Hep. B Vaccination at birth? Yes or No?

[writermamamn]

I'm due to give birth any day now -- I have a wonderful doula who has been helping me draft a birth plan and envision the best birth for me -- though I am working with a somewhat conservative OB practice and a hospital not known to be terribly supportive of natural childbirth. I chose this practice and hospital in large part because of our journey to conceive through IVF I wanted the best hospital for at-risk babies/pregnancies if it came to that.

That being said I've found that I am GBS positive and my practice has already made it clear that I should be administered antibiotics -- the only remaining questions on my birth plan have to do with the 'routine' series of shots given to infants in our state -- including the Hep.B vax -- my doula offered the information that I could delay the shot since we aren't a high risk population -- does anyone have any suggestions in making this decision?

Thanks

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

I would post in the vaccinations forum.

Me personally, I didnt know any better with DS1, and wish I had never done it. My DS2 is completly vaccine free, and DS1 hasnt had a single shot since he was 4 months old. He wont be having anymore either.

[SpunkyMama]

HepB is contracted through sharing dirty drug needles and sexual contact. So, unless your little bundle of joy is going to be doing either of those in the near future then there really is no reason to give that vax right after birth.

[kjenkins55]

Hey there, congrats on the upcoming birth I know it can be kind of overwhelming deciding what things to go along with and which to pass on, esp if you're not really in a natural birth friendly environment. I just went through all of this in August, and we decided to pass on the Hep B. First reason, the dose given in the hospital is an extra dose- the child still gets the Hep B series later at the Ped office. ( what's the point then? ) Secondly, Hep B is spread by sexual contact/drug use, neither of which I think my newborn will be out doing. Thirdly, I hated the idea of introducing the chemicals into my baby's body when they are so so brand new. I don 't have any hard and fast evidence there, just a gut feeling as a mama. We simply signed a waiver and no one gave us a hard time, to my relief! So that's my .02, I think if you want your child to get the Hep B series later, cool- but there's really no point in the initial hospital dose.

[Bluegoat]

Where I live they do not do any vax right after birth. I would be seriously disinclined because my understanding is a newborn isn't going to have an immune response that will be as effective as one would like to make the shot useful (I could be wrong) and I think uncomfortable procedures can interfere with establishing BF.

So even if I wanted the vaccination, I'd wait until the BF was going well.[

[noobmom]

I skipped it, even though I vax on schedule. They do it at the 2 mo appt anyway.

[Harmony08]

I second posting your question in the vax forum. I would never ever vaccinate a baby with anything at birth. If you are Hep B positive you should. Please do a little research about this vax. Congrats!!!!

[AlexisT]

I vaccinate pretty much on schedule, but I skip the Hep B birth dose. If you're not HepB+, it's not preventing any immediate problems (so, not like Vitamin K--at least the prevention of something shortly after birth justifies a newborn injection IMO). Your baby is extraordinarily unlikely to contract Hep B from any other source in the first few months of life. It just seems that it's one of those things that can wait.

Also, if your ped uses Pediarix (DTaP/IPV/Hep B) then that means an extra dose. I don't think this hurts the baby but it does seem to be a bit of a waste.

[RoadBuddy]

I vax on a slightly delayed schedule and skip the HepB.

It's a STD, and is also transmitted through needles. Not risk factors for a baby. It can also be transmitted via a mother with the disease, but assuming you don't have it, there's no reason to vax for the disease. I think Dr. Sears also lists it as one of the shots with higher incidents of side effects.

I'd wait until the 2mo appointments if you want it in general, or put it off indefinitely. I plan to get it for DS someday, maybe in elementary or middle school when there aren't so many other vaccines and he's closer to possibly needing it.

[katelove]

We won't be letting our newborn have the Hep B vax. Both DH and I are vaccinated for Hep B because of our jobs. We don't imagine that our newborn will be having unprotected sex, sharing needles or getting tatoos in unsafe parlours. There is also a study of newborn monkeys showing that the Hep B vax causes changes in their lifesaving reflexes including the ones associated with effective feeding.

[emnic77]

The only way the baby would get hep B is to have it transferred from you, or to have sex with someone that has it or share needles with someone that has it. So if you're at all concerned, get yourself tested before birth and go from there.

Otherwise, no way, no need for it. The only reason it's routine is because it's cheaper than testing every mother for hep B before they give birth.

[listipton]

We skipped it with DS. I was also GBS+ and took the antibiotics. I feel Hep B isn't necessary at birth, and as pp's have stated, if you do decide to vax later, that first shot at birth is often not counted in the series.

[gcgirl]

If you have it, or if you and the baby live with someone who has it, then yes, get it. Otherwise, skip it. You can always get it later.

[BanditaMamacita]

I did the Hep B with dd, not with ds, and won't be doing it with this baby either. My dd, who was vaccinated on schedule up till now (we've decided to stop), always had serious rxns to vaccines... excessive crying, fever, sleeplessness, lack of appetite for days and days. We had HORRIBLE problems nursing and she never slept or stopped crying for days after birth, so I'm inclined to believe the vax made those problems worse. So with ds, we opted against the vaccine at birth and held off till the 2 month visit. It's not like my baby has any risk factors and I'm vaccinated, so he should have my immunities anyway, for the most part. He never had any problems like dd had. We'll be holding off indefinitely this time... I have no idea if or when we'll start vaccinating again, but probably not till 3. I have serious concerns about pumping large amounts of chemicals into developing brains. I would never put chemicals in my body while pregnant, so 5 minutes after birth doesn't make much sense either.

That said, most people I know are mainstream about this stuff, and have vaxed at birth with no problems. But I've also never known anyone else whose child has reacted to vaccines the way my dd has.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Totally useless vax unless you are a carrier or someone close to your baby is. There is a mom here who lost her baby to the hep b vax it isnt worth the risk.

[etsdtm99]

DD got it at 2 months (offered at birth, i declined even though i knew nothing about it) - my DS will get it before he goes to school, he is 18 months now and that is one of the few vaxes he still hasn't had at all... i just see no reason for a newborn to have it if mom does not have hep b ...

[GAjenn]

I talked with our doctor just the other day about this. She said the major concern is if the Mom has it and they didn't catch it in her testing. I am still on the fence about this one.