Public Health

One of the most important things you can do to protect your child’s health is to take him or her for well check-ups and immunizations on a regular basis. To insure that your child is adequately protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, we suggest the following tips:

• Engage in a thorough discussion on vaccination with your child’s doctor.

• Your baby’s shots can start at birth.

• Make sure your child receives vaccinations based on the current recommended schedule, available from your physician or local health clinic.

• Take your child’s immunization record with you each time you visit your doctor or clinic. Ask them to review it, update it, and tell you when the next shot is due.

• Carefully read the literature you receive about the shots your child is receiving, which includes information about the specific disease which the vaccine prevents and possible side effects. Feel free to ask questions.

• When your child is receiving an immunization (or a shot of any kind), you can provide comfort by:
  1. Staying calm yourself.

  2. Talking in a soothing voice or singing.

  3. Holding your child.

  4. Bringing a familiar, comfort object, such as a toy.

  5. Entertaining your child during the shot with games, such as counting or making funny faces.

  6. Encouraging your child to breathe in and slowly breathe out and to think of his or her favorite place to be.

  7. Not promising that it won’t hurt.

  8. Allowing your child to cry. Crying is a normal way of coping.
     

Walter A. Orenstein, M.D., Director
National Immunization Program
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention