Vaccination - what I wish I knew

When you're pregnant, you'll most likely get the Tdap* and the Influenza (Flu) vaccine.  During pregnancy, a part of the vaccine will flow to your little baby through the placenta.  

However, when your little one is born, he or she will immediately be given the HepB vaccination, along with antibiotics for the eyes.  When you check in for labor & delivery, they hand you so many papers to sign.  Being in labor, you're most likely just going to flip through the pages and sign, relying on what the nurse or doctor is telling you they are. 

Then at every doctor's visit, your little one will get some more vaccination.  Sometimes a combination of 2-3, sometimes even 4.  As a Pro-Vax parent, I agreed to every vaccination for a year and my son showed no signs of severe reaction to them.  Granted, my son has no allergies so far so it wasn't an issue.  Until he got the MMR vaccine at 15 months of age. 

Image Source:  Google Images - Memrise

I usually fly over the vaccine sheet the Pediatrician gives you, make myself aware of the possible reactions and the risks.  Most of them times we only had to deal with some diarrhea or mild rash.  The MMR vaccine, however, does not usually show any reaction until a few weeks later.  My son had a severe rash that covered almost his entire body.  He barely ate (loss of appetite) and he had diarrhea.  His temperature was slightly high.

One good thing to know is that certain vaccines are live bacterias or viruses that have been killed - meaning they cannot multiply, grow or be cultured.  The purpose is to let your body build an immunity against it.  

That's when I became more aware of the (amount of) vaccines, the components and the need of it.  Many diseases are not very common anymore in certain countries. 

I would ask the doctor to break up the combo vaccines and administer only one and then make my way back after a few weeks for the next one.  This way I know which vaccine my child is reacting to.  I also like to take home the information and look it up.  Some vaccines are optional, so it's definitely good to take some time to think about whether it's necessary or not. 

My go-to book is The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears.

I also advise to have a vaccine schedule on hand.  You can find them in several Baby books, The Vaccine Book, or you can even ask your health insurance or Pediatrician for one. 

If you know your child has allergies, please make sure your Pediatrician is aware, as some vaccinations may have components that your child may be allergic to. 

Note:  This post is for informational purpose only.  I am not a health professional and am only writing about my personal experience as a first time mom.  

xTanya 

Tdap* Source: Google    -  There are four combination vaccines used to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough): DTaP, Tdap, DT, and Td. Two of these (DTaP and DT) are given to children younger than seven years of age and two (Tdap and Td) are given to older children and adults.

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