How Can I Comfort My Baby During Shots
My baby cries uncontrollably when she gets a shot. How can I make the experience easier for her? Kate
Getting shots can be tough on you and your child, but the benefits are worth the effort. Fortunately, you can do a few things to make the experience less painful and stressful.
If your daughter is a newborn or under 5 months old, try a method called the “5 S’s” immediately after she gets a vaccine. These are:
Research has shown that doing at least 4 of the 5 S’s greatly reduces the amount of time infants cry after getting a shot. If you’re OK with breastfeeding your daughter at the doctor’s office , this alone can be an effective way to distract your baby and calm her down. You might even be able to do it while your child gets the vaccine.
In some situations, a sugar water solution may be available. Dipping a pacifier into this solution, then giving it to a fussy baby may help soothe the child.
Before and after the shot is given, try applying gentle pressure and rubbing the skin around the injection site. This massage may prevent the area from feeling so painful.
Why Do Babies Need So Many Vaccines
As a new parent, it may be overwhelming to face the many steps involved in taking care of a new babys health. One of those steps is infant immunizations. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinations are necessary for preventing infants from developing a severe illness, pain, disability, or even death from an infectious disease.
Maulin Soneji, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, says with early-in-life vaccinations, physicians are trying to prevent illnesses such as meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus, and whooping cough, to name a few. Infants are most at risk for these diseases within their first year of life.
“We know that an infant doesn’t have to be out and around a ton of people to contract these illnesses,” Soneji says. “It just takes the right exposure from a parent who unknowingly picked up the bacteria from work. We’ve seen infants, especially under six months of age, who were not vaccinated against these common illnesses or were only partially vaccinated they were hospitalized with very severe illness. There have even been cases of infant mortality from these preventable conditions.
Below, Soneji explores common vaccines recommended for infants between birth and 15 months and how these immunizations and their booster vaccines will protect infants in the real world.
Other Ways You Can Protect Your Baby From The Flu
There are other ways to help keep your baby protected from the virus in addition to family members and friends receiving their flu vaccine.
Ask friends and relatives to wash their hands and put on a mask before coming in cuddle-distance of your little one and request that they stay away altogether if they are feeling unwell, says Dr. Kronman. The World Health Organization also recommends avoiding crowds with your newborn.
Flu, like COVID-19, spreads through the air, explains Dr. Gronvall. Improving air quality through ventilation , upgrading the filters for your home HVAC system, or investing in a HEPA portable air filter, can help stem to spread of airborne viruses, such as the flu, she says.
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Gonorrhea And Chlamydia Test
Some Ob/Gyn practices recommend routine testing at 32 weeks for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Texas is among the states with the highest rate of these sexually transmitted diseases. You may not even know you have these diseases because they dont always present with symptoms. However, the diseases can be passed to the baby during delivery and can cause an infection called ophthalmia neonatorum that may lead to blindness.
If you have been in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship, you may feel comfortable declining this test. There is a chance the test will return a false-positive result, meaning it may show you have one of these diseases when you actually dont. Remember this before you panic that your partner is cheating on you.
Health And Development Checks
Your babyâs health checks are very important â they are an opportunity to check that your baby is developing properly.
They are usually carried out by your health visitor either at home or in your GP surgery, baby clinic or childrenâs centre. These development checks are also a good opportunity for you to raise any concerns you might have.
Your babyâs very first health check takes place shortly after they are born, and theyâll continue until your child is 2 to 2 1/2 years old.
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Why Should I Vaccinate My Child
Vaccines save lives. Measles vaccines alone are estimated to have prevented over 21 million deaths between 2000 and 2017.
Vaccines will help protect your child against diseases that can cause serious harm or death, especially in people with developing immune systems like infants.
Its important to vaccinate your child. If not, highly contagious diseases such as measles, diphtheria and polio, which were once wiped out in many countries, will come back.
Flu Vaccine For Adults Around Babies
Babies younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu complications but are too young to receive a flu vaccine. Heres how to protect the baby from flu:
- Before the baby is born, the mother should get a flu shot while she is pregnant to protect herself from the flu and protect the baby from flu illness for the first several months after birth, when they are too young to get vaccinated.
- Everyone who cares for the baby should get vaccinated during each flu season.
