I routinely talk to my breastfeeding  parents about whether or not to 
give the rotavirus vaccine to their children. Many of the families in my 
practice who are breastfeeding are cautious about what they want their 
kids to have, and like to limit vaccines to those that are necessary 
early on. (They often choose to do some later, like hep A,B, polio).
I explain to parents that breastfeeding is very, very protective from 
severe symptoms of rotavirus infection. Breastfed babies will contract 
rotavirus infection, but they typically don't get very dehydrated and 
don't end up needing IV fluids or hospitalization. Even though parents 
may be very committed to breastfeeding, I do explain that sometimes 
breastfed infants walk away from the bountiful breast at 9+ months, when 
they are too busy to nurse. This then puts the child at increased risk 
for gastroenteritis from infections like rotavirus, which is one of the 
worst and most ubiquitous. I just like my families to think about that 
before they decide not to give the vaccine, because it cannot be given 
past 8 mo of age. Most babies don't self-wean at that age, and the 
decision to wean is usually mom's for whatever reason, and we talk about 
that too.
The bottom line is that the decision to give the vaccine should be made 
by weighing various factors with informed consent, like most things in 
medicine.
I hope this helps.
Anne

Anne Eglash MD, FABM, IBCLC
Clinical Professor
Dept of Family Medicine
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
600 N. 8th St.
Mount Horeb, WI, 53572
608-437-3064 (O)
608-437-4542 (fax)
608-550-3054 (pager)

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