DTaP Vaccine Shot for Newborn: I Don't Want It

sahrrie

New member
I don't want the DTaP shot for my son, who is due in a week. I don't want this because of a general aversion to the vaccine boom of the past few years, and because I had a shot back in 2006 where, as a 200-pound man well into my twenties, it made me acutely sick for days.

There is a 0.00% chance I'm going to let them inject my 7 or 8 pound baby with this cocktail which nearly killed me.

We told our doctor this. She is a resident from China, and was confused and ran and got her boss. Now, I'm not a wilting flower....but let me tell you that her boss, a woman about 40, behaved in a manner that could only be described as threatening and bullying. She hovered right over us and talked to us about how there has been an "epidemic" of whooping cough (i.e. - one death in Michigan since 1970, even as the vaccination rate has increased). I'll admit that this unnerved me. She ordered the nurse to go and print out some "proof" about how necessary the vaccine was (which was just a stock form from the CDC).

Still, with our hearts racing against their intimidation tactics, me and the mother stood firm, "Okay. No thanks."

This was several months ago, and even though they mentioned it in subsequent weeks, we thought that the issue was settled. But then, the last time we went in for a check-up, the nurse was reading over the arrival chart and made passing mention of how they were going to inject the baby with the DTaP after delivery because the mother refused it during pregnancy.

We don't have the money for a midwife or homebirth, and the mother (my girlfriend) is very, very reluctant to switch doctors this late in the pregnancy. So, the baby is almost certainly going to be born with these same doctors, and at their hospital.

I'm going to try and order them to put a note that there will be NO DTaP shot given on her chart. However, because of the bullying (this has stretched out over three visits), I am very worried that they might try to sneak it in or, God forbid, call the CPS and have them kidnap our baby.

So I need to have a plan to prevent the newborn from getting this shot, which also will not instigate all sorts of attorney's fees or the hospital claiming child abuse or whatever.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. We don't have much money, and the baby is due any day now (the 19th).

TL;DR

I need to know how to prevent the hospital from injecting my newborn with the DTaP shot if they try after childbirth.
 
@sahrrie The child should not be getting any vaccinations in the hospital. Only one ours got was hep B. The rest start at 2 months and are given by the pediatrician.

But does this mean your wife has not gotten the tdap (never seen it called dtap... Probably regional?) vaccine?
 
@karenlouise Indeed, she has not received the DTaP shot. She did not want it, and I don't want her to get it, either.

Do you know whether injecting the newborn with hepatitis B is standard, or was that something unique about your baby?
 
@sahrrie Dtap, at least for us, isn't something the baby can get until 2 months old. Verify with your birthing center what they give the baby at birth. Mine only had vitamin K and I think eye medication against infection. If it's a two month thing, this is a conversation for your pediatrician. Oh... My experience is in the US for what it's worth.
 
@catfisher I appreciate the info and advice.

We're going in on Wednesday, and I'm going to indeed talk with them about it again. As stressful and uncomfortable as this has become, better have another confrontation at a check-up than to have a disaster on the baby's birth day, which is obviously supposed to be magical.
 
@sahrrie Please, for the love of god, don't be a crazy anti-vaxxer. Your experience with DTaP is not universal. There is not a "vaccine boom" at all. If anything, rates and quantities of vaccines have dropped precipitously in the past few years, which is leading to major outbreaks of easily preventable diseases. I got TDaP just a couple years ago and was just fine.

Others are right that it shouldn't be for a couple months, but Pertussis (the P in that cocktail) is having a large boom: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, etc.

Also, any fears you have over autism and vaccines are lies spread by a few assholes.

The doctors are so persistent because they know what happens when infants/newborns catch these diseases -- it's catastrophically expensive (you'll probably declare bankruptcy and never buy a house until the kid's in high school -- at best), they can end up with irreversible damage to their brains, kidneys, lungs, and heart, and they can die. And if you think money is tight now, just wait to see how much a NICU stay will cost you, and how much strain pulling the plug on your infant puts on your mental health and your marriage/partnership.

Newborns are at such risk that all family members who see the kid before the vaccine are recommended to get vaccinated or get a booster vaccine. Some hospitals only suggest it, others require it. Just because you think your kid will be fine doesn't mean a cough won't spread to somebody else's baby.
 
@ladydickens Wait, you're saying that the whooping cough vaccine is more popular than ever....and yet there is more and more whooping cough?

You can shoot yourself with whatever you want, that's your business, not mine. But your argument celebrating your choice is very confused.
 
@sahrrie That's fine, but don't complain if your kid dies of a disease we practically eradicated 100 years ago. There is not a single reasonable answer for not vaccinating your kids that doesn't boil down to "I don't understand what's happening" or "My religion is weird about it"
 
@ladydickens You're wrong on both final assertions, but I have zero interest in debating a vaccination hysteric. Just do your thing and just leave me alone. All the best.
 
@valhallaknight I'm strongly inferring that this is going to happen because of what the nurse muttered while reading off her chart. I regret not stopping her and being firm right then.

We're going in for a check-up on Wednesday (unless she goes into labor first), and I'm going to speak firmly with them then.
 
@sahrrie Well good luck man. However a lawyer in these types of situations is a must, they have the legal documentation. You just gotta pay them to fill it out. You should really call and ask a local law office about this, I mean what have you got to lose by calling and asking a question.
 
@valhallaknight Hmm. Maybe you're right.

Well....we're going into the doctors on Wednesday for (what should be) the final check-up. If there is any doubt after our appointment, then I will try to contact a lawyer who's knowledgeable in this and find the money to pay them.
 
@sahrrie our hospital only said they do hep b, vitamin k shots. some antibiotics goo in the eyes and heel pricks for blood tests. everything else should happen with your pediatrician.
 
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