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Can Fam Physician
Vol. 53, No. 12, December 2007, p.2116
Copyright © 2007 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada
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Practice Tips

Kinder immunizations for babies

Michelle Greiver, MD CCFP
Family physician on staff at North York General Hospital in Toronto, Ont

We give many "shots" to babies. In Ontario, infants usually get 2 needles at 2, 4, 6, 12, 15, and 18 months of age. I routinely ask parents to give their baby some acetaminophen before the visits and have recently implemented several other changes to decrease the discomfort associated with vaccinations.

A study published in the British Medical Journal found that babies vaccinated with longer needles (25 mm) had fewer local reactions than those vaccinated with shorter needles (16 mm).1 I now use 25-gauge, 1-inch needles. At the end of the well-baby examination, I load both vaccines in my laboratory area, away from the examination room, and fill the immunization card ahead of time. When I return, I ask mom or dad to hold baby securely in their arms, I put half of each band-aid on, and I get my alcohol wipes ready. I let the baby’s mother know that she can breastfeed afterward if she wishes and then quickly give both vaccines. I try to have all my counseling finished before giving the needles so that parents can concentrate on soothing their baby. I just remind parents to make the next appointment and let them know that they can take their time getting their child settled and ready to go. I then leave the examination room.

Babies seem to cry and fuss less with this process; I think the calmer approach is helpful to parents as well. These changes have not added any time to the visits; I think they could easily be implemented by any health professional offering vaccines to infants.

Footnotes

Competing interests

None declared

Reference

  1. Diggle L, Deeks JJ, Pollard AJ. Effect of needle size on immunogenicity and reactogenicity of vaccines in infants: randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2006;333(7568):571.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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This Article
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Right arrow Rapid Responses: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
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Right arrow Articles by Greiver, M.

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