During the first six months, you should visit your baby's doctor at regular times so she can record and assess the baby's physical development. Within the second month, you should also begin an immunization program for your baby that will continue throughout his life. If your local public health unit offers a regular immunization clinic in your neighbourhood, you may not have to visit your doctor. But do keep a record of the vaccinations your child receives.
Within living memory, diseases such as polio once killed or maimed thousands of Canadian children each year. In Canada today, an aggressive national immunization program has resulted in the control or elimination of polio and other childhood diseases. Most children are routinely immunized against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), haemophilus influenzae type b which causes bacterial meningitis, and hepatitis B. Although some parents are hesitant about-or refuse-immunizations for their children, it's essential that parents understand the risks of not immunizing their children. The Canadian Paediatric Society's publication Your Child''s Best Shot: A Parent's Guide to Vaccination, 1997, offers information about the vaccinations and the diseases they are designed to prevent. An immunization program is only effective with the full support and cooperation of the public it aims to protect.
Health Canada offers a recommended schedule for childhood vaccination, but your province may have different guidelines. Your doctor or a nurse should show you how to hold your child during the vaccination, which may cause brief discomfort. The site of the injection may be tender for a few hours, but your baby should be feeling fine within twenty-four hours. A topical anesthetic is usually reserved for needs more serious than a vaccination, but some doctors may recommend a dose of acetaminophen one-half hour before the injection to reduce the pain or after to reduce fever.
