Being Requested to Get Whooping Cough Vaccine to Hold Infant

[pryncess527]

The smoking, is another issue. I mean it is really bad, but it really doesn't add anything logical to the argument. In fact, I would think that a baby living in the house of a smoker/s would be more inclined to suffer from respiratory infections, so the vaccine may be MORE important.

I agree.

Just to be fair, I get that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but if smoking did make baby more susceptible, wouldn't you think she'd quit?

Sorry, none of my business really, just explaining that I did see what you see, I just still don't think the smoking is irrelevant.

Yes, she should quit -- but two wrongs don't make a right. I fail to see how the mother's bad choices in other areas impact this specific decision.

 

[MagicallyMom]

I agree.


Yes, she should quit -- but two wrongs don't make a right. I fail to see how the mother's bad choices in other areas impact this specific decision.

I think maybe I'm explaining myself poorly.

I agree, get the vaccine anyway.

I am simply still concerned because of the smoking. All it takes is an unsanitary grocery cart...why allow something to make your baby more susceptible?

But yeah, I'm still for advocating for the vaccine for regular baby snugglers.

 

[Magpie]

Well, I sense a lot of drama ahead with the mil. Because she was probably already giving her son and daughter in law a hard time about vaccinations in general. And that is a hill I'd die on with an in law. Anti-vaxxers are crazy. Most of them are basing their beliefs on a study that has been proven several times to be baseless. Meanwhile, stuff that has been basically eradicated is making a comeback in schools. Like it never even crosses their minds that childhood mortality is not the awful fear now as it was 100 years ago because of all of our vaccines.

As everyone else has said, whooping cough is no joke. I'm not a smoker and I don't like smoking. But I'd be a good deal more worried about the kid dying from awful stuff like whooping cough. Smoking might cause asthma. Or might not. A lot of women smoked in the 50s and 60s and most of their children did just fine. Whooping cough causes death in babies.

More to the point, it isn't a "right" to hold someone's baby. Someone asks me to put down my beer and wash my hands before doing so? I'll do it. Someone asks me to get a shot before doing so? Sure. I just got tested for immunity to volunteer in a nursing home. If I had different test results, I would have had to get some expensive vaccinations. Bet you the Mil's family has been getting quiet vaccinations on the side.

Oh, and I actually agree with the Facebook cattle call. It was probably the only way she could make it very clear. Because otherwise the MIL could go around and tell people differently.

Love this sentence! You're absolutely right.

And your mention of the nursing home requirements reminded me...

I emigrated to Canada when I was nine, and even though I'd been fully vaccinated in the US, they made me get all my shots again before I could come to live in Canada. So I got everything twice!

Meanwhile, my mum has a quarter-sized scar on her shoulder that looks like an old smallpox vaccination scar, but it's actually where she got a massive multi-pronged-vaccine jab before she was allowed to board a boat to Japan, when she was a child, accompanying her father to the American base in Okinawa.

Oh, and in Pakistan where vaccination has been a hot political topic and cases of polio still pop up, my mother managed to convince her bodyguard to get his baby daughter vaccinated. A year later, he was going around proudly bragging that his baby girl was bigger and stronger and smarter than his sister's son, who'd been born at the same time, had not been vaccinated and who'd already been through a few serious illnesses in his short life. The whole family was won over. (Full disclosure: my mum also advocated for breastfeeding and not giving syrup in a bottle to the baby, both of which likely had an impact, too. Especially avoiding the excess sugar.)

 

[bcla]

Hospitals most definitely have vaccination requirements for their workers for the protection of their patients, of course including the newborn nursery and NICU. Random people out in the world won't be holding your newborn like hospital personnel and family members, etc.

I worked many years on a maternity ward, and we offered the Pertussis booster to any mother who wasn't up to date, and recommended it to anyone within close contact with the infant. Whooping cough is no joke.

I thought that some require full antibody tests.

At this point I'd be hard pressed to find my vaccination records, so if I had to I'd probably be required to be vaccinated again or maybe just get the tests in lieu of that. I found one pre-employment screening requirement that says that they require that or an antibody test.

