Please, please, pretty please stop using the image of a baby bottle to denote infancy. There must be something less harmful to our brain wiring (a bottle is not actually a requirement for babies) that you could use to advertise that this is an article about protecting babies from harm. I am not trying to open up any sort of breast/bottle debate here (and yes, I am aware that breast milk can be bottle fed), but this insidious message undermines public health efforts to promote breastfeeding. We are not actually as clever as we think we are at filtering this sort of stuff out, so please remember that there are many less harmful alternatives out there.
2
Injecting pregnant women with mercury-containing vaccines which only might confer short-lived protection is a foolish and dangerous medical practice, especially if the goal is a healthy baby.
Not sure why I never got pertussis in the 60 years since my last shot if it's so necessary. Could it be that vaccines are not the only way to prevent disease? Just a thought.
Not sure why I never got pertussis in the 60 years since my last shot if it's so necessary. Could it be that vaccines are not the only way to prevent disease? Just a thought.
The Tdap (for adults) vaccine does not contain mercury in any form. Look it up!
In addition, none of the vaccines for children have contained mercury as a preservative since 2001.
In addition, none of the vaccines for children have contained mercury as a preservative since 2001.
6
We shouldn’t be skipping on vaccines especially during pregnancy because it help not only us but also the child that we are carrying, I made sure to get all the require vaccines when I got pregnant again, thanks to conceiveeasy. Because I had complications in my 1st pregnancy.
2
Back in the '60s about half a dozen of us at eighth grade camp contracted whooping cough. There was an epidemic that year and we had all been vaccinated in the past. I remember it as extended paroxysms of coughing followed by the characteristic "whoop" as we gasped for breath. We were otherwise healthy and thought it was funny. But people died, I heard about it on the radio. Not funny. Now as a mother and obstetrician I want to do everything possibly to prevent the tragedy of losing an infant to a preventable disease. The vaccine should be given during every pregnancy, preferably between 27 and 36 weeks to facilitate transplacental transfer of antibodies to the fetus. Adult contacts of the newborn should have a booster as an adult. Breastfeed to transfer more antibodies during that early vulnerable period (my babies never had a drop of formula but did drink breastmilk from a bottle when I was working.)
Great web site cdc.gov for more information and video clips of the reality of whooping cough.
Great web site cdc.gov for more information and video clips of the reality of whooping cough.
3
Can you please remove the baby bottle from the photo? There's no need for it and it perpetuates the social representation of bottle feeding vs breastfeeding. Lots of other ways to symbolize pregnancy, vaccinations, and babies, and feeding babies has nothing to do with whooping cough anyway. Thanks! I'm a Dietitian who specializes in infant nutrition and public health.
4
As a dietitian, perhaps you understand that breast milk can also be given to infants via bottle (as I did for my son for several months, due to a variety of logistical challenges that necessitated pumping - including his stay in the NICU for two weeks following his birth). Please stop looking for opportunities to divide parents who are working to provide for the children in a variety of scenarios.
4
Many of us bottle-feed our infants because we have to, for a variety of reasons including an inabililty to produce milk or enough milk, or parenting by a male couple. Canuck Fan, please do not perpetuate the myth that bottle-feeding is somehow bad or makes one an inferior parent - it is not accurate and it makes bottle-feeding mothers feel shame during a time when post-partum depression poses a much more serious risk to their child's health than the consumption of formula, a perfectly healthy option.
8
It took several doctors many, many weeks to diagnose my adult whooping cough. I was told I had allergies. Resulting in a torn pleura. A broken rib. And vomiting after every coughing episode. I was given inhalers to suck on three times a day. For the allergies. All they did was make me shake.
When I insisted that I was in fact sick (I never had a coughing fit in the consulting rooms) I was asked cynically by one doctor whether I thought I had TB or cancer. Those were his words.
Then I made the whooping noise, at home, and my mother diagnosed me. Tests confirmed it.
I had missed a booster at school (I chickened out - at that age I was afraid of needles). Then, 15 years or more later I sat next to a very sick little coughing kid on the 6 train uptown. Voila, pertussis.
I trot out this story every time I hear well read mothers muttering about the evils of vaccinations.
When I insisted that I was in fact sick (I never had a coughing fit in the consulting rooms) I was asked cynically by one doctor whether I thought I had TB or cancer. Those were his words.
Then I made the whooping noise, at home, and my mother diagnosed me. Tests confirmed it.
I had missed a booster at school (I chickened out - at that age I was afraid of needles). Then, 15 years or more later I sat next to a very sick little coughing kid on the 6 train uptown. Voila, pertussis.
I trot out this story every time I hear well read mothers muttering about the evils of vaccinations.
12
I had whooping cough as an infant and nearly died. Please get vaccinated the life you save may by an innocent baby who is too young to be vaccinated.
