Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Vaccine: What About Pregnant Moms?

It was the early 90s when I learned I was finally going to become a Mom. I instinctively knew I needed to be careful when I was pregnant, especially during the first two trimesters when the brain and major organ systems of the baby develop incredibly fast. We learned from a high publicity case in the 1960’s where babies were being born without arms or legs because women took a drug (Thalidomide) for morning sickness in the 1st or 2nd trimester of pregnancy, and I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to protect my health and the health of my baby.

Mothers-to-be in my generation were told to take extra vitamins and eat nutritious food but, most of all, to avoid anything that could harm the developing fetus like cigarettes, alcohol, medications, household cleaning products, radiation and other toxic exposures. As an RN, I learned of the risks of anesthesia during delivery. Many friends were signing up for Lamaze classes to prepare for a drug-free birth, which many obstetricians discouraged. Many of us chose to breastfeed, even though a lot of pediatricians were pushing formula and bottles back then.

Today, pregnant women face a different set of difficult questions and choices about keeping themselves and their babies healthy. Among them are whether or not to get vaccinations during pregnancy that public health officials, obstetricians and pediatricians say will protect pregnant women and their newborns from getting sick with influenza and B. pertussis whooping cough.

When a doctor recommends a certain prenatal treatment such as the flu or Tdap shot, it seems logical that most pregnant patients will trust their doctor’s advice, assuming that the shot has been proven safe and won’t in any way harm the baby.

Many Reasons To Question This Shot If You Are Pregnant

• FACT: Injuries and deaths from pertussis-containing vaccines are the most compensated claims in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and influenza vaccine injuries and deaths are the second most compensated claim.³⁸
• FACT: Drug companies did not test the safety and effectiveness of giving influenza or Tdap vaccine to pregnant women before the vaccines were licensed in the U.S.¹²¹³ and there is almost no data on inflammatory or other biological responses to these vaccines that could affect pregnancy and birth outcomes.¹⁴
• FACT:  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists influenza and Tdap vaccines as either Pregnancy Category B or C biologicals¹⁵ which means that adequate testing has not been done in humans to demonstrate safety for pregnant women and it is not known whether the vaccines can cause fetal harm or affect reproduction capacity. The manufacturers of influenza and Tdap vaccines state that human toxicity and fertility studies are inadequate and warn that the influenza and Tdap vaccines should “be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.”¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸
• FACT: The FDA has licensed Tdap vaccines to be given once as a single dose pertussis booster shot to individuals over 10 or 11 years old.  The CDC’s recommendation that doctors give every pregnant woman a Tdap vaccination during every pregnancy – regardless of whether a woman has already received one dose of Tdap – is an off-label use of the vaccine.³⁷

• FACT: Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates High in America. More than 3x the risk of pregnancy-related deaths than three decades ago (1987-2014).
• FACT: Health in the U.S. on Such A Steep Decline (Childhood Disability Rate Jumps 16% Over Past Decade)
• FACT: “Findings show a counter-intuitive relationship: nations that require more vaccine doses have higher infant mortality rates.“

 

Common Sense Medicine

Dr. Paul Thomas ( I would LOVE a pediatrician like him!) talks about why the Tdap is so dangerous and about prevention. Have a very helpful 4-minute listen:

If you are pregnant and have other children, be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging pediatricians to vaccinate parents bringing their children in for sick or well baby visits, especially pregnant women.If an obstetrician or pediatrician pressures you to get vaccinated while you are pregnant, ask the doctor to show you the science. If you conclude the vaccine’s benefits do not outweigh the risks for you and your baby but are threatened or sanctioned in any way for making an informed choice, you should find another doctor who will treat you with respect and honor your health care choices.

Finally, those trying to teach about vaccine dangers have only one motivation: to prevent more suffering. We have either witnessed it first hand in our own family or know those who have.

All those years ago, it wasn’t too late for me to change my mind when I saw what it did to our first child, and it’s not too late for you to change your mind, either.

 

The Vitamin C Treatment of Whooping Cough by Suzanne Humphries, MD (you can download here). My family always keeps Vitamin C in the Sodium ascorbate form on hand.