Whooping cough vaccination
  Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:55 pm
Post subject: Whooping cough vaccination I'm aware as I'm typing this that a lot of people will think that I'm an idiot for this but I was just wondering what people's experience of the vaccination are. My OH and I have discussed this at length and have decided to decline it. When I was pregnant with Isobel, we declined the Bird Flu jab as we didn't feel there had been enough research into it and we have family history of slightly funny reactions potentially related to jabs (nothing that can be pinned down exactly but enought to make me concerned). We've already turned down the Flu jab this time around but I think my MW is going to be funny with me over this one. I know this sounds like I turn everything down but we don't do it without agonising over it for hours and researching on the internet. I've read that the whopping cough virus tends to go in peaks and troughs every couple of years - last year was a peak year so this one is expected to be a trough. I'm fully aware that we're in the minority in declining in but we've discussed it with our parents as well and they agreed. The MW I saw at my booking appointment was great and explained everything about the flu jab, benefits etc. but was very understanding of our decision to decline it. However, we now have a different MW who I had when I was PG with Isobel - she's very nice but she was not at all happy when I declined the bird flu jab and I'm already winding myself up over telling her we don't want this one. Has anyone here declined it? What was the response? As I've said, its not a decision we've taken lightly but it is a decision we've taken together. I feel like a hypocrite as Izzy has had all the jabs offered but somehow that seemed different. This now sounds weird - I'm very confused...
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 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:42 pm
Post subject: I was considering refusing but was told that theres alot of whooping cough going around still and with the boys being at nursery the jab will provide the baby with some immunity till her jabs.. I did it for peace of mind especially as Lewis was so poorly with his chest when he was tiny. I think if it had been just for makin me immune I would have refused I refused the flu jab.. I think any midwife has to respectacle your decision you want whats best for your baby xx
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 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:39 pm
Post subject: This is a stupid question but if a baby is breast fed arent they immune to alot of things? more so that bottle fed babies.
 I'm probably wrong i dont know.
I am also turning down the jabs, didnt have the flu jab and nor do I want the whooping cough jab. I know there is a risk but with so many people not turning down the jab surely the risk is lower??
I just dont beleive in putting lots of [*@!#%*] into my body without knowing lots about it. I have been really bad with my diet because of cravings etc but after much thought and feeling bad I have gone back to an all natural diet, the only processed food I eat now is cheese, brown bread and lighter than light mayo. I really dont like the idea of the whooping cough jab, I think the vaccines they give babies are given too early as it is, I dont want to be doing it any earlier than it has to be done. Who knows what affects it could have on the brain.. you just wouldnt know until 2-5 years down the line. I havent had the appointment for the whooping cough jab, nor has anyone said anything to me about it, so hopefully they will just forget as I really cant be bothered with a lecture. When is this jab supposed to be administered exactly? isnt it between 25-28 weeks or something? xx _________________ 
 Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:01 pm
Post subject: I was so adamant that I wasn't going to have whooping cough vaccine. I declined flu vaccine but think I ended up catching the flu!! Opps! Baby's fine anyway! The mw has no right to be funny with you as it is completely your decision, and I am sure if it was their body and their baby they would be researching to make sure it was the right/wrong thing to do for them. My mw told me it has been used for years and years in America...but when I researched it the one being used in England is made slightly different. I researched it quite a bit and it wasn't until I was 35 weeks that I decided to have it done! And the thing that swayed me were the stats on how many newborns have caught whooping this year compared to the previous years. And it is a lot more. I had to decide whether to risk baby catching whooping cough or vaccine having adverse effects. I also have a toddler so thought the risk of her passing things onto newborn will be greater.
The below info is from the health protection agency website: http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2013PressReleases/130201Casesofwhoopingcoughdeclineafterrecordnumbers/ 5. Provisional number of confirmed cases of pertussis by region in England and Wales, 2008 and 2012: Region Jan - Dec 2008 Jan - Dec 2012 East Midlands 66 1,134 East of England 73 1,123 London 107 786 North East 48 430 North West 90 658 South East 183 1,827 South West 161 1,543 Wales 25 341 West Midlands 89 755 Yorkshire & Humber 60 1,144 Total 902 9,741 The difference really scared me. But it was a really fine line for me whether to have it or not x _________________ [url=http://lilypie.com]  [img]http://lb1f.lilypie. Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 5:55 pm
Post subject: Its not your midwives place to judge you its her job to explain everyrhing so you make an informed decision then kepp her opinion to her self. I am having it because my will be born early and there two so they will be smaller and i think anything that can help them but if it was a singleton normal pregnancy i dont think id have it either i had the flu jab this tine but never did with the other two xx
_________________    Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:09 pm
Post subject: With any vaccination there is a risk (albeit a small one) that something can go wrong, nothing is 100% good.
