How to protect baby from infections?

[butterfly92]

Hi ladies... I know you are all probably going to find me odd and weird but this is genuinely how I am feeling and I am sure not many of you will agree but just after some friendly advice!!

I am not getting the whooping cough vaccination simply because I believe there are too many risks of having it. I am not anti vax though, I am getting baby vaccinated but I am not doing it now because I am worried about what can happen.

I am due in October so it will be winter and planning on keeping baby indoors for the first two months until he gets his vaccines. My partner and I are getting the whooping cough vaccine after he is born! I have notified my family that nobody can visit until he has had them :/

Just wondering if I HAD to go out, would a rain cover protect him from germs or breathing in bacteria, Even if it isn't raining? Thank you .. I am an Anxious mum to be!!

Have you discussed this plan with your midwife?

Sorry wtf?! Keeping your baby indoors for two months?! A rain cover will not protect them. They need to be exposed to bacteria etc to develop their immunity. I nearly died from whooping cough as did my brother. I could not get my dc vaccinated quickly enough. Are you proposing to have a very quiet Christmas as well then?!

How To Protect Your Baby From Infections:
Get the vaccination.
Have a vaginal delivery if you can.
Breast feed.
Follow basic hygiene principles without going overboard.
Get your pets dewormed.
Don't let sick people sneeze on your baby.
Get your baby vaccinated.
Do not keep your baby indoors. (Make sure he gets his vitamin D drops anyway.)
Get some better medical advice ASAP.

What are the risks associated with the whooping cough vaccine? You know that it forms part of the vaccinations that babies get in the UK? And that women have been having the whooping cough vaccine for several years now to offer protection to their newborns? I'm no pro-vaccine zealot, but where have there been any problems reported with the whooping cough vaccine? Why is it ok to give it to an 8 week old but not to a pregnant woman? Just get the vaccine.

I am currently having CBT for post natal anxiety and I think you sound really anxious. It happens to lots more people than you realise and there is help available. Do you think you might be too anxious? Could you talk to your GP about it, do you think?

Not sure there are less germs outside than inside... 8 weeks trapped inside a house sounds awful to me. Let's hope your baby doesn't like a stroll out in a pram to help him/her sleep. Baby clinics will be a challenge as will the routine GP checkup (used to be @ 6 weeks). Is there a reason that whooping cough is a concern for you but everything else that babies get isn't ?

You need to talk to your midwife about how you are feeling.

WC vaccine isn't a problem. Keeping your baby inside for 2 months will be. You'll go stir crazy and the fresh air will do you both good.

You know that your baby gets some immunity from whooping cough by you having the vaccine when pregnant, right? So how do you think that you and your partner getting the vaccination after you give birth will help matters?

You really must talk to your GP about how you're feeling.

You seriously need to talk to your midwife about this. Keeping yourself and baby in and having no visitors for 8 weeks will do nobody any favours. Babies need sunlight, fresh air and exposure to germs. I can't believe you've told family they csnt visit. Do you realise how isolating it can be having a baby? Ive been in for the past 3 days with my 6 week old whilst dp has been on nights and it's been very lonely, can't imagine how I'd feel for 8 weeks with only baby and dp.

Trying to be totally objective here and see things from your point of view. But would encourage you to do the same. Yes, there are risks with any vaccine. But wOuld vaccinations still be offered if the balance of probability was that things will go wrong? I don't think so. How would you feel if your child contracted whooping cough when you could have prevented it? There's a concept of herd immunity meaning the more people who are vaccinated, the less chance of these illnesses being out there. Your right to choose of course for your child but worth thinking about. As others have said, you can over protect children - they do need to build their own immune system. So yes of course sterilise things early on and be really careful with personal hygiene. I wouldn't personally take a baby to visit someone you knew to have a contagious illness or even a bad cold, but you can't protect them from every illness or infection for ever - and it's probably not the right thing to do. But I do understand this compelling need to protect them - it means you care and will be a great Mum.... But you need to be realistic too and relax a bit and enjoy seeing people and showing off your new baby

Maybe you should post on the Arnica page on facebook, you might find some good advice there.

Just get the whooping cough vaccination. What risks are you worried about?

Keeping your baby indoors for the rest of time two months is not going to help their immune system.

Also the whole point of the whooping cough vaccine being administered during pregnancy is that it will give immunity to the baby in the newborn days.

Having the vaccine after the baby has been born will have little to no preventative effect. And you will have to pay for it.

