How do I make this decision?

[MrsKatie]

Hi everyone!
 

I have a healthy baby girl who was born 11/10/11, vaginally and with no complications.  My labor and delivery were done drug-free at a birth center.

She had no shots/eye ointment/etc at birth.

I want to delay vaccinating, and possibly avoid it altogether, but at baby's 2-week pediatrician appt today the doctor talked at length about the number of pertussis cases she's seen in the last few years.  I want to emphasize that the doctor in no way was pushy or weird about my hesitation to vaccinate, but wanted to make sure we knew her experience.  And it sounds like we live in an area where pertussis rates are especially high.  She also discussed the pneumococcal vaccine and HiB.

Long story short, she urged us to consider the pertussis, pneumococal, and HiB vaccines.  All from her personal experience re: the rates of particular diseases in our area.

I feel so confused about this issue.  I feel like I have no idea how to make this decision.  DH is comfortable with letting me do the research and having the final say... but I feel so totally lost.  I just don't know what carries more risks.

Any advice?

[kitchensqueen]

We've had a high rate of pertussis in our area recently as well, so we made the choice to give our son the vaccine. One thing you can do to check your ped's observations against hard facts is to contact your local health department and see if they can tell you how many cases have been reported in your area, and check that against past years and the national average, which I believe you can find on the CDC website. The CDC also has the standard vac schedule listed as well as details of each one so you know exactly what they entail in terms of benefits and risks. 

[teraze]

Congratulations on having a new baby!

My husband and I went back and forth for years before actually even having a baby regarding what we'd do (or not) about vaccinations.  He was totally against and I favored selective and delayed vaccinations.  I found a local pediatrician who favors an alternative schedule which includes the vaccinations you mentioned above in a babe's first year.  (She won't give new vaccines like the one for rotavirus and her office doesn't give out flu shots.)  After research (including the Vaccine Book) and meeting our pediatrician we decided to use an alternative schedule - all separate shots, never more than two at a time, ect.  We do have to go to the doctor more often because babe receives more sticks doing it this way, but I feel like we're vaccinating cautiously which is extremely important to us.

We were both satisfied with our decision after we received a letter from the hospital where I gave birth stating we'd all been exposed to pertussis at some point.  It really is out there...

In any event, the above poster's advice is good - check out the statistics in your area.  Maybe that'll help you decide.  It certainly is a big decision.

All the best!

T

[ma2two]

Breastfed babies are at a much lower risk of Hib infection.

Pertussis can be treated with sodium ascorbate at any age.

Pertussis does not kill babies over 3 months old. The vaccine is not designed to work before the 3rd dose at 6 months. Even fully vaccinated people get pertussis. The vaccine does not work well at all, and it is also one of the more dangerous vaccines.

[Jugs]

Barring any contraindications, I personally wouldn't consider skipping these three, as the implications can be very serious for infants. Breastfeeding provides some passive immunity against hib and pneumococcal infections, and it also appears to enhance the effectiveness of hib and pneumococcal vaccines, so its a win-win either way. As far as pertussis goes, while the greatest risk of death is during the first 3 months, he disease does indeed kill infants older than 3 months. Death isn't the only factor to consider; the risk of hospitalization and serious complications is highest during the first year of life. The vaccine confers the most protection after the 3rd dose, but that doesn't mean the first 2 doses are worthless; its just there isn't much data on how much protection the first 2 doses provide.

[ma2two]

In the California pertussis outbreak last year, there were 10 infant deaths, and all were under 3 months old.

"In 2010, 9,143 cases of pertussis (including ten infant deaths) were reported throughout California."

http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks.html

"All of the deaths occurred in infants under the age of 3 months, says Michael Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. Nine were younger than 8 weeks old, which means they were too young to have been vaccinated against this highly contagious bacterial disease."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/20/california.whooping.cough/index.html

I can pretty much guarantee none of those infants were treated with sodium ascorbate. It's not a treatment used in conventional medicine.

Edited by ma2two - 12/1/11 at 11:24am

[Jugs]

Originally Posted by ma2two 

In the California pertussis outbreak last year, there were 10 infant deaths, and all were under 3 months old.

"In 2010, 9,143 cases of pertussis (including ten infant deaths) were reported throughout California."

http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks.html

"All of the deaths occurred in infants under the age of 3 months, says Michael Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. Nine were younger than 8 weeks old, which means they were too young to have been vaccinated against this highly contagious bacterial disease."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/20/california.whooping.cough/index.html

So...because none over 3 months died during that outbreak, pertussis "does not kill babies over 3 months old"? Weak inductive reasoning, no?

I can pretty much guarantee none of those infants were treated with sodium ascorbate. It's not a treatment used in conventional medicine.

Actually, those babies didn't receive timely, appropriate treatment, period. Pertussis is difficult to diagnose in young babies because they don't present typical pertussis symptoms, which often leads to delayed treatment. Nevertheless, I personally wouldn't rely solely on sodium ascorbate, as there is little scientific evidence to back its effectiveness in treating pertussis.  

[LisaSedai]

Congrats MrsKatie on your new little girl. Enjoy those baby snuggles. I've debated with myself on getting HiB and TDaP for my girl (she's 17months). My son got 1 HiB vax and all the TDaP  although I delayed starting the vax until he was 18 months old. (Think it was 18 mo, it has been a while!) If I understand it correctly, if the HiB is given after the age of 15 months only one dose is needed.

Someone suggested checking the CDC's site.This is a link to the CDC's report on notifiable diseases for the week ending 11/26/11 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6047md.htm?s_cid=mm6047md_w

 If you are in Oregon- there were 0 cases of pertussis that week but there has been a total of 281 cases this year if I am reading it right.

HTH

It's hard being a parent and making these decisions! Good luck.

[ma2two]

Thanks LisaSedai for that link. 

Parents usually worry a lot more about the diseases that have vaccines, usually because there are vaccines for them. I very much doubt parents in the 1980's worried about Hib, because there wasn't a vaccine for it. Just like I very much doubt many parents are worrying about cryptosporidiosis, even though there were more cases in Oregon last year than there were cases of Hib. (203 vs. 62).

So that's just something to keep in mind, to keep things in perspective, and to keep the worry level down. (Sorry if you're now worried about cryptosporidiosis).