[chaitea7]

Do you see a trend in parents refusing the Hep B vaccines for their babies?

[Elvish]

I definitely see it happening more now, but those parents are definitely not in the majority.

[jenrninmi]

Nope. Haven't noticed it here.

[babyktchr]

We have seen an increase ever since Oprah had her show on about vaccines. The power of the O rises again.

[rph3664]

From day one, it appears that the majority of parents where I work have refused it.

They seem to clean out the refrigerator on the night shift, and the overnight pharmacists are shocked at how many Hep Bs come back, and we have to discard them because we don't know how they were stored upstairs, or if they were ever in the patient's room and therefore considered contaminated.

[OzMW]

Hep B in the first week of life is completely unnecessary; I absolutely refused it for my newborn 3 years ago and would do so again. He has since had his complete vaccine schedule; just missed the initial birth dose. I'm surprised more don't refuse it! Especially low risk families.

[chaitea7]

I agree, I don't see the need for a newborn to receive the Hep B vaccine. I think it can wait until an older age. Did you vaccinate your child(ren) with the other standard vaccines: MMR, OPV, DPT? If not, what influenced your decison?

[chaitea7]

To RPH3364:
What reasons do the parents give for the refusal? We have some parents who say they will have it given, but want to wait until the baby's office check up. Do you track refusals and the reasons? We did that for a while to try to determine the reasons.

[chaitea7]

Do the parents give a reason for the refusals? Do you track how many are refused and the reasons? we have had about 50% of those who refuse state that they wanted to wait and have it given in the pediatrician's office. Now maybe they were just saying that to avoid further conversation on the topic.

[Elvish]

Originally Posted by OzMW

Hep B in the first week of life is completely unnecessary; I absolutely refused it for my newborn 3 years ago and would do so again. He has since had his complete vaccine schedule; just missed the initial birth dose. I'm surprised more don't refuse it! Especially low risk families.

I absolutely agree with you, Oz. I DID have my son vaxed but if I had it to do all over again wouldn't do it while he's still newborn.

A lot of my parents don't outright refuse the vaccine, but they do choose to wait til baby is a little older before getting it. I should have phrased it that way in the first answer I gave.