Vaccinations of newborns in the maternity hospital
The topic of vaccination causes a lot of doubts and disputes, especially when it comes to newborn babies. Let's see what vaccinations are recommended to make the crumbs still in the hospital and why vaccination is carried out so early.
From hepatitis
The first vaccine, which is introduced into the body of a newborn baby, is designed to protect it from viral hepatitis. The injection is performed in the first day of the baby's life. The goal of such an early vaccination is the prevention of hepatitis B infection, which is possible through blood. The child risks getting a virus from the mother (during childbirth), through blood transfusions, dental procedures, or from close relatives through households (for example, through nail scissors). So there are a lot of risks for the baby.
The vaccine is injected into the hip area, where redness or slight condensation may form (this is normal and should not bother parents). Vaccination rarely causes fever and is generally easily tolerated by most newborns.
BCG
The second vaccine, administered to the little ones during their stay in the maternity hospital, is a drug that protects crumbs from tuberculosis. BCG is administered to babies from the third to the seventh day of life, when the newborn begins to gain weight. If any reasons become an obstacle for vaccination in the maternity hospital, BCG can be done in the clinic before the age of two months. Babies older than two months are first tested Mantoux, and if it is negative, then the introduction of BCG is allowed.
Injection is performed in the left handle of the crumbs, in the shoulder area. At the injection site appears whitish papule, which disappears in twenty minutes. Further changes in the site of BCG administration begin to develop in a month and a half after the injection.
A seal appears on the baby’s handle - it often turns into a pustule, then becomes covered with a crust and as a result heals, leaving a small scar. Parents should be aware that redness and suppuration of the injection site is a normal reaction to such a vaccine.
pros
The efficiency of vaccinations in newborns is very high - out of a hundred babies who have been given the vaccine, successfully confront the infection of 95 babies. But even if the crumb gets sick, due to the presence of a certain amount of antibodies in his body, the infection will be transferred more easily, and the risk of its dangerous complications will be low. So the benefits of vaccination are obvious, and parents who want to protect the little one in the future understand this. In addition, due to the current mode of refusal to vaccinate, the risk of infection is quite large.
Minuses
Babies who have health problems, vaccinations can cause harm. It is precisely because the infant must first be examined by the doctor and assess whether it is worthwhile to inject the vaccine. For example, if a newborn has signs of encephalopathy or is born premature, postponing the vaccination.
The disadvantage of BCG vaccine is that it does not prevent tuberculosis infection. However, this is not the goal of this vaccination (although the risk of getting sick is almost halved).With the help of BCG, children are protected from the most dangerous forms of this infection that can leave an infant disabled or even cause death. Thanks to vaccination, now such forms of tuberculosis almost never occur.
The disadvantage of hepatitis B vaccine is the poor tolerability of vaccinations for yeast allergies. To determine whether there is such a rarely occurring allergic reaction in an infant will not work on the first day of his life. But, if the crumb reacts badly to the vaccine, hepatitis B vaccination will no longer continue.
Possible complications
Many of the symptoms that are considered parents to be harmful to the health of the baby are actually represented by adverse reactions from vaccines, indicating the development of immunity and passing over time. However, vaccines cannot be called fully safe, because there is always a risk of serious complications after their administration, although it is low in most drugs.
The dangerous complications of hepatitis B vaccination include:
- Immediate allergic reaction - may appear in a child hivesrash, in rare cases an anaphylactic reaction
- Disorders of the heart (arrhythmias), hypotension
- Nervous system problems
Introduction of LCA can cause such complications as local changes (formation of keloid scar, cold abscess, ulcers), inflammation of the lymph nodes, and also BC.
Maybe put later?
The main reason for such an early vaccination in children who have just been born is the desire to form their immunity to very dangerous diseases as soon as possible.
If a baby with the risk of becoming infected with hepatitis B is vaccinated in the first 12 hours after birth, he will have strong immunity to this viral disease in 99% of cases. If, however, postpone vaccination at least another 12 hours, immunity is developed only in 75% of cases.
Hepatitis B is often transmitted to the baby from the mother, and since there is no 100% certainty that tests during pregnancy have shown the absence of such a virus in a woman, vaccination is justified.
As for BCG, vaccination in the first days is necessary not only because tuberculosis is dangerous for a young child. Since this vaccine is not compatible with any other, its introduction is carried out so that the subsequent immunization of the baby does not prevent the formation of immunity.
