Chicken pox

[FiddleFit]

Bummer. I just found out that my 5 1/2 month old baby has been exposed (closely) to a child with chicken pox. I guess now we play the waiting game and see if she develops it, too. Does anyone know if breastfed babies get their mother's chicken pox immunity?

Cheers,
Sandra

 

[ZT27]

I don't think they will be immuned to chicken pox from the breastmilk. If your daughter gets it now, that's good because it'll be easier. You won't have to worry about getting chicken pox shots for her. They're not even 100% effective and they still will develop chicken pox (shingles) as an adult and will have a higher chance of death, being in the hospital, etc. I wish my kids had chicken pox already. One just turned 2 today and the other will be 4. Let us know if she got it.

Take care!

Lisa

 

[lindzebird]

I got chicken pox as an infant when both my older sisters had it. My mom told me I had just a few pox marks. She did BF me and I think that may have helped with the recovery, but that's just my opinion. I had a reoccurance later when I was older so I guess I didn't build up enough of an immunity to skip it the second time. Good luck with your baby!

Lindzebird

 

[FiddleFit]

Thanks for the replies. The incubation period is 10-21 days, so we're still in the "wait and see" phase. If she doesn't get it, I'll be very, very surprised. The kellymom.com website said that she isn't fully immune, but will likely have a milder version, due to my antibodies that were transferred in utero. Apparently the breastfeeding antibodies are different than the ones that get transferred prior to birth.

DD's 6 month immunizations were scheduled for next week, so I've rebooked them for the following week. No need to have immunizations colliding with the manifestation of the virus.

Your comments were very much appreciated. Thanks!
Sandra

 

[FiddleFit]

Well, both the girls got it!! Wednesday morning the 5 year old woke up covered in spots, while the baby had just one on her head. Over the past couple of days they both got more and more spots, but the baby has less than the five year old. Neither one had a fever or seem otherwise impaired by the virus, so perhaps my antibodies (for the baby), and the vaccination shots (for the 5 year old) have made the effects milder for each of them. The five year old hasn't even really complained about the itching, and the baby doesn't seem irritated by the spots, either.

I didn't realize that the vaccinations didn't fully immunize the children, so I'm very, very glad the five year old got it now, and not later in life when it might be much worse. And this is one less immunization the baby will have to get

Cheers,
Sandra

 

[shopaholic]

Sorry to hear the girls got it but glad to hear their cases are mild. Hope they feel better soon.

 

[morris]

i hope iot is mild and over with quickly. good luck with your household.