Today I’m continuing with the A-Z Blogging Challenge! The aim is to write a post for every day of the month except for Sundays, with each post representing a different letter of the alphabet. This year, since I’ve just become a mum for the first time, my theme is: ‘an A-Z of Newborn Care’. I’ll be talking about all the highs and lows of parenting, sharing things that have been useful for me and posting some cute pictures.
For the letter ‘V’ I have chosen to talk about Vaccinations. Vaccinations (usually injections) are administered from infancy to help stimulate a child’s immune system and cause them to develop immunity to certain viruses and diseases.
Babies typically have vaccinations at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks and one year. Here is the typical vaccination schedule in the UK.
Why Vaccinate?
There is some debate at the moment about whether vaccines are safe. Some parents choose not to vaccinate because they have experienced or read about children developing severe side-effects or having bad reactions to certain vaccines. Unfortunately we don’t know exactly how many children are affected by such reactions and more research needs to be done.
I personally choose to vaccinate my daughter because I feel the benefits outweigh the potential risks of not vaccinating. Diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough and polio can be life-threatening for a newborn but are now extremely rare in developed countries thanks to vaccinations. I feel better knowing she is protected from these diseases and I believe that instances of illness arising from vaccinations are rare.
At the end of the day, whether you choose to vaccinate or not is a very personal decision. It is up to each parent to do their own research and make an informed decision about what they feel is right for their child.
Visit ProCon.org if you would like to see arguments on both sides of the debate.
Do you vaccinate your child(ren)? I would be interested to hear your views. Please keep discussion respectful.
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