I know someone who declined all jabs and then had her baby who caught whooping cough and died at 2 weeks old  Again its a risk that this can happen, I believe its a relatively small risk but its not one I could have.
Its personal preference and only you (not any mw) can make that decision for you. _________________  
  Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:59 pm
Post subject: When your baby is due her 8wk, 12wks and 16 wk jabs will she be having them?
Cos the jab that you recieve is the exact same dose containing the exact same stuff as what is given to your baby when they are due to be immunized. They give mum it so mum builds up the antibodies in her body which in turn passes through the placenta to your unborn baby. These antibodies that you have passed on will see baby through thoses vital weeks till they recieve their own jab. Theyve started doing g this as the incedent of whooping cough cases and even death caused by it  happens between 0-7wks
Obviously its your body you can do what you see fit without being judged but if baby will still be immunized at 8wks I cant understand you declining the jab now x _________________   Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:05 am
Post subject: Zeelou, I understand what you're saying - this is the exact same discussion my OH are playing over. My concern is that my family have a history of slightly odd reactions to jabs - as I said, nothing that can be pinned down but enough to make me worried over any vaccinations - I watched Isobel like a hawk for ages after she'd had hers. I just feel like there's a difference between what I give my baby when I can see them and what I give them when they're inside me which I know doesn't make a lot of sense to most people.
Dukky, was there any particular reason you waited to 37/38 weeks? I have to say that I think I'd be more inclined to have it much later on. Thanks for your feedback - I know it seems like a no-brainer to most people and I must seem very irresponsible to be thinking of declining it. _________________
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:44 am
Post subject: You will have already have had the jab yourself as a child and as Zeelou said its one that is given to baby during their routine vaccinations , immunity only lasts about 3 weeks if not breastfeeding but longer if you do , BUT you can only pass on immunity if you are immune to something yourself
How healthy you are has no bearing on if your baby has better immunity , Thats one of the reasons they test pregnant women for rubella immunity, I know I was vaccinated against that but when I was pregnant with my first child I had no immunity ,so after the birth I had a booster
It's the same with whooping cough,although you were given the jab as a child you will probably no longer be immune you just need a booster to give your baby immunity for those first few weeks as vaccinations in babies don't work properly before 8 weeks as they can't make their own antibodies very well before then ,by having the vaccine in pregnancy you make the anti bodies and they're passed on to your baby
I personally wouldn't have had the flu vaccines as I felt they were rushed and not researched enough, but the whooping cough vaccine has been around for years with no problems so I would have had this one and I advised my daughter to have it (although her GP had no vaccine so she never actually got it  )
Its a much more serious illness in young babies than in older children or adults Your midwife shouldn't judge you for not wanting it, but I would talk to her before making a final decision as she probably has all the up to date information xx Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:55 am
Post subject: You see this is part of the problem - I didn't have the whooping cough vaccine as a child - my doctor at the time advised my Mum against it because a cousin had a severe reaction to it (see, Doctors breed paranoia!)! I let Izzy have it after long deliberation - its not the baby having it that worries me, its the reaction I might have affecting the baby! I spoke to my OH again this morning and we're going to speak to the MW again, I feel more comfortable with having it very late on like dukky did so we're going to investigate that. I promise, I don't turn things down just because I'm a pain!!
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:13 am
Post subject: Even if you had had it then chances are the immunity would have worn off as they think it only lasts between 6-12yrs , its only designed to protect you and not future children , hence this new programme
A good midwife won't think you're being a pain, you're concerned about your baby thats all , and you shouldn't be expected to make a decision without all the facts anyway ,hopefully she can put your mind at rest, the version of the vaccine they use now has probably been revised since the time your cousin had it anyway xx Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:43 am
Post subject: Have you ever reacted to a jab yourself?? My mum has really bad reaction to some jabs she ended up in hospitla fornover a week with what they thought was menigitis but me and my brother are fine so just becuase it in the family doesnt all ways mean it will affect you the same hun x
_________________ Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:53 am
Post subject: They only offer the whooping cough jab at or after 28wks and ideally before 37wks. This is so it gives the mums body enough time to produce the antibodies and pass them to baby before the birth. The later in pregnancy you have it there is a chance that there aren't sufficient antibodies passed on to be effective ie; if baby is born earlier rather than later x
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