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Preemies and vaccinations

On Health & Drugs & Medications » Vaccinations

5,487 words with 7 Comments; publish: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:02:00 GMT; (90093.75, « »)

My friend had a baby at 25 weeks gestation. She's now about 11 weeks old and still in the nicu for probably another month or so. The hospital has been harassing my friend about vaccinations. Does anyone have any information or experience about vaccination preemies? Thanks!

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  • 7 Comments
    • It seems to me that it's only logical to delay vaccines AT LEAST until the child reaches the "adjusted age" for the recomended vaccines. (I don't beleive in vaccinating kids before age 2 personally) How is an infant going to come into contact with a vaccine-preventable-illness in the NICU anyway?
      #1; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:48:00 GMT
    • DD is a prem, and she is unvax'd. Tell your friend to pay particular attention to the section of the vax leaflets where they state no studies have been done on the safety of the vaccine on premature infants (Prevnar for sure). It got my attention.

      I'm assuming her baby is still experiencing complications/ low weight. That to me would be a concern with reference to how (s)he would react to the shots. If she is uncertain she can at least delay any vaxs until she's had a chance to research and baby has had time to grow and recover - the NICU is a pretty sterile environment in most cases. :)

      #2; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:49:00 GMT
    • i dont have any links or medical stuff to back this up with, except well maybe common sense and logic.

      this baby probably weighs a few pounds and must be fighting for her life if she has been in the nicu for all 11 weeks of her life and will be there for another month. the baby is already struggling enough just to breathe and live on her own. why make the immune system struggle with vaccines?

      i highly doubt the baby is shooting up drugs or sleeping around. so she doesnt need hep b. the baby is just over 2 months old, so they probably want the dtap, hib, and polio. how in the world is this baby going to contract one of those diseases right now when she is probably on some sort of breathing machine (and whatever else) while her lungs develop? even if the mom plans to vax, why does the baby need these vaxes NOW vs. a month or 2 from now?

      plus, if you look at all the preservatives in the vaxes... this baby is probably half the size of an average newborn and definately nowhere near the size of a 2 1/2 month old. that's an even HIGHER concentration/ratio of these chemicals (aluminum, formeldahyde, mercury, etc) that will be in this baby. (someone had posted a link with all the vax ingredients. i dont remember if it had the amount of each ingredient in each vax.)

      if the mom is against vaxes, just have her stand her ground. read almost any post here and you/she will see that its not easy fighting against doctors, schools, family members, etc.

      maybe if the hospital is being that bad and the mom wants to non-vax, how about having her just shut everyone up by telling them she will have the baby vaxed after she is out of the hospital and at a well baby check up/later date? or, if she has a cool doctor, have the doctor tell the hospital that he/she will take care of the vaxes at a later date (since we all know docs only speak gospel truth) and it just might make everyone leave her alone. i wouldnt try to "educate" them in the hospital; just get them off her back and leave her alone about the vaxes.

      i hope everything goes well with the baby. :)

      #3; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:50:00 GMT
    • It seems to me that it's only logical to delay vaccines AT LEAST until the child reaches the "adjusted age" for the recomended vaccines.

      You would think, huh? The argument they made is that a prem's immune system kicks in at birth since they aren't protected in utero so they don't correct, and they are especially vulnerable because of their prematurity.

      #4; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:51:00 GMT
    • You would think, huh? The argument they made is that a prem's immune system kicks in at birth since they aren't protected in utero so they don't correct, and they are especially vulnerable because of their prematurity.

      so this baby is technically only 36 weeks old and would still be considered a preemie if born today. the only vax they *should* be bugging her about at this adjusted age is hep b, but the recommendation is for birth to 2 months. (not that i believe anyone should be bugged about vaxed. i just mean based on their recommended "schedule.")

      #5; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:52:00 GMT
    • The vax schedule is differs place to place. I know they wanted my dd vax'd at 2 months (which was really 38 weeks), and the scheduled shots for 2 mos. were Pentacel, Hep B-can't remember the brand, and Prevnar.
      #6; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:53:00 GMT
    • I had my baby at 25 weeks and choose not to vaccinate. Each hospital is different from what I've gathered talking to other preemie moms. Some actually gave the 2 mth set of shots to the preemies before they even left! They didn't go by adjusted age but the actual age! I thought that was an outrage. Mine only did the hep B. I told them no. They did have to do the "talk" to me, got a few lies from the nurses but overall they didn't pressure me too much.

      From what I've read, they recommend the adjusted age of a preemie in following the vaccination schedule. I've read one med journal about the pertussis shot and that there was a higher incidence of apnea/brady episodes that could occur when that shot is given to preemies. That they should be closely monitored 24 hrs after the vax. Of course it seemed no one in the hospital ever read that article. Then I looked at the vaers database and I saw a lot of pre existing conditions listed as being a preemie.

      #7; Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:54:00 GMT