Public health experts agree that vaccinations are the most effective and safe way to protect your baby. Even today, certain infectious diseases can cause complications that may even lead to death; having your baby vaccinated helps remove some of the risk. Read on to learn more.
A lifetime guarantee?
Some people say becoming ill with a disease protects you for life, unlike vaccines, which often require booster shots. However, this information is false. Although having the chickenpox actually does immunize your child, it’s not the case for whooping cough, which may be contracted several times.
Nursing rather than vaccination?
It’s true that nursing your baby does offer some protection, because the protein in mother’s milk stimulates the immune system. However, this protection only lasts about three months and does not counter all diseases.
Protecting others
Certain people cannot be given vaccines, like small babies and people with immune system disorders. By choosing to have your baby vaccinated, you also protect those people. The more of us who are vaccinated, the less risk there is for everyone.
Yes, vaccines are effective!
If there are fewer cases of certain diseases, it is because of vaccines that they are finally beginning to disappear. For example, in Canada, the most common form of meningitis was practically eradicated over the last several years. Given that living conditions have remained the same, this phenomenon can be explained by the systematic vaccination of children. Inversely, when people are no longer being vaccinated, the diseases reappear—in Ireland, between 1999 and 2000, cases of measles rose from 148 to 1,603, while the vaccination rate had fallen to 76 per cent.
A vaccine against a disease that has disappeared?
Certain diseases have practically disappeared in Canada. So, why should I have my baby vaccinated against them? Because these diseases have not disappeared everywhere and they can be contracted during a trip or by being in contact with a traveller from a country where they are present. Furthermore, certain diseases will never disappear completely. That is the case with tetanus, which is caused by a bacterium found in soil.
What about side effects?
Vaccines are known to be safe and their side effects are minor. A bout of fever is nothing compared to complications such as amputation or death, which can come about with some preventable diseases. In addition, if your child hasn’t been vaccinated against a disease that he didn’t have when he was very young, he could contract the disease in his teens or as an adult, when the risks of complications are much higher.
For or against vaccination?
You are now in a position to make a well-informed choice. If you wish to have your baby vaccinated, consult a health professional. He will tell you what procedure to follow and which vaccines are required for your child’s best protection. If you choose not to vaccinate your baby, you should still consult with a healthcare professional to ensure the safety of your child.
