S/O of knittygrl's post: Did you get the pertussis vaccine?

smw42 · January 2012

My OBGYN keeps telling me to get it before having kids. I know this is a hot topic and possibly flame-worthy, but I'd love to hear from real people if they got this and thoughts? I'm hesitant to get the vaccine but I don't want to get babies sick because of my hesitation!

Liz051405 · January 2012

I was already PG when it started to get into the news (at least where I saw it) so I got it in the hospital after S was born. MH got it from our PCP around that same time.

ETA: And to me it's a non-question. If there is something I can do to keep my kids safer, I do it.

FrancoiseFilly · January 2012

MH did, but I forgot to ask for it in the hospital. Then i had so many problems after i had Leo, I never got it---if I could have gotten my sh@t together I would have. I did not get it with Max but it was not because I am opposed to it!

Ilovemynatester · January 2012

Yes, both mh and I got it last year. I work with kids and he is around them all the time too. So I felt it was best if we both got it.

AngRoMarSi · January 2012

I got in the hospital the day after Simon was born.

knittygrl · January 2012

yes I got it in the hospital after I had A but dh did not and I am sending him this weekend.

biochemgirl · January 2012

Edit to clarify: I got that after she was born and I got the H1N1 vaccine while I was pregnant.

mrs.marie.g · January 2012

i did. and made my dh and my mother get it.

i would HATE to be the cause of my children coming down with something that could be life threatening

Jezebel1228 · January 2012

I got it at my 6 week follow up after B was born. I dont know if I would have been able to forgive myself if I DIDNT get it and she got sick. For me it wasnt a question. Being 35, my immune system was A LOT stronger than her little 6 week old one.

dmendel · January 2012

I didn't even know about it until after Abby was born. Our ped told us to get at her first newborn appt. So we both did.

kle0113 · January 2012

I got it in the hospital after I had my first. MH got it when we got home from his PCP. I would never hesitate when it comes to my child's safety and I'm also not against any vaccines.

When I had second child the hospital I delivered at was now offering both the flu and pertussis to both mom and dad. We did not need either because we just had gotten the flu shots already and the pertussis just 16 months before number two arrived.

mccw · January 2012

yes, when I went to get my yearly physical, my PCP recommended I get it

Liz051405 · January 2012

I want to add my insurance did not cover it for MH. I don't care. I'd pay $50 to know we dd what we could to protect the kids (and not just our kids, all kids we are around)

Pixiestx · January 2012

When I was pg in '09 was the first I heard of it. The nurse at the ped office was recommending it for parents and people who would be spending a lot of time with the baby, like a grandparent who would be around the baby a lot. I did get it in the hospital when I had Cora which was convienent. DH of course did not get to his doctor for it though. Since Cora is too young for even a flu shot I would take anything they offered me.

LaVitaBella · January 2012

Is this the one that is also covered by the tetanus shot? I badly burned my hands two years ago and got a tetanus shot in the ER. When I went for a physical I had Julia with me and the doctor asked if I had gotten a pertussis vaccine for myself since she was an infant (I did not give birth to her and therefore hadn't seen a doctor around her newborn stages). When I said no, she asked if I had gotten a tetanus shot and said "oh ok you're good.".

I *think* it was pertussis.

Liz051405 · January 2012

LaVitaBella:
Is this the one that is also covered by the tetanus shot? I badly burned my hands two years ago and got a tetanus shot in the ER. When I went for a physical I had Julia with me and the doctor asked if I had gotten a pertussis vaccine for myself since she was an infant (I did not give birth to her and therefore hadn't seen a doctor around her newborn stages). When I said no, she asked if I had gotten a tetanus shot and said "oh ok you're good.".
I *think* it was pertussis.

That is it.

Katethegreat10 · January 2012

I'm not flaming you or anything like that, but why wouldn't you get it? Just because it is a vaccine? Do you plan to vaccinate your children? You have most likely already received this vaccine in the past. They are finding as adults we need another dose of the pertussis vaccine. If you've had a tetanus shot in the last 5 years you possibly have already had this. If you were to get a tetanus shot now they would offer this one to you. Babies get this vaccine through a series of shots. Until they complete this series they are not immune to pertussis. If a baby gets pertussis (whopping cough) it is very serious. If you or I were to get it we would be sick, but it would not be as serious.http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Pertussis/

I completely forgot about asking to get the vaccine in the hospital so I went a few months later and got it. It left my arm sore for a few days, but that was it.

junebug1 · January 2012

I absolutely got the vaccine. Never a question to me. Why would I put my children at risk when the majority of pediatric cases come from carrier parents? When I had my first child, there was a baby in the PICU with pertussis. She'd been there for 10 weeks. her dad worked in a hospital as a contractor. he had to walk through a med/surg floor to get to his office, and a patient on the floor had it. He carried pertussis home to his baby and never got sick himself.

CM1206 · January 2012

I'll be getting it in the hospital with this lo. MH will not since he has a severe allergy to it.

laurenpetro · January 2012

i'm curious as to why exactly you're hesitant to get the vaccine.

smw42 · January 2012

Katethegreat10:
I'm not flaming you or anything like that, but why wouldn't you get it? Just because it is a vaccine? Do you plan to vaccinate your children? You have most likely already received this vaccine in the past. They are finding as adults we need another dose of the pertussis vaccine. If you've had a tetanus shot in the last 5 years you possibly have already had this. If you were to get a tetanus shot now they would offer this one to you. Babies get this vaccine through a series of shots. Until they complete this series they are not immune to pertussis. If a baby gets pertussis (whopping cough) it is very serious. If you or I were to get it we would be sick, but it would not be as serious.http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Pertussis/
I completely forgot about asking to get the vaccine in the hospital so I went a few months later and got it. It left my arm sore for a few days, but that was it.

The same time she was pushing the pertussis vaccine she was also pushing the HPV vaccine (which is an absurd rec when I'm at the end of the age bracket and married) and I just automatically said no to the HPV vaccine and she assumed I was against both. I have no real reason to be against the pertussis vaccine but a few friends of mine are anti-vaccines and I just wanted to be sure that it is a commonly accepted vaccine to receive before making an appt to receive it. From the feedback I've gotten just in this post and some reading up I've done I def plan on getting it, just wanted to be sure! Thank you for the feedback!

Katethegreat10 · January 2012

That makes sense. Sounds like she's just pushing to get everything up to date. I would tend to agree on the HPV vaccine. I think you'll start to see more and more information about the pertussis vaccine for adults since there have been more outbreaks in our area.

lolod175 · January 2012

got it in the hospital the day after my son was born...i had read about it while i was pregnant & asked my dr about it and was told it would be offered to me at the hospital. my husband had gotten a tetanus shot 2 years prior so he was covered too. we asked our parents to get it too since we expected them to be around him a lot, my mom did...not sure about my il's.

Danielle6 · January 2012

I got mine at the hospital after having DS and DH got it a few days later at the PCP. DH travels a lot for work and some of the places he travels to had a high outbreak and I was worried about him bringing it home.

Mrs.JBW · January 2012

I am a neurotic planner. I went to my PCP months before we were going to try to conceive to ask what needed to be done - bloodwork, folic acid, vitamins, booster shots, etc. Pertussis was the first one she said. So thankful for that visit, my thyroid disorder was discovered as a result of the bloodwork.