Now you are a new mom or an experienced one, yet you are not sure what is mandatory/recommended/not required as vaccine/immunization for your baby.

This short piece is not to deeply educate moms about immunizations, it is aimed at throwing out a 'reminder' to new and old mommies to ask your child's pediatrician this simple question: "can you give me a print out of immunizations recommended/required for my child as he grows". A good doctor should NEVER hesitate to give you this one piece of paper. If he/she doesn't, start smelling 'rat' and consider changing to another healthcare provider who LISTENS & SUPPORTS.

Many midwives, nurses or even doctors will tell you what vaccines are MANDATORY....do you know which ones are RECOMMENDED? One bothersome issue is the prevalence of chickenpox disease among Nigerian Kids and the fact that the vaccine is NOT MANDATORY. Wouldn't you rather request your child to be vaccinated against chicken pox if you knew it is not mandatory? Would you rather wait for your baby to contract the illness and go through the many troubles that come with it? One major complication of chicken pox is pneumonia...especially if the child is not up to date on pneumonia vaccines or exposed to the bacteria that causes it. It is HIGLY contagious illness especially within first few days of onset. When you have more than one child, it puts the strain of caring for multiple sick kids, missed school days for school age kids, missed days at work for parents, loss of income and potentially continuous spread in a close knit living environment.

Summarily, we believe and advocate that moms who believe in immunization (not everyone does) should please consider getting the chicken pox vaccine for your babies. It is mostly recommended between ages 15-18months. Consider asking your child's healthcare provider that simple question: " May I have the chicken pox vaccine for my child?"

As always, this piece is written by a licensed medical practitioner with certification and experience in pediatric health. It is not a replica of anyone's work and it is intended solely for the audience of Megakids Holdings.

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