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Date: | Sat, 24 Sep 2011 17:55:09 -0500 |
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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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