Tdap vaccine will not make your child autistic, says study

In case you are an expectant mother and have kept away from Tdap vaccine out of fear that it may put your infant to higher risk of developing autism spectrum disorder, you are widely mistaken. This research shows that there is no link between the two and doctors suggest you should go for the vaccine to protect your baby from tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough.

By: Sreemoyee Chatterjee | | Published: August 14, 2018 2:44 pm

While there has been enough controversy on whether prenatal Tdap (for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine is related to increasing risk of autism spectrum disorder among children for over two decades, a recent study has shown that there is no link between the two. It has validated that this common childhood vaccination given to pregnant women does not put their children at any risk of autism, according to the latest media report by the Washington Post. The Kaiser Permanente study has been published in the journal Pediatrics on August 13. Till now, the common myth about this vaccine being related to higher chances of developing autism has triggered fear among parents.

Tracy Becerra-Culqui, the lead author and post-doctoral research fellow with department of research and evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California reportedly said: “If any woman had any hesitancy, she can be reassured. When not vaccinated, the risk of getting whooping cough is greater than any perceived risk of harm to the baby, so it should be a no-brainer to accept the vaccine.”

According to the Washington Post report, she added: “Any woman who is pregnant may be concerned with any exposure inside or outside the health-care system. Some women who are encouraged by their doctors to get the Tdap vaccine may worry about it causing harm to their unborn babies. We wanted to get ahead of any concern — the prevailing concern being, ‘Will my child develop some disease like autism?’”. This study, according to the experts, have shown that there is nothing to worry about this vaccination as it has got no link with autism.

The expectant mothers have always been encouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Nurse-Midwives, to get the Tdap vaccine in the third trimester of pregnancy for safeguarding babies from bacterial infections which can be fatal for new-borns.

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Published: August 14, 2018 2:44 pm

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