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'Anti-vax' mom warns about the dangers of skipping whooping cough vaccine

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Whooping cough passed to her baby during pregnancy
Whooping cough passed to her baby during pregnancy

An Australian mother who refused to be vaccinated during pregnancy is warning others to reconsider their stance on vaccinations after she passed whooping cough to her unborn child.

Blue in the face

Cormit had always been healthy. During pregnancy, she continued to follow an organic lifestyle, eating well and exercising regularly. She had a normal pregnancy but made the decision not to be vaccinated against whooping cough, also known as pertussis, in her 28th week – a decision she would later regret.

Much to her surprise, during the last two weeks of her pregnancy Cormit developed whooping cough. After giving birth, doctors realised she had passed the illness to her infant daughter, Eva.

Initially, Eva was a bit congested and coughing a bit but after two weeks, her condition worsened.

Eva would cough so much she turned blue in the face and flopped in her mother's hands. On a number of occasions, she stopped breathing for several minutes and had to be rushed to hospital. Eventually Eva was admitted to the intensive care unit.

If Cormit could go back, she would have protected herself and her baby by getting the vaccination:

"She is into week four and every hour I've got to stay here, watch her going blue, give her oxygen, watch her cry, watch her having a hard time eating. She's my only child, my first and if I could turn back time I would've protected myself - so that's my message."

Watch Cormit describe her experience below:

Read more:

Vaccinate pregnant moms to avoid whooping cough in babies

Newborns get whooping cough from siblings

Whooping cough making a comeback

Source: Gold Coast Health Facebook page. 4th April 2016. https://www.facebook.com/GCHealth/?fref=photo

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