DTaP vaccine for babies who have pertussis.... - Page 2

[Bokonon]

I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it must have been to go through all that!  I'm glad she's doing so much better and the boys never caught it.  What a relief.

I'm so glad you've shared your story - pro-vax, anti-vax, or anywhere in between.  Please don't beat yourself up about vaxxing your older children.  You made an educated choice based on what you thought was in the best interests of your whole family.  Many of us might have made the same choice with 3 preemies!

[Magali]

Thanks so much for updating us.  I am so glad to hear she is doing better. 

[nukuspot]

Thank you so much for your update and story. I've been thinking of you.

[Marnica]

Oh you poor things! So scary. I'm glad she is on the mend. Hugs to you are your family.

[prosciencemum]

Thanks for sharing. I'm so glad everyone was OK in the end. 

Originally Posted by momtoafireteam 

Let me be clear that I have no regrets about not vaxxing, and many regrets about vaxxing my older children for DTaP. This hasnt changed my opinion on anything, in fact its more concreted my non-vax beliefs. Dont get me wrong, pertussis is the worst and scariest thing to happen to us, but its separate to vaccinating. 

Can you (or other mothers here) help me understand this statement better. I think I'm interpreting this that you chose to vaccinate the older children to help protect the preemies, and that didn't work so it wasn't worth it? 

We have to remember that pertussis is a disease which can be prevented by vaccination in some fraction of cases. By which I mean, having been vaccinated it has been demonstrated that after exposure to pertussis a person is less likely to get the disease, and if they get it likely to get a milder version. This does not mean that no vaccinated person will get pertussis, or that an unvaccinated person will definitely get it, but it improves the odds for vaccinated people. None of your older (vaccinated) children got pertussis - which was likely helped by their vaccinations. 

 I have to admit I'm a little scared about you having put vitamin C into your breast milk too. I'm so glad no harm came from it. I would have been inclined instead to eat as many oranges as I could stomach to naturally increase the vit C content on my breast milk. Little preemie livers are so delicate that any extra concentration of chemicals (and vit c is a chemical even if often a naturally occuring one) could potentially be dangerous. But thank goodness it all turned out OK in the end in your case.