Newborn Vaccinations: What are you doing?! - Page 2

[HoneyTree]

No vax, no eye drops, and only Vit K if mw feels it's necessary at the birth.

[cjbeach]

Originally Posted by DreamsInDigital

We don't vaccinate at all so that's pretty much a no-brainer. No eye goop and we'll give oral vit. k only if there's bruising or trauma at birth, we don't circ so that's non-issue as well. Still deciding on PKU but probably won't do it this time either. I didn't with my last 2.
I just think birth should be warm and welcoming, not full of pricks and pokes and crap.

:

[2tolove]

just wanted to add that when your newborn does get a little eye goop
( kinda green, sticky sometimes usually in the 1st few weeks is normal ) Sounds silly, but if you drop a little breast milk in the eye once or twice a day, it will clear it right up! I freaked out when my dd first had it, but my MW suggested it & it worked right away

[MrsMoe]

No newborn vaxes.

Babies cannot catch Hep B because they aren't using drugs or having sex (and I dont' have Hep B so it cannot be passed through my milk.) Good hting is, Hep B is NOT given in Canada at birth unless mom is Hep B positive (goes to show the Us is fueled by the $.)

Also, no eye ointment because I do not have an STD. I know VitK and the eye ointment are not vaxes, but they are still not neccessary IMO.

We are doing Vit K... and we will do other vaxes on a delayed schedule. No vaxes before the baby is a year old.

[Awaken]

Homebirth, so no eye stuff (I don't see the point), I think I decided against vit K- I was going to do oral drops but now I'm just taking alfalfa. We'll go to the ped sometime afterwards and get the heel prick/pku/whatever.

I agree with pp's, we are going to such lengths to make this a peaceful, loving, warm birth- why then stick the poor child right away and make it feel scared and cold and in pain? I want it to feel warm and loved and peaceful and comfortable.

Count me in as another who plans on delaying vax for 6 mos. then doing selective/delayed. EVer since ds was 6 mos old I've done that- he had the full AAP schedule up till then and has a lot of problems so I'd feel safer delaying it this time.

Questions/comments:

-good point about hep B- may as well wait till they're much older since there is little risk of a little kid getting a sexually/needle transmitted disease. Is there any other reason a kid might need it?

-how would that work with school, those who have not gotten all vax (even w/ our delayed schedule ds will have all the requirements by school time)- we have a religious/health exemption, but how can you claim that if they see you've done some but not all of them?

-what are the benefits of separating the combo vax's? I"ve heard it's a good idea but I'm not sure why.

Thanks!

ETA: Also wanted to say we never get the flu vax, it scares me, I don't think it's necessarily effective, and it's clearly a money making proposition for drug companies and I refuse to help line their pockets. The 'good' thing is, ds is allergic to eggs, so the decision is out of my hands- he can't get it anyway so that kind of takes the worry over whether he should have it or not away which puts me more at ease.

[Belleweather]

No eye ointment -- I was under the impression that it could be used to treat other infections, but apparently according to my midwives that's not so. And since I know I don't have chlamidiya, I'm not worried.

We're doing the vitiman K shot and we'll do the PKU at the first pediatrician visit.

No Hep B, although I'm planning on having our kids vaxed for it when they're teenagers. You know -- when they're actually likely to be engaging in conduct that might transmit it.

We're doing a modified vax schedule starting at 6 months, but I'm thinking of moving flu vaxes and prevnar up, because I'm also freaked out about Avian Flu, and I think it's really important to get vaxed against the normal flu, both to protect against mutation vectors, and to avoid getting the normal flu and using scarce health care resources during an outbreak.

I'm also thinking about prevnar for the little one and the adult peneumonia vax for DH and I because often in less serious cases of flu and other diseases it's the secondary bacterial peneumonia that kills -- and because I get penumonia every couple of years and every time it makes my asthma worse. It'd be nice to keep what lung function I have, you know?

[flyingspaghettimama]

Originally Posted by itsybitsy25

-good point about hep B- may as well wait till they're much older since there is little risk of a little kid getting a sexually/needle transmitted disease. Is there any other reason a kid might need it?