10
I'm so grateful for having received tdap shot during my pregnancy, and that my 2 month old received one too. Later we learned that it saved his life after he contracted pertussis around 3 months of age, thanks to the vaccine he developed milder symptoms.
11
While I support 3rd trimester pertussis vaccination, this is a disappointing piece. Dr Klass failed to mention several pertinent facts, & more importantly, gave the superior protective benefits of breastfeeding one buried sentence.
We still have much to learn about B. Pertussis, as well as about the pertussis vaccine. And although the studies are reassuring @ this point in time, no medical professional can guarantee that vaccination during pregnancy is completely safe on the developing fetus.
Even with the booster, pertussis continues to circulate in the population as a whole equivalent to pre-vaccine era. After California's large booster campaign, the state saw more cases in 2014 than in any other year since 1959 - excluding the 2012 outbreak peak.
A very important fact Dr Klass failed to address is that data show it is a sibling, not the Mother, who is the source for pertussis transmission to infants under 2 months. Also, the old idea of "cocooning" the infant (requiring all those in contact to vaccinate) failed.
Resurgence (so called) is mainly due to increased awareness, reporting, & use of PCR for diagnosis. The vaccine has always had poor immunogenicity, & we need lots of research to develop an improved vaccine & vaccine schedule. In the meantime, obstetricians & pediatricians would serve their patients better by far more vigorous efforts to increase our pathetically low exclusive breastfeeding rates.
We still have much to learn about B. Pertussis, as well as about the pertussis vaccine. And although the studies are reassuring @ this point in time, no medical professional can guarantee that vaccination during pregnancy is completely safe on the developing fetus.
Even with the booster, pertussis continues to circulate in the population as a whole equivalent to pre-vaccine era. After California's large booster campaign, the state saw more cases in 2014 than in any other year since 1959 - excluding the 2012 outbreak peak.
A very important fact Dr Klass failed to address is that data show it is a sibling, not the Mother, who is the source for pertussis transmission to infants under 2 months. Also, the old idea of "cocooning" the infant (requiring all those in contact to vaccinate) failed.
Resurgence (so called) is mainly due to increased awareness, reporting, & use of PCR for diagnosis. The vaccine has always had poor immunogenicity, & we need lots of research to develop an improved vaccine & vaccine schedule. In the meantime, obstetricians & pediatricians would serve their patients better by far more vigorous efforts to increase our pathetically low exclusive breastfeeding rates.
3
I don't know you, but you are AWESOME. The media, like everyone else in America is bought out by the pharmaceuticals and they write these one sided articles that sound so official but they never tell the whole story. Thank you for your contribution.
2
You did notice that the commenter was not dissing vaccination, but asking for more researching into a more effective vaccine for Pertussis as well as better information on the benefits of breast feeding for infants.
9
Towards the end, the piece does say that pertussis is difficult to control and is still around, but the vaccine prevents severe diseases (as in, your newborn in the ICU). While we wait for the improved vaccine that you suggest, I won't be counting on breastfeeding alone. It's enough that you can prevent severe pertussis in the youngest by vaccinating to convince me to vaccinate.
1
During pregnancy, the average parent is overcome by the seriousness of the responsibility before them, because you believe that a child’s life is completely in your hands. Afterward, you quickly begin to appreciate how much is not in your control, at which point the sense of responsibility becomes even weightier. It may sound silly, but parents will take great comfort later in knowing that they at least did the easy things.
4
It is silly to pretend as this article does that there is no risk to these vaccines. Something as simple as an allergic reaction to a vaccine ingredient could cause still birth. No medical procedure is without risk. Injections bypass the bodies natural protections to foreign substances. This editorial tells us nothing of what risks may be involved.
3
The risk of not vaccinating is that it eliminates "herd immunity" which is what protects children too young for vaccination and immune-compromised individuals who cannot be vaccinated for one reason or another. As a result many more people die or suffer life long sequelae from diseases that could be prevented or reduced in severity.
9
stephanas - Could you please explain how 'Injections bypass the bodies (sic) natural protections to foreign substances'?
Thank you.
Thank you.
2
This is a wonderfully readable news article. It is a pity that all Americans do not have some version of Medicare so that all pregnant women could have full prenatal care, including all needed vaccinations as appropriate for the individual mother and fetus.
Infants should not die from this disease when it is largely preventable.
Highways receive Federal funding, shouldn't tiny babies?
Infants should not die from this disease when it is largely preventable.
Highways receive Federal funding, shouldn't tiny babies?
13
Australia has medicare yet we still have whooping cough. Plenty of anti vaccers or not interested parents, enough to keep spreading the pain. Very sad.
8
Mary Ann,
You may want to read the comments above.
You may want to read the comments above.