Mum Sharyn Pitman’s whooping cough warning in memory of daughter Amie
A DEVOTED Campbelltown mum is using what would have been her beloved daughter’s 21st birthday to raise awareness about whooping cough (pertussis) so she can avoid another tragedy.
Macarthur
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A DEVOTED Campbelltown mum is using what would have been her beloved daughter’s 21st birthday to raise awareness about whooping cough (pertussis) and the importance of immunisation so she can avoid another tragedy.
Sharyn Pitman, 41, has become an immunisation advocate since her second child, Amie, died when she was 19 days old after what had been a healthy pregnancy.
Mrs Pitman said she spoke out about whooping cough because it was a preventable disease and babies were unable to advocate for themselves.
“After losing my daughter to this deadly disease, I can’t stress how important it is to be up to date with your booster shots and pregnancy booster,’’ she said.
“I don’t want to see any more children die from something that is preventable and I don’t want other families to go through what we have gone through and live every day.’’
Mrs Pitman said the pregnancy booster, which has been free since 2015, was very effective and she had no doubt that since it became free three years ago it had saved the lives of babies.
“The pregnancy booster allows antibodies to pass from the mother to the baby and it cocoons the baby until they have their own immunisation at six weeks,’’ Mrs Pitman said.
When Amie was a week old, Mrs Pitman developed a cough which her GP diagnosed as bacterial bronchiolitis and told her it was not contagious.
However, when Amie was 15 days old, she stopped wanting to feed and developed a fever so Mrs Pitman took her to the GP and the baby was admitted to hospital soon after. Amie died four days later.
“It was very quick. We didn’t know the cause of death until we received the autopsy results after Amie’s funeral,’’ Mrs Pitman said.
“I persisted. I told my doctor I’m really sick, my daughter has passed away and I asked for a swab. The swab came back positive for whooping cough.’’
Mrs Pitman said the diagnosis took her by surprise because she had been immunised for whooping cough as a child.
She didn’t know at the time but the whooping cough vaccine does wane over time and a booster is needed.
As a newborn Amie, who would have turned 21 on March 26, was too young to be imminused.
Since Amie’s death, Mrs Pitman, who has six other children, said she wanted to raise awareness because whooping cough was a preventable disease.
“I don’t want any other families to go through this,’’ she said.
As well as educating people about the important of vaccinating against whooping cough, Mrs Pitman also wants to warn the community that the latest information is for a booster shot every 10 years.
A pregnancy booster is recommended at 28-32 weeks but Mrs Pitman feared expectant mums were not aware that the booster was recommended for each pregnancy.
Mrs Pitman said babies relied on herd immunity, that is for the entire community to be immunised, to protect them against whooping cough.
“Please vaccinate. The research is there. The facts are there. It’s safe,’’ she said.
“It’s the best possible protection for yourself and the community.’’
Whooping cough often starts like a cold with a runny nose, sneezing and tiredness over several days, and then characteristic coughing bouts develop.
Children are immunised against whooping cough at six weeks and four and six months.