-how would that work with school, those who have not gotten all vax (even w/ our delayed schedule ds will have all the requirements by school time)- we have a religious/health exemption, but how can you claim that if they see you've done some but not all of them?

Well. Technically, hep b can also be transmitted through saliva and other VERY close, sustained body-fluid contact with a Hep B carrier, which are fairly well-established at-risk populations. This is not so likely for our family. Various insane medical people have tried to think up ways that my child could be exposed via bloodborne/fluid exchange, including getting bitten at daycare (not a problem) or sports, like ... soccer. When I told her that wasn't a problem, she said, "well, what about ballet?" Did you know that ballet is a blood sport? I had no idea. Crazy woman. And I'm the hypochondriac.

In our state, we have a personal exemption, and there's a line where you can write down vaccines you don't want your child to have. Can you look at the form in your state and see if there is such an exemption? I know in NYS there wasn't...but here, we can just write down the ones we do not want. The school then has the right to exclude her if there's an outbreak of chicken pox or say, bloody ballerinas shooting up outside the 1st grade classroom.

Is prevnar now on the list of recommended/required vaccines? Five years ago, they only suggested it for children with horrible ear infection problems and serious immune disorders. I asked about it and the nurse said no way was it necessary - as long as I kept breastfeeding!

[applejuice]

Originally Posted by BensMom

We are having a HB so there will be no fighting about newborn proceedures. The only one I have doubts about is Vit K, partly because my ped laid the guilt on for that one.

unless your baby is born by a traumatic forceps/vacuum delivery or you have other bleeding issues, your baby does not need vitamin K.

It can cause neonatal jaundice and later there is evidence it can cause leukemia.

[applejuice]

There is a vaccine forum here with lots and lots of references for and against vaccinating your newborn.

Although most of the posts and members here are anti-vax, you should read both sides of the issue and make up your own mind.

[gonnabeamom]

I am skipping the eye drops (MW says she hasn't done them in a long time) but will do them on request. I said if I had any doubts I'd go get a STD screen for me first. The other concern is gonnarea (I know I must have spelled that wrong).

We will do the screen test, as I feel like despite the low incidence of the conditions involved, the danger from of brain damage from some of them, and the fact that it's totally preventable warrants the test. I was also a lot more comfortable when I found out the MWs do this on the 5th day. I couldn't do it on the first day my babe was here.

I'm leaning toward doing no vitamin K, because I've been drinking pregnancy tea for months, but if the midwives recommend it based on how the birth goes, I'll take some myself.

I'm still up in the air about the final vax decisions. I do know that we will be delaying vaccinations (nothing before a year), and that I won't allow more than one shot at a time. I'm concerned about the high levels of autoimmune disease that correlate with wide-spread vaccination. I've got hasimotos thyroiditis myself, and a dog with all kinds of skin care and allergy problems that my vet thinks are partly vaccine-induced.

It's often possible to opt-out of vax requirements, but no one will give you that impression.

[*Amy*]

-how would that work with school, those who have not gotten all vax (even w/ our delayed schedule ds will have all the requirements by school time)- we have a religious/health exemption, but how can you claim that if they see you've done some but not all of them?

Itsybitsy, in Ohio we can state a philosophical objection to vaccines, so we just have to sign something once a year when she gets to be school-aged, assuming we still live here. Each state is different though, and some states only allow a medical or religions exception. Your state department of health should be able to answer any questions about that for you.

As far as separating the multiples, the idea is that it is such a strain on a baby's stystem to have to fight one vaccine, much less two or three, that it's better to space them out, at least a month apart. Secondly, if your child has a serious reaction to a multiple vaccine, there is no way to determine which one the child is reacting to.

I also recommend Stephanie Cave's book. It is awesome, and she provides a recommended delayed schedule that I will be using as a guide.

[MistyB]

Nothing at birth period other than oral vit K if midwife thinks we need it. NB screening a few days later.

