Whooping cough, known medically as pertussis, is one of the most common illnesses that affect newborn babies. It is a serious illness and causes prolonged coughs coupled with choking, which in turn makes it hard for the sufferer to breathe. In severe cases, whooping cough can be fatal for infants. In addition, infants themselves do not qualify for receiving vaccines against whooping cough. This is why professional doctors highly recommend that pregnant women receive whooping cough vaccination.
Types of Whooping Cough Vaccine
There are two types of vaccines for whooping cough. DTaP is for children between two months and six years of age while Tdap is for children who are eleven and up as well as pregnant women. This latter type of vaccine is the one that is recommended by doctors. Other than whooping cough, these vaccines also protect the mother and the baby from tetanus and diphtheria. In addition, professionals recommend that this vaccine be administered during each of the woman’s pregnancies.
Is It Safe to Receive Whooping Cough Vaccine During Pregnancy?
When we discuss vaccination for whooping cough, a number of people point out the safety concerns regarding the health of both the mother and the baby. Rest assured, the whooping cough vaccine is safe for the both. Women who received the whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy gave birth to babies who were as healthy as those women who had remained unvaccinated.
The whooping cough vaccine has been widely used in the United Kingdom, Australia, United States of America and New Zealand. In all these nations, the number of whooping cough-related deaths in infants has seen sharp declines. This is because receiving the whooping cough vaccination during pregnancy ensures that your child will remain inoculated against it in his or her first few months after birth when he or she is most vulnerable to fatal whooping cough.
Side Effects of Whooping Cough Vaccine During Pregnancy
Although the whooping cough vaccine has been generally deemed safe and essentially necessary for use during pregnancy, it is still important to be aware of the side effects that may occur, so that in severe cases, these side effects can be reported and treated promptly.
Common Side Effects
The side effects experienced and reported by women who receive this vaccination are divided according to the rate of occurrence. The most common side effects impact more than one in ten pregnant women. These include pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, tiredness, headache and a general feeling of being unwell. In these cases, a little rest can do the trick of recuperation.
Rare Side Effects
The less common side effects impact around one in a hundred people. The symptoms include fever (up to 39 degrees Celsius), bruising, itching, warmth, numbness, or lumps at the site of the injection and stomach pain together with the feeling of being sick and nausea. The least common side effects impact about one in a thousand pregnant women. These include swelling on the limb that was vaccinated, feeling chilly, dizziness, pain in the joints and muscles, a lack of appetite, symptoms mimicking flu, swollen glands, cold sores and asthma.
How to Deal with the Side Effects
Most side effects only last a few days. Therefore, if the side effects are mild, you are advised to wait and observe as they diminish. The vaccine can’t directly affect your baby as the active ingredient is not the live virus for whooping cough. When the least common side effects manifest and become serious, it is advisable to see your doctor to make sure that no danger is posed to the fetus.
Allergic Reactions
Just like different kinds of foods or environments may produce severe allergic reactions in different individuals, there is also a chance of allergic reactions with the whooping cough vaccine. Pregnancy is an important phase, so special care needs to be taken about the reactions. The allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis and this causes breathing or circulation problems that can become life-threatening for the mother and the baby. Although such a severe allergic reaction is quite dangerous, it is still treatable with the administration of extra adrenaline.
When Should I Receive Whooping Cough Vaccine During Pregnancy?
Most gynecologists and obstetricians recommend getting the whooping cough vaccination in the third trimester, between the 28th and 32nd weeks of pregnancy. In addition, the vaccination must be administered during each pregnancy and not just one. The antibodies of the mother will be transferred to the baby, thus ensuring that the baby will be protected from whooping cough right from the birth. Getting vaccinated after the 32nd week of pregnancy is not highly recommended because by then, the optimum time for having immunity transferred from mother to child will have passed.
It is also important to remember that the whooping cough vaccine will protect the baby from the illness only for the first few months after birth. At two months old, the baby will most likely be vaccinated again.
It is also safe for the mother to get the flu vaccine at the same time as the whooping cough vaccine is received.