I understand your concerns also, but wonder have you thought past this? And what other things are you going to try to avoid rather than face? There are lots of things, hazards, risks etc which we can avoid- quite easily in fact, but not for long, not for ever, and sometimes avoiding them does more harm than facing them in the first place.

I thought I would never feed my baby processed food, buy ready made "crap", give in to faddy things, allow them to eat without highchair, bib, all the stuff....then I realized how stressy I was over just trying to be the most perfect. The stress was more crap and damaging than the bloody tinned beans. I am glad i know how to make home made beans, and I am proud that I packed my babies tummies with the best organic food and natural vitamins and nutrients I possibly could, but every now and again we have to work out the balance. If feeding the kids beans on toast one night for dinner is quicker and easier than a full on lasagne home made from start to finish then so be it, because I'd rather sit at the table at 5.30pm and chat with happy kids than collapse in a heap at 7.15pm for the tired, hungry kids to whine and cry over dropping their home made garlic bread simply because they are bloody starving.

Your baby will come in to contact with worse things than the WC vaccine without you even knowing it- hospitals are rife with MRSA (and I don't meant to alarm you), had you considered a home birth? You'll be breastfeeding then, wanting to prevent infections, but god forbid you have a post birth uterus infection like I did and a course of super strong anti-biotics. Travelling home in a car has it's risks....please ask a health professional to at least discuss the benefits of your thoughts vs the downsides.

How did your family react? The first 8 weeks are the most amazing. My dh's cousin handed out a squirt of anti bacterial hand gel to anyone who wanted to touch their baby. She is now 6 and has a constant snotty nose. Germs can be good.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

So you'll immune yourself, but not your baby?

You're an idiot. Go and talk to a doctor and get your head out of your ass.

The best advice I can give to you is to put your baby in a pram or sling and get outside in the fresh air. You will not be doing it any favours staying in for 2 months and may make your baby even more susceptible to infections.

Keeping baby indoors & banning visitors for two full months is completely unrealistic & will do more harm to your LO & your own physical & mental health than whatever you think you will be protecting them from. Please speak to your midwife or GP about how your feeling at the moment.

I think you need to speak to your MW urgently about your plans for staying inside for 2 months (presumably you are also banning all visitors? what about MW and HV visits?) - you sound as though you might be sliding into some unusual thought patterns and you should seek help sooner rather than later.

Am a bit confused - you don't want to get the whooping cough vaccine while you're pregnant and so you want to keep baby protected for first 2 months (until he gets his own vaccine)? Have I got that right?

I was under the impression that the majority of women don't get the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy (they should but they don't). Am I correct?

My DS born in middle of winter. I didn't have the vaccine during pregnancy. Felt no need to keep baby indoors or away from other people. But each person has their own anxieties I guess.....

Thanks everyone for your responses so far. I understand that I sound really odd and paranoid! I do need help and my midwife doesn't help. I have discussed my concerns with her and she just brushes it off and carries on what she is doing so I haven't got anyone to turn to! I have had three losses and that is why I am scared of losing this one hence why I want to just protect and wrap him in cotton wool however I know that is just ridiculous and not realistic whatsoever! X

Ahhhh, I totally understand why you're anxious butterfly. I would be the same, even though, like you, I would know it's irrational behaviour.
Wishing you all the best.

That makes more sense. I do think I would see your gp or ask to be referred to someone specialising in prenatal anxiety-they are out there. If you give us a rough area I can try and find a link(ie West Midlands or Manchester etc).

What risks do you think there are associated with the whooping cough vaccine? I've literally just had mine and it's the same vaccine they give to small children, it also has diphtheria and tetanus as it's all part of the booster. I'm due in October as well and as soon as I'm up and about then baby will be coming with me on school run / nursery drop off / shopping etc. Unless your baby is immunocompromised then a good bit of fresh air and sunshine are just what they need.

Get all vaccines offered. Whatever the side effects they're better than the side effects of catching the diseases they protect against. The so serious called side effects turned out to be a load of lies.
See your GP for a referral to perinatal mental health services. Not being mean, but you have already said you know you're not feeling right and your mw is being dismissive.
Enjoy your beautiful healthy baby.

Keeping your baby indoors is madness, not least because you will get cabin fever. Babies and Mums need fresh air and some babies need the motion of a pram or car to help them nap. Make sure visitors wash their hands or use antibacterial hand gel if you're feeling especially anal but this is a good first lesson in parenting: you cannot protect your child from everything. The germs, bumps, and bruises will happen. You need to get used to the idea.

Plus, some of the jabs require three doses until baby is fully protected. Are you planning to keep them under house arrest indoors for the first year?!