Vaccinations In Pregnancy Are They Safe?

sophiegw

7 years ago

I’m a huge vaccination advocate and I think that it is important to vaccinate our children. I know that there are some people that believe vaccinations have an adverse effect and can cause other health implications. I consider myself of reasonable intelligence and I thoroughly researched the facts and I do feel that vaccinations are for the most part important. As a pregnant woman, I have been offered two vaccinations during pregnancy the first being for the Flu and the second for Whopping Cough but are these vaccinations safe in pregnancy?

Should I, Shouldn’t I ?

I see a huge amount of debate going on between other Mums about whether you should be having any vaccinations in pregnancy but for me it was a no brainer. Ultimately I will do whatever I can to protect my baby and if it’s recommended I have a vaccination I trust that the research and testing necessary to make that decision has been thoroughly executed. I also strongly believe that the benefits of the vaccination must far out way the risk or why would it be recommended? Now there is a huge portion of this decision made on trust of those professionals far more educated in this field than me. Do they ever get it wrong? Absolutely but they also get it right a fair old amount of the time too. I looked into whether these vaccinations are ‘safe’ in pregnancy and there were no hard facts that they weren’t so I made the informed decision to have them both.

Flu Vaccinations

I have the flu vaccine every year even when I am not pregnant as I have a type of auto immune disease and the treatment of that is immune suppressants. Taking these drugs reduces my immune system and makes me particularly susceptible to catching anything contagious. I’ve never had a reaction to the flu vaccine so felt ultimately confident in having it whilst pregnant. I’m truly glad I did because in December my whole family contracted the flu and we were all extremely ill with it. I had already had my vaccination but still caught the flu yet it was nowhere near as bad as my husband who hadn’t had the vaccination so I was very lucky overall.

Whopping Cough Vaccinations

The Whopping Cough vaccine wasn’t given when I was pregnant with Henry almost seven years ago but it’s now routinely offered. Again, this was a no brainer for me I have seen tiny babies contract Whopping Cough and It can be fatal in a body so small and unprepared. If there is a chance having the Whopping Cough vaccination in pregnancy will help protect my new born then I’m all about it. There were no side effects apart from a mildly aching arm for a couple of days.

Make your Own Decision

So , vaccinations in pregnancy are they safe? I honestly believe that everyone has a right to make their own informed decision. I will say make sure your sources are accurate because there is a huge amount of scare mongering that goes on. A lot of these vaccinations protect us against illnesses that if contracted can kill so weigh that up against the ‘risks’ involved. I made sure to discuss the implications of having these vaccinations with both my GP and Midwife before making the decision and I’m happy with what I chose.

Did you have vaccinations during pregnancy?

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