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Is Your Baby Protected From Vaccine
Your baby will be given a handful of vaccines and supplements in the first months of life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the carefully-planned childhood vaccine schedule. Following the schedule in the coming months and years will put your infant on track for life-long immunity to dangerous diseases.
The vaccines recommended for your young baby are closely monitored by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration for safety and effectiveness. Here are the vaccines that your baby will receive from birth through two months.
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Should Medicine Be Given Before A Child Gets Vaccinated To Prevent Or Control Fever
Fevers are actually a sign that the immune system is responding to a challenge. If children are given fever-reducing medications before vaccinations, they may not develop a fever, but their immune response to the vaccines may also be lower.
Read the Infectious Diseases and Fevers: What You Should Know Q& A sheet for more information about fevers, what they are, and how to treat them.
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When Should My Child Get Immunized
Your child should receive their first doses of most vaccines during their first two years of life. They may need several doses of the vaccines to reach full protection. For example, the CDC recommends children receive their first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at 12 months of age or older. They should then receive a second dose before entering elementary school . Your baby can get their childhood vaccines at their regularly scheduled well-baby checkups.
Importance Of Vaccines For Infant And Toddlers
For newborns, breast milk can help protect against many diseases. However, this immunity wears off after breastfeeding is over, and some children arent breastfed at all.
Whether or not children are breastfed, vaccines can help protect them from disease. Vaccines can also help prevent the spread of disease through the rest of the population through herd immunity.
Vaccines work by imitating infection of a certain disease in your childs body. This prompts your childs immune system to develop weapons called antibodies.
These antibodies fight the disease that the vaccine is meant to prevent. With their body now primed to make antibodies, your childs immune system can defeat future infection from the disease. Its an amazing feat.
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Vaccines For Family And Caregivers
A babys family members and caregivers should be up to date on their vaccinations to help form a circle of disease protection around the baby.
Who can help prevent the spread of disease to babies by getting vaccinated?
- Babysitters and nannies
- And other caregivers
Newborns do not yet have fully developed immune systems, making them particularly vulnerable to infections. Because of this, anyone who is around babies should be up to date on all routine vaccines, including:
- Whooping cough vaccine
- Flu vaccine during flu season
Vaccinations And Newborn Screening Tests
One of the best ways to protect your baby against diseases like measles, rubella, tetanus and meningitis is through immunisation. Your baby needs their first injections at eight weeks, then 12 weeks, 16 weeks and one year.
Vaccinations are offered free of charge in the UK â just book your appointments with your GP. Remember, as well as protecting your own baby, youâre also protecting other babies and children by preventing the spread of disease.
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Why Should Parents Feel Confident About Vaccinating Their Babies
I understand that parents hear lots of scary things about vaccines. I know they see things on the internet, they hear scary stories from friends. I just want to reassure them that the evidence that we have overwhelmingly shows that vaccines are safe and effective, and they are by far the best way to protect children from disease. And so parents can be reassured that their healthcare provider is really doing whats best for their children when they vaccinate them.
Are There Any Reasons Not To Vaccinate My Child
Yes. There are times when some children should not get certain vaccines, or they should wait. For example, if your child has any severe, life-threatening allergies, theyve had an allergic reaction after a previous dose of vaccines, or theyre moderately or severely ill, their doctor may recommend not getting or delaying a specific vaccination.
When it comes to getting your child vaccinated against COVID-19, you dont need to delay vaccination unless you, your child or someone in your household is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
While staying on track with all immunizations is important, making sure your child has their annual flu shot will be especially important this year. Now that many COVID-19 health and safety guidelines have been removed, your child will likely be spending more time close to others indoors where flu viruses can thrive during cold and dry winter weather. Flu shots are typically available starting in early September.
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What Are Some Common Side Effects Of 4 Month Shots For Babies
Shots are not fun for babies but luckily babies wont remember getting them! You can prepare yourself by knowing that this kind of health protection might have some mild, common side effects.
Remember, side effects happen because your babys immune system is triggered to build itself by the vaccination. Shots at any age cannot cause the disease they are protecting from.
Normal side effects of 4-month shots in babies include:
- redness or swelling where the shot was given
- pain or tenderness around the shot area
- irritability or fussiness
Some kinds of medications like steroids can also temporarily weaken the immune system. Your pediatrician may delay 4-month shots if your baby is on steroids or other medications.
