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One of the main concerns for mums – particularly first-time mums – is getting to grips with baby's vaccinations.
Vaccinating our children IS incredibly important in keeping them healthy and safe. Here’s why:
It protects your child from a range of diseases
At its most simplest, vaccinating your child will protect them from a range of nasty diseases. In Ireland there are vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib), polio, hepatitis B, pneumococcal, meningococcal B, meningococcal C and rotavirus.
Rare diseases can still be contracted
While you might think many of these illnesses went out with the floods, they actually still exist – so if your child comes into contact with one of them without being vaccinated, there is the chance they will contract it. For example, in 2015, two children in Ukraine were paralysed after contracting polio, the first outbreak of the disease in Europe since 2010. [1].
It stops diseases from spreading
Vaccinating your child is not just beneficial for them – there’s a wider purpose too. The more children are vaccinated, the less likely these diseases are to flourish and spread. For example, before the Hib vaccine came about in the 1980s there were around 20,000 cases per year in the US; now there are around 100. [2]
It’s safe
The vaccines used in Ireland are safe. All medicines can cause side-effects, but with vaccines these are usually mild, like a sore arm or leg. Serious side-effects to vaccines are extremely rare.
It protects them when they get older
Vaccinations don’t just protect your child when they’re little – they’ll need that defence as they get older too. And important to know is that some diseases are more dangerous at particular stages of life. For example, measles can be more serious for adults, while if a teenage boy or young man contracts mumps, their testicles can become inflamed and swell up.
[1]. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/poliomyelitis/news/news/2015/10/nationwide-polio-immunization-campaign-under-way-in-ukraine
