Hep B vax

OK, please talk to me about the Heb B vax at birth.
I want both sides, but I don't want it to get nasty.

At this stage I haven't signed the consent.
I mentioned that I wasn't planning on giving the Heb B vax when chatting to FIL and his concern is the baby picking it up at playgroup/kinder/school etc.

I really don't know that I want bub having it, after reading some horror stories.

Why is it given?
Is there proof that it needs to be given?
Why did you choose to have it given to your baby?
Why did you choose not to have it given to your baby?

Thanks.

Well i dont know about your kids but my hour old babies dont share needles with anyone or engage in intercourse ;)

My theory exactly.

We opted to not get it but we are fully no vacc/imm here. We plan on looking at imm and vacc again when DS is school aged. Despite not signing the form they still tried to give it to him when he was born cos he did have vit k :wall: its lucky I checked what the needle was. I think cos most people get it was automatic.

sent from my watzamajig so may not make sense....

Hep B is on the 2, 4 and 6 month vaccination schedule. The one at birth is an extra but not necessary to provide immunity. Particularly if you were planning to do later vaccines before kinder then the one at birth is unnecessary if you don't have any risk factors. (e.g. parent affected)

Although we Vax this was the one we decided not to do. They had the later doses (My nurse confirmed that the birth dose was for that 'period of time' and was not needed for the other doses to be effective.

From the My Vaccination Gov site

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The birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine is given to help prevent the spread of hepatitis B virus from an infected mother to her newborn child. This dose is also important to help protect the newborn in the first months of life.

Hepatitis B vaccination is recommended and provided free to children as part of the National Immunisation Program. It is provided as 4 injections: one at birth followed by another 3 doses given at 2, 4 and either 6 or 12 months.

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We know I don't have it, our babies are not in care with anyone else, so i dont consider it a major risk in the first months.

We don't vax at all. We also put in my birth preferences that he was not to recieve the vitamin k shot unless he had a traumatic birth. I think if it's on paper it's harder for them to "forget"

We chose to get it because DH works in one of the at risk occupations. The side effects of the disease seemed a lot worse than the potential side effects of the vax. We didn't have any side effects for either of our bubs.

Our newborn wasn't going to be sharing needles or having unprotected sex, so we opted out of it.

I declined Hep B.. I feel it's unnecessary as PZ and others have said my DS is not participating in high risk activities! The chances of DS catching hep B is so small. I did consider it, as we use donor breastmilk sometimes but there is still not much chance of him catching it.The sucky thing though is it means he gets an extra jab, because normally it's hep B, diptheria, pertussis, polio, tetanus and Hib in the one vaccine then the 2nd vax is pneumococcal but if you don't want the hep B that means they give them pertussis, diptheria, tetanus, polio in one, then Hib, then the pneumococcal.. (then of course the oral rota virus..) I HATE vaxxing bub :( I have a link on the Hep B vax, I can link it to you on if I find it..

I got the Hep B shot when I was 21 and working with drug users. I saw no reason to have my newborn baby receive it.

We opted out also.

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We chose to get it because DH works in one of the at risk occupations. The side effects of the disease seemed a lot worse than the potential side effects of the vax. We didn't have any side effects for either of our bubs.

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Rowellen - what are the at risk occupations or where can I find this? Thanks

It was on the brochure that the hospital gave us. I haven't kept my copy. Sorry not much help. DH is a cleaner. He often finds drugs etc.

I found this

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In general, occupational groups with increased risk include:

health-care workers repeatedly exposed to blood or blood products or those who are at risk of needlestick injury
dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists
certain staff members of institutions for the developmentally handicapped
staff of institutions where workers may be exposed to aggressive, biting residents
embalmers

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and also mentions of Drug outreach workers/ Homeless out reach workers. It seems to mostly be covers by 'Healthcare' occupations.

both my babies had it at birth. i didn't see any problem with it and would do it again if i had another child.

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It was on the brochure that the hospital gave us. I haven't kept my copy. Sorry not much help. DH is a cleaner. He often finds drugs etc.

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Has he had his HepB Vax? He should be able to get it through work if he is at extra risk.

I think so. I know he has had a few extra vaccines to what I've had. I couldn't be 100% sure though.

Neither of our girls had Hep B vax at birth. DH and I don't have it and aren't at high risk so I didn't see the point. We do do the 2, 4 and 6 month injections though.

We are almost-total-vaxers but we opted out of this one. We're low risk, and also, my immunity to Hep B is really high after I had the vax at age 16, so I really knew we wouldn't need it.

I just think newborn is too little to be getting needles. If nothing else is wrong, then there's no need. For a normal birth, I would also refuse Vit K.

We gave it as DH works on a very remote community where there is high incidence. He is also a high risk occupation (he's a cop). We visit that same community. Like one of the PPs said the disease is worse than the vax side effects so this was one I def wanted to give.

Gave it as well. DH works in the sewer/water industry. So there were times he would literally have to crawl through human waste and I had the short straw of washing his clothes. Yes, I know he would not be taking her down a sewer with him, but I felt more comfortable having it than not.

I didn't let my son have it and I wouldn't let another child either if I had one. I suppose I am in a high risk occupation but I have been vaxxed and I don't intend on sharing needles or blood with my son or any other children. It's not transmissible through sneezing, coughing or bm so I fail to see the risk for my kids, especially at birth.

Sent from my Galaxy

My kids had the Hep B vax as I work in a high risk around and so do two of their grandparents and several aunties/uncles/friends who they have regular contact with.

HepB can be transmitted amongst family members and almost a third of HepB infections can't be traced to known risk factors (ie they have no idea how they caught it) so if you know anyone who has it or anyone who is at risk then it is worth getting the vax.
If you are very sure of the status of everyone who will be in contact with your baby then it is possibly ok to skip it.

ETA - one at risk group that is often overlooked is people who play contact sport so if your DH (or you) play rugby, water polo, basketball etc you should at the very least get your blood-work done.

I googled "hep b vaccine for babies". It brought up all the government brochures & wikipedia links. All to be read with a certain level of scepticism I know but a good starting point none the less. The qld health brochure seems to have been updated since I read unless there is another one out there that I missed. I would post a link but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to.

I think there are 2 questions to answer. First is do you want to get the Hep B vaccine, and 2nd is do you want to get the HepB vaccine at birth. Because you can miss the first dose at birth, and get the next 3 doses as part of the vaccine schedule and still get immunity (if the process works). The only reason to get the extra vaccine at birth is if your child is at risk in the immediate newborn period.

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I think there are 2 questions to answer. First is do you want to get the Hep B vaccine, and 2nd is do you want to get the HepB vaccine at birth. Because you can miss the first dose at birth, and get the next 3 doses as part of the vaccine schedule and still get immunity (if the process works). The only reason to get the extra vaccine at birth is if your child is at risk in the immediate newborn period.

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Exactly this. Skipping the hep B vax at birth has nothing whatsoever to do with child care/kinder/school. The regular immunisation schedule starts at 2 months old so your child will be well covered before they are active or in any risky environment, unless you have particular risk factors in your home.