Newborn Protection: The Need for Preventative Care

Fewer children are receiving preventative care and the protection it conveys as a result of misinformation spread online. Dr. Jonathan Chai, MEDNAX-affiliated neonatologist and director of the neonatal intensive care nursery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., works exclusively with newborn care and has noticed parents declining vaccinations and other care for their children. “We’ve seen an increasing refusal of immunizations and standard preventative treatment. It’s been increasing over the last few years,” he says, referring to vitamin K injections, erythromycin eye ointment and the hepatitis B vaccine. The hepatitis B vaccine is the only actual immunization for a newborn. It also creates the most concern, which can then trickle down to all the other immunizations a baby will need to get in his lifetime. Chai recommends babies get the hepatitis B immunization within the first 12 hours after birth. It is also especially important for everyone, from grandparents to siblings, to be up to date on their vaccines, especially when around newborns. “If rates of vaccination decline we’ll certainly see the re-emergence of previously rare diseases.”

Read the full story at Family Times