Visibility of illness

Here, pregnant women discuss how decisions about whether to accept a vaccination or not is sometimes influenced by how visible the illness is.

 

The following information was collected from women and is comprised of their personal viewpoints about vaccination

Seeing or hearing about other people experiencing the illness, having had the vaccinations in the past, or having had the illness themselves was likely to make them more likely to accept the vaccination. On the other hand, those who had no experience of the illness, did not feel it as much of a risk, and were therefore less likely to accept the vaccinations offered to them.

 

Obviously it’s been around for a long time. My mum, my mum had her whooping cough injections with all of us. It wasn’t something that was offered when she was born, and she actually had whooping cough, so, you know, I sort of took all of that on board. And with regards to flu, I’ve never had the flu vaccination before, so, personally, it wasn’t something I was gonna put in my body while pregnant.
Sophie, 25-34
Yeah, I mean, I’ve had a little bit of ... I mean, I think it’s natural to have a little bit of anxiety that ... I remember the, after, like, one of the ... But obviously, I’ve never, I’ve never had a flu vaccine outside of pregnancy, 'cause I’m not eligible otherwise.
Vicky, 35-44

How much of the illness was around when making vaccination decisions also influenced pregnant women’s views. Those that felt that the rates of illnesses were lower, felt considerably less at risk of getting ill.*1

Evidence box
*1 Even with lower rates of illness, pregnant women are still at risk for catching flu, whooping cough and Covid-19 vaccination and these have potentially serious consequences for.

I think, with the, I mean, particularly the COVID one, yeah. That was, I mean, it was everywhere, and so that’s why I had those, those jabs.
Gaby, 35-44

Feelings of immunity

Pregnant women told us about how their feelings of their own immunity to illnesses impacted on their decisions about getting vaccinated. Views on immunity during...