Hep B vaccine?

We have to sign a paper in the hospital if we want our baby to have the vaccine when it's born, otherwise we wait until the baby is one month old.

I should call the pediatrician, but does anyone have any insight? pros or cons?

Thanks!

Re: Hep B vaccine?

i found this hon -

What are the benefits of the hepatitis B vaccine?

The hepatitis B vaccine (HBV) protects your child against the hepatitis B virus, which can lead to liver damage and even death.

Hepatitis B is generally considered an adult disease because it's known to be transmitted through unsafe sex and shared needles. But many who get it, including children, don't engage in these "high-risk" behaviors. They're either infected at birth or they contract the disease from close contact with others who are infected during their childhood.

Hepatitis B is highly infectious. About 1.25 million people in the United States have the virus, and 20 to 30 percent of them acquired the disease in childhood. Many of them never feel sick and don't know they have it, but those who become infected as children are more likely to have long-term health problems such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. About 5,000 people in the United States die from hepatitis B-related illness each year.

The HBV vaccine was introduced in 1982 and became part of the recommended immunization schedule in the United States in 1991. Since then the incidence of acute hepatitis B has dropped by over 95 percent in children and adolescents, and more than 75 percent overall. The number of new infections per year has declined from an average of 260,000 in the 1980s to about 60,000 in 2004, with the biggest decline among children and adolescents.
What's the recommended schedule?

Recommended number of doses
Three shots.

Recommended ages
• At birth
• Between 1 and 2 months
• Between 6 and 18 months

Women in the United States are screened for hepatitis B during pregnancy. If you test positive, your baby should get an injection of hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG), which provides short-term protection, within 12 hours of birth.

Who shouldn't get the hepatitis B vaccine?

A child who had a life-threatening allergic reaction to a previous dose of hepatitis B vaccine should not be vaccinated again.

Also, if for some reason your child didn't get hepatitis B shots as a baby and you know that she's had a life-threatening allergic reaction to baker's yeast (the kind used in baking bread), she shouldn't receive the hepatitis B vaccine because it's made with that type of yeast.
Are there any precautions I should take?

Children who are moderately to severely ill should probably wait until they recover before getting the hepatitis B vaccine. That way, if they do have any side effects, they'll be better able to tolerate them.
What are the possible side effects?

Some children feel soreness where the shot was given and a few develop a low-grade fever.

Severe allergic reactions are rare but possible with any vaccine. See what our expert says about how to tell whether your baby's having an adverse reaction.

In spite of persistent rumors, as yet no evidence links the hepatitis B vaccine to hair loss, SIDS, or autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis or diabetes.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-hepatitis-b-vaccine_1561.bc

Re: Hep B vaccine?

Wow very informative. Thanks! My dr hasn't mentioned it, but during our hospital tour, the nurse in the nursery mentioned that it was a new thing offered at birth.

I was not sure about it though.

Thanks again.

Message edited 1/22/2009 11:48:17 PM.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

i can tell you my best friend did delay the shot. i don't know her reasoning...but i know she delayed it.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

We delayed in both our children. Not something we felt they were at risk for now and needed a vaccine for.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

My friend delayed the Hep B shot as well. She didn't do it right after the baby's birth.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

I did it at the hospital
I felt like just in case he had a reaction; he was already there rather than having it done at the dr. and then take him home

Re: Hep B vaccine?

I declined. IMO a newborn baby- right out of the oven- does not need to be injected with anything. If she had any sort of symptoms I wouldn't want to wonder if it was the vaccine or if she was sick. They are so fragile and precious those first few weeks, I saw no harm in waiting until she was 8 weeks. But that's just me.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

I delivered at Columbia Presbyterian but my ped is on LI. I asked him and he said he would give it to her when I saw him out of the hospital. At the hospital the ped we saw said at that hospital they only give it to their clinic patients and the others get it when they go for either their 1st ped visit after the hospital or at their 2 month visit.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

We are delaying it.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

We had it given at his month ped visit not at the hospital.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

bump

Re: Hep B vaccine?

DH and I waited for dds first peds apt to have Hep B vac given to her, going to do the same with this baby.

When I spoke with my nurse after delivery she asked what dh and I did for a living and dependign on that she told us if it was necessary. She felt if you were in a job field with alot of exsposure to Hep B (like cop, hospital) and would be working right away then to have done at hospital, otherwise just wait and see what peds said.

Re: Hep B vaccine?

Can I decide at the hospital after I speak to our ped? Or I have to make up my mind before delivery?

Re: Hep B vaccine?

Re: Hep B vaccine?

Re: Hep B vaccine?

we're delaying it.