Whooping Cough Vaccine

applegirl19 · December 2018

So my DH and I are planning on asking anyone who wants to visit/hold baby to receive and updated whooping cough vaccine. How would you go about this? I am afraid of pushback but it’s something I strongly believe in. This is my third but my DHs first. My family is all up to date and had zero issues with it... his family is kinda not on board with vaccines in general. It’s going to be tough...

Panaceia · December 2018

Are you going to get vaccinated during your pregnancy? Here we get vaccinated fir it at 27 weeks to help protect baby at least a bit when they are born.

With DD I did the same but with the flu shot (she was a January babe so right in the middle of flu season). I made my parents get vaccinated before DD was born and I had SO deal with MIL (who was very resistant to getting it). But I stood my ground and everyone respected my decision. If it's something you feel strongly about I'd have your H start talking to his family about it now. Have him explain it to them and tell them it's non negotiable. Hopefully once they realize you're serious they'll update their vaccinations.

applegirl19 · December 2018

Yes I’ll be getting the vaccine when my doctor recommends which I remember it being about 32 weeks for my previous pregnancy. How soon before baby is here would you say everyone needs to be up to date? I was thinking about 8 weeks 🤷🏼‍♀️

ameliabedelia-2 · December 2018

Dtap is a required vaccine for most school systems and boosters are usually required to enter college. Do you think your in-laws used exemptions to get out of it? If not, they may already have the needed vaccinations. It's not like the flu vaccine that you need to get every year. I think the boosters are good for 10 years or something for adults.

Edited to add: I would start the conversation now. Just say "DH just got his vaccine. Are you all up to date, if not, please do it before the baby gets here." There doesn't need to be a drawn out convo, it's your baby and they can either get on board or miss out.

xtinecatherine · January 2019

I am with you on this. On one of my previous pregnancy boards, a member lost her six week old baby to whooping cough. A child who was a friend of one of her children passed it on to her baby. I feel like offending someone is a very small price to pay for the safety of your child. Both my husband and I received the whooping cough vaccination after I had my son. I actually had to have a tetanus once during my last pregnancy when I was bit by a dog and then the tetanus with the pertussis in the hospital after having him. Further, I will make sure all of my kids are checked out by the pediatrician and ensure all of their vaccinations are up to date. Our issue is the sheer amount of kids that come into our house, so super important that none are sick. I am thankful for a summer baby, which at least curbs a lot of illness in comparison to winter.

applegirl19 · January 2019

Thanks ladies! I think it sounds like straight and to the point! My DH got his done when his brother was expecting their first because I made him. That couple didn’t ask anyone to get it done which I was shocked! I’ll have him contact people sooner rather than later so they have plenty of notice! He’s more afraid of offending people than I am 😆

firecracker_mama · January 2019

If they refuse, make it a non-negotiable and they will not see the baby until then. I think this is an excellent idea and we're doing the same thing. We're both in medicine so our family won't be surprised by our request and it won't be pretty if they give me a hard time. #moodyAFrightnow

Edit: auto correct fail

rgn12 · January 2019

Thank you for posting this. As a FTM this is something that I hadn’t even thought of yet!

Cbeanz · January 2019

Newborns get their first DTaP at 8 weeks, so you could tell your in-laws that if they want to visit the baby in the first 2 months they'll need to update their vaccines. If not they'd have to wait until the baby has some protection.

nopegoat · January 2019

That's what we do @Cbeanz. No visits until after baby has shots unless you have updated your shots.

Before our first was born, my H contracted pertussis and it was rough on him. I couldn't imagine a baby going through that. Not something I'm willing to mess with.

cookie510 · January 2019

I tried to do this with my in-laws and my first. They refused and we just kind of gave in eventually. Stupid question, but is whooping cough a year round thing? Or a winter/cold season problem?

To be honest I am more worried about the flu this time around because he won't be able to be vaccinated until the middle of flu season.

firecracker_mama · January 2019

cookie510 said:

I tried to do this with my in-laws and my first. They refused and we just kind of gave in eventually. Stupid question, but is whooping cough a year round thing? Or a winter/cold season problem?

To be honest I am more worried about the flu this time around because he won't be able to be vaccinated until the middle of flu season.

Pertussis can happen any time of year.

foodislove · January 2019

Cbeanz said:

Newborns get their first DTaP at 8 weeks, so you could tell your in-laws that if they want to visit the baby in the first 2 months they'll need to update their vaccines. If not they'd have to wait until the baby has some protection.

This, though I'd personally push it back to four months. Sorry, not sorry. SIDS is on my mind enough early on, I don't want to add any other potential issues to the mix.

meandlittleb · January 2019

My sister did this with both her babes and got zero pushback. No shot, no visit. We'll be doing the same. It's serious stuff so anyone that doesn't understand that shouldn't be allowed to visit anyways. Also #sorrynotsorry!

ketomommy · January 2019

I sent out an email to the entire family with DD. Anyone who argued was told you can either wait until the baby has all of her vaccinations to meet her, or go get it.

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