Baby vaccines - 8 weeks

[deffowantthem]

Ok, to be very clear I definitely want my baby to have all their vaccines when they're born - I'm not an antivaxxer!

BUT my DM mentioned to me that rather than have all the vaccines at the same time on the NHS when they're 8 weeks old, you can pay to have them done privately and separately. As having them done individually can be easier on the baby and you can space them out.

I'm not sure if she's talking about MMR at 1 year, or if she's referring to the 6-in-1 at 8 weeks.. I've tried googling for if this is a thing / who does it but don't understand / can't find the information.

Just wondering if anyone else has heard of this or could point me in the direction of more information?

I was just curious to find out more before I dismiss it as an idea of it means the baby getting all the jabs just in a different time frame.

If you were to have them done separately it means a longer time when your child is under protected from potentially life changing illnesses.

Your doctor surgery maybe willing to give the various injections spread out but they will be very reluctant due to the increased risk.

In Scotland we have 3 loads - 8 weeks, 12 weeks and then 16 weeks. Then they have a gap until they are a toddler. My little one is now almost 2 but I remember finding it easier having them split as she was inconsolable after the first jag so when I flipped her to do the jag on the other leg, she was hard to hold.

I think it’s true but it doesn’t sound kinder to me (my little one just having had 2 needles today). It was all over and done in less than a minute.

Spacing them out and having them separately surely means more jabs total, so more discomfort?

Also, isn’t it better to give them some immunity when they are very young rather than waiting?

Most babies have their 8 weeks jabs on the NHS and benefit hugely from it. The viruses the jabs protect against are far worse than the reaction to the jabs. Spacing them out means you are delaying building their immunity and putting your baby out of sync with the usual childhood schedule. I can't wrap my head around the logic. The only things worth going private for are those not on the NHS schedule yet like chicken pox (after 1 year). I know it feels like a lot but your baby will be fine and if they get a fever a bit of calpol will sort it.

My little one had her first all together and she wasn’t even 5lb. She managed and wasn’t poorly with it. I’d have them all done together for the immunity and to get it over with.

Yeah I wasn't sure if she was referring to the option to have the MMR vaccines done one by one - but I know that's done at a year.

I've never seen or heard anything about having the 6-in-1 done separately and that was the one I was wondering about... I know the NHS do it 3 times at 8, 12 and 16 weeks.

@badhausecat @pjani I think the logic was just that 6 vaccines in 1 feels like a lot for a tiny body to deal with at once! Rather than any desire to delay, but I agree with you that it does feel better to have them together to reduce the number of visits / recoveries!

After going through them twice I'd much rather just get them all done in one hit.

I can't imagine going through it all 6-8 times more!! It's only a few that actually cause a reaction

I understand it sounds like a lot and you just want to do what's right for your baby. If caught these diseases are really harmful to little babies which is why they're done so early. Childhood vaccines are safe, effective and well evidenced, it might help to remember this is how the vast majority of children receive their childhood immunisations. The MMR is at one year and then again as a preschool booster. That could well be the one she's referring to but I don't think there's any evidence doing it separately has any benefit.

You can do this at Baby Jabs Clinic in Central London. https://babyjabs.co.uk/

The clinic was started by Dr. Richard Halvorsen who has retired now but has written a book called ‘Vaccines: Making the Right Choice for your Child.’ It’s easily available and is definitely worth a read if you’re considering taking this approach.

They're not given 6 diseases all at once with their immune system just left to get on with it you know.

And the MMR is not available to be given as individual injections as no manufacturer makes them singly.

We have done them through babyjabs, you can pm me if you like!

Even that offers the 3 in 1 as the smallest number of diseases vaxed against!

My son had the 8 week jabs separate (not by choice, they thought he was having an allergic reaction to the first jab but it turned out my partner just gave him a head rush by standing up with him too fast!) and I have to say I'd have preferred them all together. It drew everything out, the reactions and the pain for baby. It also delayed the schedule for his 12 week jabs as otherwise he'd have been having jabs every 2 weeks, poor thing.

A baby's immune system deals with thousands of antigens every day, stuff in food, in the air, in house dust for example. Six vaccines is only six dead or weakened antigens for their immune system to deal with, having vaccines on a normal schedule won't overload their immune system.
Giving them separately sounds quite cruel for the baby and a lot of hassle for the parents. I would trust the NHS that they know the best way to give vaccines.

Honestly, for me the worst part was the needle going in, poor little bubba cried so much at the pain but after 5 minutes she was calm again. I cried for longer than she did! The fever went after the first night with a bit of calpol and her grumpiness lasted a few days but i'd rather have it all over and done with than have dragged it out with more jabs.

Why would you want to do that?

More visits, more pain, more unlicensed and imported vaccines, more money, more stress. For no reason.

Vaccines are spaced for a reason so giving them individually (and not all vaccines are available individually) would mean unnecessarily long gaps between them, leaving your baby unprotected for a hell of a lot longer.

Babies are more than able to deal with three vaccines, with multiple components, at once. Their immune systems can cope with hundreds of thousands of pathogens simultaneously.

I think they are talking about splitting the 6 in 1, but I think you can only do that in London and it also means going and getting vaccinated about a dozen times. I was terrified about the 8 week jabs because my family has a history of severe side effects (seizures, death) from the pre-2000 pertussis jab. However the current formulation is very safe and my son only had increased fussiness for about a day, didn't even run a fever.

I've only ever had one mum split vaccines (at one year) and the first thing she said when she came for the second lot was that she wished she'd just had them all done at once.
Not to mention the second visit got quite delayed due to child being unwell when they were due, then the nurse being off sick and subsequent clinics cancelled. They ended up being given really quite overdue, leaving child unprotected.
All unnecessary.

Why would you bother? Just get them done according to the NHS vaccine schedule as millions of other babies do without problems. Your baby isn’t anything special that s/he can’t just have the vaccines everyone else does.