‘I gave my baby whooping cough’

Coughing, accompanied by a 'whoop' sound, is characteristic of pertussis, and is the reason for its layman name of whooping cough. — Positive Parenting

Three weeks after giving birth to her second son, Sofea started coughing and sneezing, but the symptoms were mild and intermittent.

However, as her symptoms became more frequent, she became worried that she might transmit the illness to her newborn and decided to see a doctor.

As Sofea used to suffer from asthma, the doctor suspected that it was her asthma recurring.

She was then provided with a course of antibiotics and treated for asthma.

Despite this, Sofea’s cough intensified over the following days, accompanied by episodes of vomiting.

Occasionally, a “whoop” sound was audible as she panted for breath during a coughing fit.

She went to a few more clinics to figure out what was wrong with her, but she was told that it was either a slight cough that would subside soon, or possibly food poisoning.

Her biggest concern became a reality when her baby also started coughing and vomiting.

She quickly brought her baby to see a doctor, but was also told that it was a normal cough.

The baby was given a course of antibiotics too, but his cough persisted with increasing frequency.

Over the next few days, the baby was coughing and gasping for breath every few minutes.

Even Sofea’s coughing fits had worsened and she had trouble breathing due to her history of asthma.

Unfortunately, both Sofea and her little baby eventually had to be admitted to a hospital as their health had deteriorated so much.

The doctor who was treating them immediately suspected that both of them had pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

Mucus samples were sent for testing, which confirmed the diagnosis.

Sofea and her baby were then treated with the appropriate medications and antibiotics for respiratory infections caused by the culprit bacteria Bordetella pertussis.

They were both discharged from hospital after a few days.

Luckily, both mum and baby didn’t suffer any major complications.

However, Sofea remembered how distressed she was when she saw her baby coughing so intensely.

If she was given another chance, she would have been more cautious and taken preventive steps to protect her little one from being infected.

Serious complications

Pertussis is highly contagious, but can be difficult to diagnose as its early symptoms are often non-specific and similar to other respiratory illnesses.

But once it worsens, pertussis may cause serious complications, especially in babies and young children who are more likely to be hospitalised when they get infected.

Of the children below one year old who need treatment in the hospital:

• Two in three may have apnoea (life-threatening pauses in breathing)
• One in five may get pneumonia (lung infection)
• One in 50 may have convulsions (violent, uncontrollable shaking)
• One in 150 may have encephalopathy (disease of the brain)
• One in 100 may die.

Pertussis in teens and adults tend to be milder, but they can also experience complications due to severe cough, such as:

• Losing consciousness
• Bruised or fractured ribs
• Losing bladder control
• Abdominal hernia.

Preventive steps

Pertussis can be prevented with vaccination.

In the National Immunisation Programme (NIP), the hexavalent vaccine, which protects against six diseases including pertussis, is given to babies at ages two, three, five and 18 months.

ALSO READ: One vaccine for six diseases introduced for Malaysian children

However, in Sofea’s case, her baby was still too young to be vaccinated.

So, what could she have done to protect her baby from the illness?

Protection should start from pregnancy.

Women are recommended to get Tdap vaccination, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, during the early part of the third trimester of each pregnancy.

By doing this, mothers are not only protecting themselves, but also their baby.

Antibodies that are produced in the mother’s body after vaccination will be transferred to her baby during pregnancy.

Babies with vaccinated mothers will already have passive immunity when they are born.

Hence, they are protected against these life-threatening diseases during the first few months of life, even before they complete their own vaccination schedule later.

Apart from that, mothers who receive the maternal Tdap vaccination are protected from pertussis themselves and won’t spread the disease to their newborns after birth.

ALSO READ: Get vaccinated against whooping cough during pregnancy

Other steps that a mum like Sofea could have taken was to quarantine herself when she got infected and limit contact with her baby and family members until she recovered.

However, the best prevention is to always start early and get vaccinated during pregnancy.

Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail is a consultant paediatrician and paediatric cardiologist. This article is courtesy of the Malaysian Paediatric Association’s Positive Parenting programme in collaboration with expert partners. For further information, please email [e-mail]. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.