I will do DTaP starting about 9-12 months and finish the series within the required spacing. Won't do any others until the child is way older...(schoolish age likely). This is what I did with my son but he DID receive IPV as we lived in Europe and traveled a lot to areas with higher polio rates and through airports where infected people would have been likely to pass.

I used to help run an immunization clinic while in the military and have degree in public health. ; ) How ironic.

[Gunter]

Why foot prick?

We don't plan to vax the babe at any point in time. Dh is seriously against it and has done tons of research about what vaxs contain, etc.

I am reading "What your Dr. May Not Tell You About Vaccinations" and doing other research. My chiro and I talk a lot about it these days as he has 4 kids and no vax ever for any of them. It's nice to know of peds. in the area that support not vaxing.

Don't see any point in the Vit K or eye drops but I need to be more informed. And, I need to talk with my MW about it further.

What's the point of the foot prick and the PKU test?

[Belleweather]

Gunter: The foot prick tests for a whole TON of metabolic problems in the baby that pretty much can't be diagnosed in any other way. Most of them have to do with protiens and enzymes that the baby can't digest reguarly, or minerals and other bodily chemicals like hormons that the baby either can't get enough of or doesn't use or process correctly. Basically, a lot of the metabolic stuff can't be caught other than by blood test and has pretty severe consequences for the newborn. Luckily, it appears that most of the diseases are treatable with supplementation, special diet and regular medical care.

In Wisconsin, where we have a pretty normal set of stuff to test for, the heel prick tests for the following:

Argininosuccinic Acidemia -- inability to digest protein in foods, can cause seizures
Biotinase Deficency -- lack of biotin in the system, causes developmental delays.
Citrullinemia -- inability to digest protien in foods
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia -- Lack of 21-hydroxylase in blood, delays development
Congenital Hypothyroidism -- low thyroid hormone, delays development
Cystic Fibrosis -- causes thick mucous in lungs, lowers ability to absorb fat and protien.
Galactosemia -- can't digest the sugar galactose, which builds up in the body and can damage eyes, liver, and brain.
Homocystinura -- can't digest Methionine in food.
Maple Syrup Urine Disease -- can't digest a series of enzymes found in protien.
Phenylketonuria -- body can't produce a chemical needed to break down the amino acid phenylalanine.
Sickle Cell Disease -- malformed blood cells, leading to increased weakness to infections.
Tyrosinemia -- can't digest the amino acid tyrosine, found in protien.
Various Fatty-Acid Oxidation Disorders -- body has a hard time burning fat for energy.
Various Organic Acidemias -- cause the body to be unable to remove certian waste products from their blood.

Hope that helps!

[snugglebutter]

newborn testing

I think this is a good website to visit for general information. HTH

[Emilie]

we will not be doing the Hep B vaccine. I reccomend you get a book on the topic- maybe the Vaccine Guide- that has helped us alot.
Emilie

[HoneyTree]

Re: the school thing and no vaxes, in Florida, or at least in my county, you have to go down to the health department to fill out a religious exemption form. That is the only way to get around it. A few years back, an AP group in town made up a "Divine Body" church just to simplify matters, but I think some of the original "founders" let it slide and it's no longer in existence. If there is not a more reasonable solution by the time this baby's ready, it is a civil liberties battle I would LOVE to take on!!

[brandybehr]

Around here the 'routine' things are Vit K and eye goop at birth. PKU about 4 days after.

I don't do vit K or eye goop but I will have the PKU test done.

All immunizations in my province start at 2 months, we don't immunize though, so only PKU here.

[cynotgirl]

Originally Posted by zjande

I have released my growling mama bear & feel awesome about it. No one touches my baby unless I SAY SO DAMMIT!! t.

AMEN!

[cynotgirl]

Chicken Pox Vax ?

Originally Posted by punkwoman1982

I personally have the routine vacs done but not the chicken pox one i think it is better for kids to just get the chicken pox and have it done and over with..

One arguement FOR this vax is that these days Chicken Pox is somewhat rare among kids... Not like when we were little and you just waited around to get it! So "they" say that if a person risks getting Chicken Pox as an adult, there can be major complications such as heart problems.

What's the word on that?