When I had my son, I was your normal, first time mom. I freaked out about all kinds of things with him. You would have thought it would have gotten a tad better when I had my daughter, and while some things did, being that she was born in October during the start of cold and flu season, I swear I carried a massive jug of hand sanitizer every where I went. Shortly after she was born, we had our huge Thanksgiving with my husbands family and I barely let anyone hold her. I figured once I let go of her she would then be passed around like a football and I wouldn’t be able to control people not washing their hands, etc.
One of the leading causes of death among infants, aside from injuries and neonatal complications, is meningococcal. Meningococcal disease is the leading cause of meningitis, an infection around the brain and the spinal cord. 1 in 16 children infants who contract meningococcal will die from it; that’s more than from pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, and rotavirus…all of which our children receive vaccinations for.
The Meningitis Angels is a non-profit organization that has made it their mission to educate the public, healthcare professionals, childcare facilities, schools and universities on meningitis and other vaccine preventable diseases. Check out the PSA put out by the Meningitis Angels:
The CDC has already taken the necessary precautions to protect teens and adults from contracting meningitis by making a vaccine readily available. Please take a moment to check out this link by the Protect Infants Now and consider signing the petition asking the CDC to recommend Infant Meningococcal vaccines. Remember, 1 in 16 infants die from this vaccine preventable disease. Of those that survive, 1 in 6 will suffer limb amputations, paralysis, seizures, strokes, hearing loss, blindness, organ damage, severe scarring, brain damage and more.
So what are you waiting for? Sign that petition today…I just did!
My goodness I had no idea how easy the babies could be contaminated by being held! I never let anyone touch my babies unless they washed their hands in front of me and I also kept a antibacterial bottle right next to the crib. More people need to made aware of this silent danger and thank-you for posting!