Don’t buy these common baby myths!

If you just had a baby, you’re bound to have a lot of advice thrown your way. But keep in mind, common wisdom isn’t always wise. We know better these days. Holding a baby often or picking him up when he cries won’t spoil him. Keeping your baby from taking an afternoon nap is not going to make him sleep faster at night — it’s just going to make him overtired and cranky. If you’re breast feeding, spicy or citrus food won’t make your baby reject your milk. And the list of baby myths goes on and on….

When in doubt about advice thrown your way, double check with a trusted source — like your pediatrician. Meanwhile, we have four common baby myths we’ll debunk for you right now.

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H1N1 and HPV shots now standard for children.

The U.S. has revised it’s official vaccine schedule for children. It is now recommended that children older than 6 months get the H1N1 influenza vaccine as standard protocol.

Dr. David Kimberlin, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases and a liaison to the Centers for Disease Control panel that helped author the recommendations, says the guidelines also say combination vaccines are generally preferred over separate injections.

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One flu shot, double protection.

Expecting? Then please seriously consider getting vaccinated for the flu. Your newborn can be also be protected from the influenza virus if you get yourself a flu shot. A study shows that mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy had newborns with significantly less chances of getting the flu – along with other serious respiratory illnesses like pneumonia.

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Hold the Tylenol after getting a vaccine.

Children typically get fevers after certain vaccination shots. The rise in body temperature is a sign that the child is developing an immune response to the vaccine. In other words, a fever post-shot (if it occurs) is a sign that the vaccine is kicking in.

Dr. Robert T. Chen at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control explains that a child’s immune system is processing the immunization and providing them with the best protection. Since this post-shot fever happens to many children, they are often given acetaminophen (Tylenol is a popular brand) to avoid the fever response all together. Trying to stop this fever-response may actually be counter-productive.

A study shows, this fever preventive protocol given by some doctors can decrease the effectiveness of the vaccine they had just administered.

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Especially for Pregnant Women and Young Kids

Paranoia over the H1N1 flu strain may have died down a bit, especially since the latest flu vaccine can now protect against it. What doctors are urging the public to do now is to get the vaccine, especially for young kids and pregnant women.

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