Whooping cough vaccine during pregnancy protects mother & child: experts

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According to a new study by the CDC, mothers are no longer the source of whooping cough in the family. In fact, results showed that when babies get whooping cough, it's most likely the sibling who is the source.

Healthday News reports that a study was conducted by Tami Skoff, an investigator with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who found that throughout the years, the cases of whooping cough or pertussis have been rising in the U.S., with 48,000 cases in 2012.

According to Skoff, older children and teenagers are responsible for a lot of cases. She added that in the 1990s, U.S. health officials stopped using the traditional whooping cough vaccine, and administered the DTap instead, due to concerns about rare neurological problems linked to the older vaccine.

Skoff said, "The vaccine is very effective in the short term." Additionally, she recommends having mothers receive a whooping cough booster called Tdap during the third trimester of the pregnancy, so she can pass on the antibodies to the unborn baby. According to the National Post, babies are at great risk at the ages of 0 to 2 months, because this period does not allow for vaccines yet. In order to prevent whooping cough in babies, families are recommended to get vaccinated.

The National Post reports that the study published in the journal Pediatrics found that among 1,306 infants in 7 states who were diagnosed with whooping cough from 2006 to 2013, more than 1/3 of them got their infection from their siblings. About 1/5 got their infection from their mothers, and 10% got the infection from their fathers.

Currently, only 15% to 20% of pregnant American women are receiving vaccines to protect against whooping cough. Pregnant women are advised not to worry, because if they get whooping cough while pregnant, there is no chance to pass on the illness to the fetus. However, if the mother has whooping cough when the child is already born, the baby is at risk for getting infected.

According to CBS News, the CDC recommends for everyone aged 11 and up to be vaccinated with the Tdap booster shot. Additionally, Skoff said, "Pregnant women are the only group who are advised to have more than one booster."

Pregnant women should also note that they should get the whooping cough vaccine for every pregnancy. Skoff explained, "The notion that vaccinating during pregnancy will do harm is wrong. It's exactly the opposite. Vaccinating protects women and their babies."

Skoff concluded, "The benefits of maternal vaccination during pregnancy are two-fold: protect both the mom and the infant."