Keeping baby safe from covid after birth

knottie212c5fcc47f91086

Hi Mamas! I’m looking for the thoughts of other vaccinated and science supporting Mamas on keeping baby safe after they’re born. My sister is unvaccinated and it looks like she doesn’t intend on getting vaccinated. I put off looking into pediatrician recommendations for a long time hoping she'd get vaccinated before baby comes so it would be a non-issue but it doesn’t look like this is happening.  BTW I support folks making their choice regarding the vaccine but want to keep baby safe!

The most recent guidance that I’ve seen from pediatricians is that baby should not be around unvaccinated folks for at least 2 months after birth and that we should limit visits to folks that are essential. I recognize that essential looks different for everyone and that there’s no one size fits all approach on this topic. I know that when baby is very little getting sick in general can be very serious and I want to keep baby safe while being reasonable. Is this something you’ve given thought to? Things can change quickly and maybe covid won’t be as big a deal by the time baby comes, who knows! I would love to hear your thoughts ❤️ Thanks Mamas!

annashaf

Hiya! I’ve been giving this some thought too. And while the current variant is mild for children and adults alike, I feel like for infants that doesn’t matter as their immune systems are soooo fragile in the early days. Baby is due in May, so at that time, if covid is still a “thing” (like high transmissibility and high case numbers) then our visits with anyone except grandparents (all vaccinated and boosted) will be outside and I will be strict on who can and cannot hold baby (only vaccinated adults). Will also be pulling my other kids out of childcare for a period so they don’t bring anything home. It’ll be stressful, but not my first covid-baby (my current youngest was born in March 2020). Also, I’ve made the personal decision to hold off on my booster until about 30-32 weeks. I work from home and don’t have much of a social life, so my exposure to others is limited. Everywhere I do go, vaccinations are mandatory. I am not worried about my own health if I were to catch covid, but it is my opinion that holding off on the booster until about 8 weeks before babes is born will offer her the most protection for her first few months of life. I will say that I have found NO SCIENTIFIC evidence to support this, but am basing my opinion on other vaccinations that are recommended during pregnancy to protect baby, such as whooping cough.

b_1029

First off, please feel free to introduce yourself in the intro thread if you haven’t already. 

Our first kid was also a covid baby, it started halfway through pregnancy. We limited visits to family only inside (our grandparents, parents, and siblings were allowed inside and unmasked…any other family had to be masked) and friends outside. In general we didn’t do much since their immune systems are so weak for the first 8 weeks. This was based on input from our pediatrician, but everyone has different risk levels. 

DH and I have not talked about vaccinated vs unvaccinated this time around (vaccine wasn’t available yet when DD was born) but at this point, everyone in the family is vaccinated and 99% of our close friends are. DD goes to daycare and currently has covid so there’s obviously that element of exposure too that I don’t know how to deal with once we have a newborn. 

knottieea769e57db0be000

hi… adding to this some anecdotal info.

first, im 22 weeks with my first. I got vaccinated before pregnancy and boosted end of Nov. i work remotely and only see boosted family. We never wear masks while with our boosted family, but so wear them out in the world (as does our fam). Last week my inlaws tested positive for Covid a day after we saw them. My husband has it now, and im asymptomatic. Sharing, just because, with this new variant it seems that even being boosted isn’t really enough protection (coming from someone who only sees boosted people). 

But for some positive news, my cousin has a toddler and a 2 month old newborn. She was vaccinated while pregnant and boosted while breastfeeding. Their toddler tested positive during Xmas, and although they tried to separate the newborn, the toddler did sneeze on her the AM before the test and both parents had to take care of the kids. The newborn, mom, and dad never got it. Again, antidotal but also a good example of how we pass the vaccine inutero and via breast milk. 

Anyway commenting bc I’m also curious how everyone’s going to navigate all of this crazy right now. Best of luck to you all! 

third2022

My second was 4 months old at the start of the pandemic.  So not excited to be fairly isolated a second time.  We are super cautious, we wear masks in public and our kids (2 &4)  wear masks at preschool.  We don't do any indoor activities currently and see very limited family indoors. If numbers improve which I think they will by may then we will be much more lax....but still extended family will meet baby outdoors or with masks inside, immediate family indoor/outdoor but being cautious about exposure and risk since my mom is a hospice nurse.  Beyond that I'm not totally sure what it will look like.  Our kids now go to preschool and camp this summer so there is a good amount of risk in that even with masks.