Other Precautions Around A New Baby
Unfortunately, there are many risks to a new baby that arent vaccine preventable.
Just because everyone is vaccinated and protected, that doesnt mean that you should have a party welcoming your baby home and invite everyone in the neighborhood. Besides the flu, we get concerned about other cold and flu-like viruses, especially RSV.
That means to protect them, you should keep your baby away from:
- large crowds, or even small crowds for that matter in general, the more people that your baby is exposed to, the higher the chance that they will catch something
- people who are sick
- cigarette smoke second hand smoke increases the risk of infections, like RSV
And make sure everyone, even if they dont seem sick, washes their hands well before handling your baby.
Parents or relatives with cold sores should be especially careful not to kiss babiestheir immune systems are not well developed until after about 6 months old.
AAP on Cold Sores in Children: About the Herpes Simplex Virus
Because you can sometimes be contagious even if you dont have an active cold sore , some parents dont let anyone kiss their baby. Most of this fear comes after news reports of babies getting severe or life-threatening herpes infections after a probable kiss from a family member or friend.
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Vaccines To Avoid During Pregnancy
- MMR. Women who are pregnant should not receive live, weakened viral vaccines, including the ones for measles, mumps and rubella . A woman should avoid becoming pregnant for four weeks after receipt of the MMR vaccine.
- Varicella. As with MMR, this vaccine contains a live, weakened virus and should not be given to pregnant women. Additionally, women should avoid becoming pregnant for at least four weeks after receipt of chickenpox vaccine.
- HPV. Women who have started the series before becoming pregnant should wait until after delivery to get the remaining doses.
If you have inadvertently received any of these vaccines during pregnancy, you should be aware that none has been proven to be harmful to your unborn baby. The recommendation to avoid these vaccines is theoretical. In some cases, databases are maintained by the manufacturers to track these occurrences. For example if you receive the HPV vaccine during pregnancy, you or your doctor should report it to the manufacturer by calling 877-888-4231.
If Your Child Cant Be Vaccinated
Some children may not be able to get some vaccines, including those with:
- specific medical conditions
- severe allergic reactions to vaccine ingredients
Examples include children who need to take high-dose steroids or who have a weakened immune system from cancer treatment . These children may need to avoid vaccines that contain a weakened live virus, such as measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
These children are at risk of getting the disease that the vaccine would have prevented.
Talk to your health care provider or local public health authority if you have any concerns about your childâs health status and vaccines.
If your child canât be vaccinated, you can help protect them by encouraging others to get vaccinated. This will help prevent the spread of disease to your child.
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Q. Re: Daughters privacy: Why not just ask your daughter what she would like you to say or do? Regardless of whether she is straight or hasnt come out, I think it would be appropriate to ask her before speaking for her here.
A: Yes, absolutely! My read is that the letter writer can safely assume she would not want a guy shes never met to join the carpool because he wants to go on a date with her, but certainly check in with her first.
Q. Horrible friend, or am I nuts?: My friend of 20 years lost her job and apartment and needed a place to stay. I let her, her mother, and her three kids come to stay at my home with me, my boyfriend, and our two kids. She was supposed to stay a couple months until she got herself together. For 10 months, she lived off of us, with us footing all her bills. Then she started getting Social Security, about $2,000 per month, on top of her mothers income of about $2,000 per month. I asked her if could she help out with at least her half of the expenses. She was not happy about me asking her for money and felt she shouldnt have to pay anything. She made me feel like a horrible person and told the kids that I hated them and didnt want them at my house all. Am I wrong, or is she the worst friend?
A: Thanks for the tip!
Is It A Live Vaccine
Nope. Diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccines arent live vaccinations.
Types of vaccines that arent live include:
- inactivated vaccines, which contain microbes killed by chemicals, heat, or radiation
- subunits, which contain only part of the microbe
- toxoids, which contain inactivated toxins
- conjugate, which contains a subunit linked to a toxoid
Since the Tdap vaccine isnt live, it cant cause these diseases.
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Immunisations Your Baby Will Have At 8 12 And 16 Weeks
At 8 weeks, your baby will have immunisations against:
- Haemophilus influenzae type b
These will be given as 2 injections and drops into the mouth.
At 12 weeks, your baby will have immunisations against:
These will be given as 2 injections and drops into the mouth.
At 16 weeks, your baby will have immunisations against:
These will be given as 2 injections.