Non-Vaxxers - Advice needed please

[MrsO]

We are delayed/selective vaxxers with a particular hesitance to do any vaccines before the age of 2yrs. However, I have a bit of a tricky situation coming up and I was wondering if I could get your opinions...

When bub is 3 and a half months I will be going to work as a nurse on a ward where every patient is under 12 months of age. I will be coming into contact with babies infected with pertussis. Whilst we believe that our baby is at incredibly low risk for most, if not all, of the diseases to which vaccines are available, perhaps I need to consider this as increasing her risk? Is there a risk of her contracting it from me? If so, would you do the DTP vaccine if you were in my situation?

TIA

[reAllytee]

:detective: mmmm thats a good one !

Yes she could get it from you & even when you dont even seems sick as you as an adult may just be a carrier ... But then who is to say she gets the full blown version either iykwim !

Ummmm i dont really know how to answer this one !

If it were Boof i would no dramas but then he has always been vaxxed as he is healthy as a horse but if it were Squeak i dunno ....

How helpful am i :laughing:

Hopefully someone will come along with better help & info lmao !

[Moorish]

Hi Mrs O. :wave:

From what I understand, pertussis (http://www.unihealth.usyd.edu.au/Pertussis%20factsheet.pdf) (whooping cough) is highly contageous and is spread through close proximity to an infected persons cough/sneeze, and can be quite harmful to babies.

If you were to be in close contact with babies who have this illness then I would think that you could be a carrier so I'd say that yes, your baby would be at a higher risk of contracting it too. If it were me, I would immunise against it, however you will need to decide how much of a risk your baby is at of contracting it and whether that risk is great enough to immunise or not.

[QTB]

im also a select/delay vaxer

thats a hard situation your in!

but i think if it was me, i would probably get the vax done. it can be a nasty thing for bubs to get, so i wouldnt want to risk it... and i think in your case the benefit of the vax outweighs the risk of it (i think thats the first time iv ever said that in relation to vax!) :laughing:

[PunkyDiva]

im also a select/delay vaxer

thats a hard situation your in!

but i think if it was me, i would probably get the vax done. it can be a nasty thing for bubs to get, so i wouldnt want to risk it... and i think in your case the benefit of the vax outweighs the risk of it (i think thats the first time iv ever said that in relation to vax!) :laughing:

:iagree: IMO,I think when one does work in a medical environment the decision is a little more complex and the choice to vax not just for the benefit of your child's health but that of the people you are caring for as well.

[MrsO]

Thanks everyone for your input, I really appreciate it. I agree Shed, it is a curly one alright :detective:

I think I do need to do this one vaxx, I am just so nervous about reactions and/or long term effects such as allergies. I HATE the idea of putting those horrible toxins into my baby.

It is strange because there is no where in my mind that I'm considering that whooping cough could be fatal. It seems to me that if she contracted it it would be more of an inconvenience (probably couldn't go to work) and a strain on her little body (can go on for months, could be very distressing). Not that vaxxing means she wont get it. Arghhh, is it wrong to vaccinate for convenience :hair:

As you can see, indecisive to the end. Perhaps more research is needed, along with a good dose of luck that if I do go ahead with it she will just take it in her stride and i wont notice any difference :fingerscrossed:

Thanks again ladies...

[the_queen]

I agree with Shed, I am not sure I'd get the DTaP though - could you request pertussis vaccine only?

[OJandMe]

Infants can die from whooping cough.


I'd get the vax.

[the_queen]

:laughing: If only these decisions were that simple!!

[bindiloo]

It is a tough one but if it were me i still wouldnt vaccinate,i just feel if the child is kept healthy and you make sure you top up on all the essential vitamins etc then she should be pretty healthy and have a strong immune system
Yes whooping cough can kill babies,i had it as a child and nearly died so i certainly understand that argument,i was also a vaccinated child and my immune system was not coping well with it at all.
I personally would be more concerned with my child having the disease you wish to prevent injected directly into the blood stream which travels directly to the brain rather than catching it naturally,that is if she caught it at all.
I guess none of us are really going to help you with your decision but just give our own personal views on what we might do if in the same situation.
Sorry:(

Goodluck

[Duchessa]

One point in your favour if you are still managing to keep up your gruelling regime of expressing, MrsO, (or if she has finally taken that boob!), is that your antibodies will be at very high levels through contact with infected children...

Have a look at the VRAN site - there are some good articles on the DPT in there. Tricky one for you.

Hope you are doing well. xx

[MrsO]

I think I need to clarify, I know that whooping cough can kill babies, I don't doubt that. I suppose I have a great belief in the advanced life saving treatments that we have access to in our hospitals, and IMO it would have to be pretty darn serious these days for a bub to die from whooping cough. However, it could certainly cause a lot of pain and heartbreak for everyone involved for a very long time. Sorry about the confusion :D

Bindiloo - I absolutely agree, no one can solve the problem for me, but I am just interested to see what fellow non-vaxxers would do, or suspect they would do. Thanks for sharing your story, and I know what you mean about perhaps compromising a perfectly healthy and 'untampered' with child which may actually result in her being MORE susceptible to whooping cough :doh:

Duchy - Good point about the antibodies, my CHN tried to tell me that my breastmilk will stop passing on the antibodies by six months (hence why she needs the jab :rolleyes:) but I'm not sure about that. Perhaps that is something I can look into further. And yes :D we are still expressing, although we are starting to see some progress :smiliedance:Hope you are well too!!!

Queenie - That is a really good point about the single pertussis, I will look into whether it is available or not.

[Duchessa]

MrsO, I'm so glad to hear that you are making progress with the bfing! YOu must be over the moon. xx

One point about pertussis is that it had a pretty high failure rate I think. Or low success rate, whichever way you like to look at it. It often doesn't protect vaxxed kids during an outbreak.