To protect newborns from whooping cough, it is important to vaccinate mothers, even before they give birth. If until now, only the entourage of infants was encouraged to vaccinate against whooping cough, future mothers are now also encouraged, announced the High Authority for Health in a communicated this April 12, 2022.
An extremely contagious infection of the respiratory tract, whooping cough is manifested by coughing fits that can last for weeks and which are sometimes accompanied by vomiting. It is a particularly serious disease, even fatal in fragile people and in particular in infants: “More than 90% of pertussis deaths occur in newborns and children under six months old“, indicates the press release of the HAS.
“Vaccination against whooping cough is the most effective way to control severe forms of the disease“, indicates the HAS. In infants, the vaccination against whooping cough is recommended from the age of two months, and protects for up to three months. It can therefore be contaminated in its first weeks of life.
Maintain the strategy of cocooning
To protect it as well as possible, the High Authority for Health therefore recommends vaccinating the mother, from the second trimester of pregnancy, between 20 and 36 weeks of amenorrhea. “The newborn will thus be protected thanks to the transplacental passage of the mother’s antipertussis antibodies.“, continues the press release. The HAS also specifies that it is necessary to vaccinate the woman with each of her pregnancies. “If the mother was vaccinated before pregnancy, the concentration of maternal antibodies is insufficient to provide passive protection for infants“, reads the press release.
And if the mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy, HAS strongly recommends vaccinate her immediately postpartum, before leaving the maternity ward and even if she is breastfeeding. The authority also advocates maintaining the strategy of cocooning, that is to say the vaccination of the entourage of the newborn, i.e. the parents, the siblings, the grandparents or all the people likely to be in close contact with the baby during the first six months of his life. A strategy already strongly recommended until now.
Abroad, the data collected establishes a good efficacy of vaccination in pregnant women In particular, it has reduced pertussis mortality in infants under three months of age by around 95% in England and Wales. Various studies have also shown that the vaccine had a good safety profile and was not associated with the occurrence of adverse effects in pregnant women, the fetus or the newborn.
To encourage the greatest number of women to vaccinate, the HAS specifies that it can be carried out at the same time as vaccination against Covid-19 or against seasonal flu.
Sources:
- Press release, Haute Autorité de Santé, April 12, 2022
Read also:
- Infliximab during pregnancy: it is better to wait to vaccinate your child
- Covid-19 vaccine: women transmit antibodies to babies
- Baby bronchiolitis: what are the first symptoms?
