Evaluation of cord blood for whooping cough antibody levels in women admitted to Hacettepe University Hospital for birth

In this study, protective level of pertussis antibodies in maternal and cord blood, factors associated with protection, and immunization / infection-related status of protection were evaluated. The mothers of children with chromosomal aberration or congenital malformation and the mothers who have been diagnosed as diabetes before birth or have serious illnesses which repress their immune system, were excluded from this research. The study is a descriptive epidemiological study. Data collection form and blood samples are the data collection tools of the research. The data were collected by face-to-face interview technique. It is found that 18,8% of women had anti-PT IgG and %48,1 of them had anti-FHA at protective level. Anti-PT IgG positivity was 38.2%, anti-FHA IgG positivity was 55.8% in cord blood. Those whose relatives are healthcare workers had 2.6 times higher protective anti-PT IgG level than those whose relatives are not healthcare workers. The mothers whose ages were lower than 25 had 3,2 times higher protective level of Anti-FHA IgG than the range of 26-35 years old ones. Moreover, the mothers elder than 36 had 4,4 times higher level than 26-35 years old ones. The woman who live in extended families had this protectiveness 7,3 times higher than the ones coming from nuclear family. 72,4% of mothers with positive protectiveness of Anti-PT IgG and 67,6% of mothers with positive protectiveness of Anti-FHA IgG had anti-ACT IgG antibody and all of them had reached their level by contracting of whooping cough. Maternal anti-PT IgG and anti-FHA IgG levels were highly correlated with neonatal cord blood levels. However, protective level of pertussis antibodies in maternal and cord blood was low. The mothers who have immunity against whooping cough gained it by being sick. Mother and baby can be immunized against pertussis with maternal immunization in early infancy.