Abstract
Background: Whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis (Bp) is a highly contagious disease affecting the respiratory tract. It can cause severe morbidity and death in young infants who are too young to be immunized the incidence of whooping cough is rising. Maternal vaccination may reduce morbidity and mortality caused by Bp in infants. Objectives: To evaluate the perspective of pregnant women towards maternal vaccination to protect newborns against Bp in The Netherlands. Design: Cross sectional survey. Methods: A total of 300 pregnant women visiting the obstetric outpatient department were surveyed by questionnaire concerning their perspective on maternal vaccination against Bp. Results: The response rate was 42%. Of the respondents (126), three quarters (95% CI 0.67-0.85) had a positive attitude towards maternal vaccination against Bp. Almost half (45%) of all women with a positive attitude would consider participation in a research setting. Responders with a positive attitude did not differ in age, parity and religion compared to responders with a negative attitude. Conclusion: There is a moderate positive attitude towards maternal vaccination against Bp among pregnant women. Conducting a vaccination study against Bp in pregnant women seems feasible.
Highlights
Whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis (Bp), is a highly contagious bacterial disease involving the respiratory tract
A total of 300 pregnant women visiting the obstetric outpatient department were surveyed by questionnaire concerning their perspective on maternal vaccination against Bp
Of the respondents (126), three quarters had a positive attitude towards maternal vaccination against Bp
Summary
Whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis (Bp), is a highly contagious bacterial disease involving the respiratory tract. Despite improvement of vaccination coverage, pertussis remains a major cause of reported childhood morbidity and mortality from a vaccinepreventable disease [1]. Vaccinating pregnant women would result in immunization and protection of the unborn child against whooping cough from birth until the primary vaccination program starts. Whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis (Bp) is a highly contagious disease affecting the respiratory tract. It can cause severe morbidity and death in young infants who are too young to be immunized the incidence of whooping cough is rising. Maternal vaccination may reduce morbidity and mortality caused by Bp in infants
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