 

[MagicallyMom]

I thought that some require full antibody tests.

At this point I'd be hard pressed to find my vaccination records, so if I had to I'd probably be required to be vaccinated again or maybe just get the tests in lieu of that. I found one pre-employment screening requirement that says that they require that or an antibody test.

Shoot, I'm a disabled Navy veteran. I guarantee that if there's a vaccine for it, I've had it, and I get the boosters every time they flag at medical.

 

[bcla]

Shoot, I'm a disabled Navy veteran. I guarantee that if there's a vaccine for it, I've had it, and I get the boosters every time they flag at medical.

My issue would be trying to find the records. My pediatrician was already in his late 60s when I was getting my vaccinations, and I'd guess not even alive now. He had a solo practice too. By now there's no legal requirement to keep the medical records. I also moved once at an infant. I remember there was a standard state record form for the vaccinations, but I have no idea where it is. I'm not sure if my parents pulled up the record or just had me get the required vaccines again.

I've had so many haphazardly assembled vaccinations from my childhood and adulthood. I'm pretty sure I got the Tdap one after going to the hospital after a bike crash and I think I got one when my wife was pregnant.

As for the kid, there's a long schedule of boosters for pertussis. I think it's something like a half dozen times before turning 10.

 

[mrsstats]

When my nephew and his wife had their 2nd baby it was suggested. Since I love to hold the babies, I had it done and so did my DH (he doesn't hold babies) Not a big deal for me and I don't even see them that often.

Won't even address the smoking.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Our grandson and his wife are expecting their first child in September, this will be our first great-grandchild. His wife has posted on Facebook that she wants everyone who plans to hold the baby to get a whooping cough vaccine.

What would you think if this was requested of you?

I plan to discuss it with my doctor at my next diabetic checkup in June, but just wondered what others here thought.

My daughter-in-law is refusing to do it, and really went off on our grandson's wife on Facebook for even making the request. It was through that post that I found out my daughter-in-law is 100% against vaccinations, and did not have her daughters (18 and 15) vaccinated at all. That is a whole other discussion though. But she did bring up the fact that our grandson's wife is still smoking, while pregnant. To me, if she was all that concerned about her baby's health she would have quit smoking when they first started trying to get pregnant.

Well your grand daughter in law shouldn't be smoking. And those that know me on these boards certainly know I'd have no problems mentioning that to her. However, I certainly wouldn't mention it to her in the context of her dust up with your daughter in law because it's going to be perceived as a petty argumentative response rather than genuine. Further, the idea that because a parent is taking one risk, they have no business mitigating another isn't a logical proposition.
Your grand daughter in law is well within her rights on this and your anti vax daughter in law has a choice to make. Get her family the vax and see the baby or don't see the baby until the baby is old enough to be vaxxed.
As for you, see your doctor. If you are of the age where you didn't get a vaccine, consider getting one. If you are older and got an early version, you might need a booster now that the percentage of those vaxxed is dropping.

As for the dustup between the two women well you can't fix that.

 

[aejammers]

I'll come at this from the other direction. My son got whooping cough when he was 7. We had just moved and he had started in a new school 2 weeks previously. He did not get the whooping cough booster at 4-5 years (although he had had all the others when he was younger) because he had another medical condition at the time where the booster was contraindicated. My parents were in their early 70s at the time. My son's pediatrician strongly recommended that my parents get a whooping cough booster right away to make sure that they didn't get it! It can be just as dangerous in the elderly as it can for babies. So it's definitely worth a discussion with your doctor if you plan to be around any young children.

Congrats on the new baby, OP!

 

[Gracie09]

My issue would be trying to find the records. My pediatrician was already in his late 60s when I was getting my vaccinations, and I'd guess not even alive now. He had a solo practice too. By now there's no legal requirement to keep the medical records. I also moved once at an infant. I remember there was a standard state record form for the vaccinations, but I have no idea where it is. I'm not sure if my parents pulled up the record or just had me get the required vaccines again.

I've had so many haphazardly assembled vaccinations from my childhood and adulthood. I'm pretty sure I got the Tdap one after going to the hospital after a bike crash and I think I got one when my wife was pregnant.

