Newborn vaccines- which ones are important?

smss

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:24 am

gold21 wrote:

None of the vaccines are actually necessary for newborns. Maybe Vitamin K is necessary? Maybe? But probably not?

Why not start the vaccine schedule at 6 months, if you can.

Vitamin K is extremely necessary. It's not actually a vaccine. It's just a shot/needle prick.

Whether delaying for 6 months is reasonable or not depends on a lot of factors like: is the baby breastfed or formula-fed, is the baby in daycare or home with mommy, are there older siblings in school bringing lots of germs home...

But the risks of the disease are ALWAYS greater than the risks of the vaccine to prevent it. By definition.

amother

DarkCyan

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:26 am

amother [ Crimson ] wrote:

So much misinformation in this thread from people who have obviously never read a vaccine insert. K has a black box warning btw.
You can always give later but you can't un-give.

Is your last line for Vit K? You can't retroactively give if your baby has a brain bleed.

If you're referring to Hep B, I agree that you can definitely wait. I'd rather they not give it right away.

amother

DarkCyan

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:34 am

amother [ Papayawhip ] wrote:

Definitely do the eye ointment. Vitamin k is a very good idea. Hep b you can delay unless your kid is high risk for some reason

As I understand, the eye ointment, while harmless, is completely unnecessary if the birth was C-section. The ointment is intended to prevent blindness that is caused by Gonorrhea or Clamydia that the baby gets in their eyes from coming out of the mother's v@gina.

There are many nondangerous bacteria in the mother's v@gina, and they do not require eye ointment for the baby. So if the mother knows she doesn't have Gonorrhea or Chlamydia, no need for ointment.

The ointment is not painful or even uncomfortable, so most people don't object to it. Those who do, object because it can blur the vision for a few hours.

amother

Zinnia

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:36 am

amother [ DarkCyan ] wrote:

Hep B is one of the few vaccines with no side effects except injection pain.

Nobody wants their kids to use drugs or bw promiscuous, but it happens even to frum kids from good houses, and IMO is worth it to get a vaccine with no side effects. It is given for the sake of the recipient, not to "protect" some scared old politicians. But it can definitely wait.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21058170/
Hepatitis b vaccination of male neonates and autism diagnosis

amother

Zinnia

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:37 am

imorethanamother wrote:

I also never did the RSV one.

There is no rsv vaccine. There is a prophylactic immunoglobulin injection (mouse, humanized) that is offered to preemies and other medically fragile infants.

amother

DarkCyan

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:37 am

smss wrote:

But the risks of the disease are ALWAYS greater than the risks of the vaccine to prevent it. By definition.

That is very untrue. Whether or not a vaccine is good for an individual, depends on that individual and their risk factors. Let's say you're American. If you decide to be a tourist in certain other countries, you will be recommendes to get a few additional vaccines before going. So why not get them now? Because now your chance of side effects is greater than the chance of you contracting the diseases or getting very sick from them.

amother

Papayawhip

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:45 am

amother [ DarkCyan ] wrote:

From what I've heard the eye ointment is also for GBS, which you could pick up between testing and birth

amother

RosePink

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:54 am

Your baby doesn't need Hep B ever as long as you acted appropriate. They test the mom for it, so if ur negative your baby can't get it.

Vitamin k isn't issue either usually. Babys clot on their own from 8th day, day of bris. Non Jewish ppl circumcise already in hospital short after birth which that can cause issues.

amother

DarkGreen

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 9:54 am

I don't give newborns any vaccines. I start at age 3.

Hep B is only a concern if mom is hep b positive. I would not give that to a newborn.

DTaP protects from pertussis and whooping cough in a baby can be scary so even though I don't give it, if you do want to give something, I'd give that. The immunity, however, doesn't last and this shot needs tons of boosters, so the later you start and the more you space, the fewer of them you'll end up giving.
Better protection though is to keep baby away from crowds or strangers, plastic over carriage when in public.

Polio is also given at 2 months and since polio is so rare, you can delay that too.

Everything else can be skipped - prevnar and meningococal etc.

amother

Honeydew

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 10:08 am

amother [ DarkGreen ] wrote:

I used to feel this way too, and I delayed and spaced out a ton and didn’t give a single vaccine until a year. And then my baby picked up pneumococcal bacteria that she hadn’t yet been vaccinated for. She was in the hospital for 10 days on IV antibiotics and then oral antibiotics for six weeks after that, and we’re very lucky that we didn’t lose her. It’s clear what lesson I’m supposed to learn from this, and all future children have been vaccinated on time.

amother

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 11:41 am

amother [ Honeydew ] wrote:

Oh wow. Which vaccine is for this and at what age?

amother

DarkPurple

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 12:05 pm

OP, are you planning on nursing long term? Will your baby be home with you or in daycare? Is this your first? All these factors play a role in lowering your baby’s risk to disease.
I advise you read The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. He goes through every childhood vaccine in a balanced approach and discusses risks of the disease, how common, and risks of the vaccines. I wish my pediatrician would look at it through Dr. Sears’s eyes and see each patient as an individual. Sadly, most do not.
Hatzlacha!

amother

Crocus

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 12:09 pm

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

The only vaccine they give newborns are hep b and you can delay it until 2 months.

You can delay Hep B a lot longer than 2 months. I give all the vaccines on time, with the exception of Hep B. I give that at a visit when the baby isn't getting other vaccines, probably closer to a year.
At 2 months, they are already getting so many vaccines (which are more of a priority than hep b).

amother

Crocus

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 12:15 pm

amother [ Papayawhip ] wrote:

Definitely do the eye ointment. Vitamin k is a very good idea. Hep b you can delay unless your kid is high risk for some reason

Regarding the eye ointment, in the hospital they usually give it when the newborn is the most alert in those first couple of hours and it significantly impacts his/her ability to look around, connect with parents, etc.
My birthing teacher recommended pushing that off a few hours.

ETA: They routinely test the mother for the STDs that would necessitate eye ointment, and if you're negative, you can skip the eye ointment altogether.

RandomJewishmom

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 12:15 pm

amother [ Zinnia ] wrote:

OP the further you move away from the western model of medicine the less any vaccine will seem necessary.

True. Also please ask people who are not anonymous. You dont know who's responding, people are entitled to opinions but dont base medical decisions on amother saying do give or dont give.

amother

Clover

Tue, Feb 01 2022, 12:15 pm

amother [ RosePink ] wrote:

Vitamin K is the one injection I truly don't care if anyone gives their baby. In fact I'm 1000% in favor of anti-vaxxers skipping this one.

But for those who might want to know, about 2 in every 100 babies who don't get the vitamin K injection will develop vitamin K deficiency bleeding, and one in five of those dies.