A Queensland mother has expressed regret for not vaccinating herself against whooping cough, after her baby contracted the potentially fatal disease.
In a video posted to the Gold Coast Health’s Facebook page, the former anti-vaxxer told of the “nightmare” her little daughter Eva has endured over the past few weeks.
“Within two weeks the cough became very scary, a horror movie, turning blue, going floppy in my hands, running to hospital,” she says.
“I was offered the injection in week 28,” she says. “Being the healthy, fit organic woman that I am I said ‘leave me alone’, I said ‘I don’t need this crap’.” Yet with just a couple of weeks out from her due date, whooping cough took hold.
“I got over it very quick, it was not it was nothing for me,” she said. “But [Eve] is into week four and every hour I have to stay here watch her going blue, watch her go blue, watch her cry, and give her oxygen.
“She is my only child and if I could turn back time I would have protected myself, so that’s my message.”
Whooping cough vaccinations are available free for pregnant women across Australia.
Top Comments
Yeah here we go again. The hippie at school who struggled to pass an exam thinking they know more than scientists and doctors. Just relieved the poor darling baby survived despite having such an idiot mother.
As a mum whose vaccinated 2 year old caught whooping cough when family came (uninvited) to visit our newborn with their unvaccinated children, I can't stress the importance of the pertussis pregnancy booster enough. Our newborn did not catch it despite being in close proximity to our incubating two year old since her birth. I was given the booster when pregnant.
The contagious period for whooping cough shows almost no signs of a cough. Then when it's too late to isolate your child, the severity of the cough causes the parent to have their child tested and only then is the child isolated, even though the contagious incubation period has more than likely passed. It's why whooping cough is such a dreadful and highly contagious sickness. The whooping cough vaccine is administered in several doses from 6 months to four years, so up until the last dose, the child is still able to catch it and even after. This was our experience. Our little girl suffered terribly, it was not only stressful and exhausting but she was isolated from her friends and all other activities she normally enjoyed. She became so Ill that she suffered bowel and bladder weakness, reduced lung capacity, anxiety and a chronic cough that would make the "whoop" sound every time she had a common cold or even hayfever. That sound will never leave me and nor will the feeling of dread and helplessness I had when I could do nothing to comfort my child. I can't imagine how this poor mother is feeling having this experience with a tiny newborn. I am grateful that she had the courage to admit her error in not accepting the vaccine in pregnancy and raising awareness. I hope she can be kind and forgiving to herself for the good of her baby. No matter what side you're on, she is trying to help others. By all means practice healthy living but perhaps if you're undcided about whether or not you want to vaccinate, take the middle road and adopt a healthy organic/natural lifestyle as well as vaccinating. Life isn't black and white and bacteria doesn't discriminate based on how fanatically a person rejects the mainstream. Being cruel and abusive to each other isn't the answer. It's such an emotionally charged debate given that our greatest treasures are at the center of it.