where I am it's really not recommended if u are pregnant. I'm pro vaccines but if I were you I'd wait until after birth.

The point of having it is to provide protection to the baby though. They don't have their own shots until 8 weeks but if mum has it while pregnant she passes on some immunity to baby. To have it after birth would negate this benefit.

 

[Bebeblessings]

The pertussis vaccine includes aluminum and mercury in its ingredients. These are neurotoxins, which can be harmful, especially to an unborn baby. (Consider that we are told not to eat high mercury foods ie tuna, while pregnant.)There is also evidence that the whooping cough bacteria has mutated to bypass the vaccine. Hence why some vaccinated people catch whooping cough. I personally am very wary about vaccines, but as many have said it should be left up to you to decide!

 

[Spudtastic]

HI Nicky.
I didn't get the vaccination with dd because I felt the same way. But I did with this baby.
The winter here really opened my eyes. Where I am in nz there was a big whooping cough outbreak. It was quite scary to have so many ill children.
I'm on my phone so can't post links but I researched having the vaccine. If you Google the nhs in the UK for whooping cough there has been a huge study that shows that there is no difference in pre-birth issues and birth problems between vaccinated mothers and unvaccinated mothers. The statistics remain the same. That gave me a lot of confidence.

Also if you search Facebook 'light for riley' it's a friend of a friend in Australia whose newborn died from contracting whooping cough. It just made me weight up the risks of having it versus not having it.

Yes you can still get whooping cough if vaccinated but it is of a less serious illness.

I like holistic medicine and take a natural approach whenever possible but I have researched vaccines and am happy to do them.

After the outbreak in the winter I also got dh to get his and I got both sets of grandparents to get theirs. Grandparents are often the main culprits in passing on whooping cough because for them it's just a little annoying cough and they don't realise they have it.

 

[KalonKiki]

I got the vaccine with both pregnancies (just got mine a couple of days ago with this one) and had no adverse effects at all. If you're going to get the TDAP it's important to do it while you are pregnant, there is absolutely no point in getting it after you give birth since the point is to pass on some of your immunity while baby is in utero. Ultimately the decision is up to you but I personally believe that it's a smart decision, especially in areas where whooping cough outbreaks occur often.

Also for whoever said that it contains mercury and aluminum: this isn't necessarily true. It's becoming a much less common thing to use things like mercury and aluminum to preserve vaccines. My clinic doesn't use them in any of their vaccines. Ask questions and be informed but don't make assumptions.

Spudtastic, I've seen the "Light for Riley" page on Facebook via an Australian friend. It was heartbreaking to read their story.