As for the kid, there's a long schedule of boosters for pertussis. I think it's something like a half dozen times before turning 10.

when my solo practitioner pediatrician closed up shop suddenly after 30+ years and left the state, the department of health had records of our vaccines.

 

[bcla]

when my solo practitioner pediatrician closed up shop suddenly after 30+ years and left the state, the department of health had records of our vaccines.

I got curious and found that my state keeps immunization records, but participation is voluntary.

http://cairweb.org/wheres-my-immunization-record/

 

[SMD]

I got a DPT voluntarily when my cousin's started having kids because I would feel awful if it wasn't up to date and something happened to one of them, even if it couldn't be proven they got in from me. It doesn't hurt to have the Tetanus portion and I needed Diphtheria once for travel. As far as the smoking, while I personally think that's awful if true, unfortunately, she still gets to insist on not allowed others who don't have the vaccine to hold her child while making some other terrible choice, because it's her child.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

This is a pretty common request around here. Whopping cough is making a resurgence and even if mom gets the vaccine while pregnant herd immunity is still the best way to protect children from these diseases. Everyone in my family got one when my brother and SIL started having kids 3 years ago. My brother couldn't get one due to being allergic to the pertussis (whooping cough) part of the vaccine so not only were we protecting his infant daughter we were protecting him as well.

Unless you have a reason like my brother not to get it I see no issue with complying with the mother to be.

 

[Magpie]

I got a DPT voluntarily when my cousin's started having kids because I would feel awful if it wasn't up to date and something happened to one of them, even if it couldn't be proven they got in from me. It doesn't hurt to have the Tetanus portion and I needed Diphtheria once for travel. As far as the smoking, while I personally think that's awful if true, unfortunately, she still gets to insist on not allowed others who don't have the vaccine to hold her child while making some other terrible choice, because it's her child.

Exactly! It's not as if making one bad life choice means all your choices from that point forward should also be bad ones. Or that smokers should all just give up on trying to be good parents, because there's no point any more.

It's the, "I had a single potato chip, my diet's completely blown now, so I guess I'll eat the whole bag," mentality.

Quitting smoking is hard. It took my mother a good twenty years.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We made sure anyone who wanted to see DD was vaccinated. Whooping cough is deadly for newborns, and they are too small to be vaccinated yet. As her mother, I was much more concernes about protecting her than hurting another adult's feelings.

 

[DLgal]

When my nephew was born 6 years ago, my sister asked us all to do the same thing and we all complied. I didn't even think twice about it. I needed a booster since my kids were older and mine had worn off. DH got one. Both my parents got one. My BIL's family all got theirs as well.

This is absolutely what should be done. There are PSAs about it at practically every pediatrician's office nationwide.

 

[mom2rtk]

Given the recent resurgence of whooping cough, I don't think it's an unreasonable request at all. And mom holds all the cards, so any discussion is moot anyway.

 

[DLgal]

Oh, OP, does this lady NOT get a tetanus shot ever? They Whooping Cough is rolled into that one. It's a combo shot (TDaP: Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis-whooping cough is pertussis). It has been a combo for a LONG time, so since you are supposed to get a tetanus booster every 10 years, I bet she has gotten it without knowing.

And if she doesn't get a tetanus shot, she is just being an idiot.

 

[SMD]

Oh, OP, does this lady NOT get a tetanus shot ever? They Whooping Cough is rolled into that one. It's a combo shot (TDaP: Tetanus, Diptheria and Pertussis-whooping cough is pertussis). It has been a combo for a LONG time, so since you are supposed to get a tetanus booster every 10 years, I bet she has gotten it without knowing.

And if she doesn't get a tetanus shot, she is just being an idiot.

Most tetanus boosters are a cheaper version that only includes Tetanus and Diphtheria, adults have to specifically ask for the one that includes Pertussis most of the time. I do wonder if the resurgence of whooping cough is related, but that's just me thinking and not based on any actual facts I've found anywhere.

 

[cruisingtwins]

Her baby her choice.