Are You Needing Answers on the Hepatitis B Vaccine? (Premium)
This week, a woman called with a vaccine question. Due to deliver a baby in a few weeks, had been asked to sign a document if she did not want the infant to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at the hospital. Why, she wondered, would a newborn need this vaccine?
Why, indeed.
Answers to the mother’s question are included on this page. Learn about the hepatitis B vaccine and the irrational push to inoculate all babies at birth. Keep the valuable resources provided in this article on hand for your friends and loved ones.
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This question took me back a few years to a personal experience. I was present in the maternity ward of a hospital when a new mom was pressured to vaccinate her baby with the hep B vaccine. He was 12 hours old.
First, the nurse broached the subject. Vaccine-educated, Mom declined. Then a physician’s assistant came to the room to recommend the vaccine. “No thanks.”
The next morning, a pediatrician, accompanied by a resident doctor, entered the room. They stood at the foot of the bed while the lead physician soberly recited the CDC stance on vaccinating all babies with the hepatitis B vaccine. At this point, it took on the air of vaccine bullying.
“My baby doesn’t need it,” Mom simply explained. Exit doctors. But that wasn’t the end of it.
The next day the family was discharged, but only with the agreement that the baby would be seen by a pediatrician within 24 hours to “check for infant weight loss.” The child, you see, had lost a couple of ounces. So this mother—who had needed an emergency C-section and was in pain—dutifully dragged herself and tiny son into the city to a doctor. And she worried, “Why is my baby losing weight?”
Full-press at the pediatrician’s office
On entering the clinic, the first question from staff was whether the boy had received the hep B vaccine. “Uh. . . no.”
A nurse came and whisked them to an examining room, asking along the way if that vaccine had been given. Same answer. Then the doctor came and did the same!
It was soon clear that the purpose of the “mandatory” health visit was not concern for the baby’s weight at all. In fact, the pediatrician admitted that infants almost always lose a little weight in the first couple of days and then gain it back. And there was certainly a complete lack of concern for the welfare of an exhausted mother.
The doctor agreed with Mom that that the child did not have to get it right now. (See guidelines from the National Vaccine Information Center below). Since she had previously tested negative for hepatitis B, and the baby wasn’t going to be engaging in sex or sharing drug needles (good grief), the vaccine was not needed. The remote possibility of this 2-day-old little baby being bit by a kid who would share virus-infected blood was dismissed.
Appointment over. Oh, and by the way, “your baby looks healthy.”
Facts on the hepatitis B vaccine
The National Vaccine Information Center explains: Unlike many other infectious diseases for which vaccines have been developed, hepatitis B is a blood-transmitted infection that is rare in childhood. Adults engaging in IV drug use and sex with multiple partners are at highest risk for hepatitis B infection, as are health care workers exposed to infected blood; persons requiring repeated blood transfusions and residents and staff of crowded institutions, like prisons.
However, babies born to hepatitis B infected mothers are also at risk for hepatitis B infection so it is important for all pregnant women to know if they are or are not infected with hepatitis B before they give birth. If you suspect you could be infected, it is a good idea to get a blood test before giving birth.
More details from the National Vaccine Information Center
Vaccines and Diseases: Hepatitis B
Keep this resource for a treasure trove of information: Frequently Asked Questions
To answer the caller’s question
Unless the pregnant mom is infected with hepatitis B (and she should be checked for this) there is rarely a reason for an infant to be given the vaccine at birth.
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