Wife not vaccinated for MMR. Vaccinate 2-month old baby?

February 19, 2019 2:51 AM

My understanding is that infants are not routinely given the measles vaccine because maternal antibodies transferred by breastfeeding would neutralize the vaccine. But my wife grew up poor, neglected and likely unvaccinated, thus would not have any measles antibodies, right? Therefore should we seek to immediately vaccinate our newborn baby?
posted by wutangclan to Health & Fitness (17 answers total)

This 100% a conversation to have with your pediatrician and not the internet.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:55 AM on February 19, 2019 [98 favorites]

One of the reasons we don't immunise small ones before they can handle it is herd immunity - cold comfort I know when this is waning. I would talk with a doctor asap, but also would keep away from likely vectors until vaccination (for both mum and hub) is possible.

Unvaxxed mum is only a risk if she catches measles, so take precautions, seek medical advice, and it should work out OK.
posted by freethefeet at 3:03 AM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

You need to vaccinate mom first - now! - they’ll likely do a titer to see if she has any immunity if she’s unsure of whether she’s had the vaccine or not.

In the meantime talk to the pedi about vaccinating the baby. We were offered the MMR early for our daughter when the pedi knew we were traveling to Italy with the understanding that she’d have to repeat the dose at the usual time because early vaccinations don’t necessarily confer permanent immunity.

I do not think it’s possibile to give a 2 month old the MMR but your pediatrician will absolutely know what the best vaccination schedule is if baby is at risk.
posted by lydhre at 3:13 AM on February 19, 2019 [15 favorites]

Talk to your pediatrician, this is exactly the kind of thing that they're there for.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:28 AM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Usually it’s not recommended to test an adult for measles immunity but in your case I think it may be worthwhile. If Mom can be shown to be immune there’s little reason to consider early vaccination for the baby, although the safety and immunogenicity of measles vaccine at 6 months and up is well established.

If Mom can’t be proven immune, you could consider the little data there seems to be on measles vaccine in children down to 3 months old. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable idea in this situation. This wouldn’t substitute for the normal first dose at 1 year.

I would say, talk to Mom’s doctor about testing her for immunity, and if that’s not reassuring, bring the report I linked to your pediatrician and see what s/he thinks.
posted by lakeroon at 4:21 AM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Whether to vaccinate your baby now is very much a conversation for the paediatrician, however I wanted to point out that:

Your wife needs to be vaccinated before any future pregnancies. Rubella is generally really mild in adults and may go unnoticed but can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, deafness, blindness and brain damage in babies if caught by a pregnant woman. Measles can also cause miscarriage and stillbirth if caught during pregnancy.

Ensuring that you and your wife and people who regularly come into close contact are also vaccinated will give some protection to the baby via herd immunity - the baby can only catch measles if exposed to someone who has measles.

So regardless of what the paediatrician advises for the baby, in your position I would get your wife vaccinated ASAP and you if you also haven't been. It might be worth checking your wife for antibodies before she's vaccinated for the reasons other posters have explained above - it's possible she had measles without having been aware of it.
posted by *becca* at 4:38 AM on February 19, 2019 [18 favorites]

Supporting the idea that this is one for your paediatrician.

If you feel particularly mischievous that day, open with "I've been researching the MMR vaccine on the Internet and..."
posted by flabdablet at 4:39 AM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

Was vaccination required when/where your wife went to school? Some places actually have centralized records and either record what was supplied when a child was enrolled in school or have doctors report the administration of the vaccine.

However, like everyone else has said, talk to your pediatrician--parents with unknown or uncertain vaccination status is surely not that uncommon.
posted by hoyland at 4:48 AM on February 19, 2019

Best answer: She may have had titers drawn by her OB/GYN if she had neontal care. It would be worth asking as they do lots of tests.
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:11 AM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

I’ve gotten MMR boosters as an adult - it seemed to be standard practice especially for women who might become pregnant. Are you sure your wife wasn’t vaccinated as an adult?
posted by mskyle at 5:23 AM on February 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

As a woman of childbearing age, I recently had my MMR titers checked and was found to be not immune to measles. So I got another round of MMR vaccines (2 shots, 28 days apart) and strict instructions to not become pregnant within 30 days of the second shot.

So step one is have your wife’s doctor check immunity. Step two is have conversation with pediatrician about next steps.
posted by bilabial at 7:36 AM on February 19, 2019

Talk to your doctor, not AskMe, but the baby's mother needs to get vaccinated. In terms of gauging the immediate threat to your child, take a look at what your county or state's chief medical officer has had to say. Typically measles outbreaks are identified by geographic location.
posted by JamesBay at 7:50 AM on February 19, 2019

iirc mmr vaccines are supposed to be done every 10 years.
posted by brujita at 9:03 AM on February 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Did your wife's OBGYN advise her to have any vaccines prior to, during, or after her pregnancy? I'm not sure whether MMR is recommended during pregnancy, but I know that, as a vaccine that prevents rubella (which can be catastrophic for a woman to contract during pregnancy), it comes up from time to time during the course of prenatal care. I was definitely asked about vaccination history by my OBGYN and given a couple of vaccines during my pregnancy. Is it possible she got MMR then? I also had to get MMR boosters a few different times during my adult life, for example to register for college. Is it possible she got this at some point during the time after her parents would have had a say about it?

Nthing talk to your pediatrician about your main question.
posted by the milkman, the paper boy at 9:31 AM on February 19, 2019

Get Mom the full set of vaccinations, not just MMR.
posted by w0mbat at 10:22 AM on February 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

It's likely that if your wife grew up unvaccinated in a largely unvaccinated community that she had the measles as a child. If she has, and if she is breastfeeding, that would confer temporary immunity to the baby. But since you don't know, I agree that this is a question for your wife's doctor, who can simply vaccinate her. There is really no need for checking titers - she can simply be vaccinated.

Most OB-GYNs do check titers for rubella, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases routinely during pregnancy, and if your wife mentioned her childhood environment, he or she might have also checked measles titers. A call to the OB-GYN might help answer your question.

Your baby's pediatrician can advise about the potential need for early vaccination, which can be done early (at 6 months) if there is a specific reason to do so, such as travel to an endemic area, or if there is an outbreak in your community.
posted by citygirl at 6:38 PM on February 19, 2019

Response by poster: Our doctor just confirmed that during pregnancy she was tested for and has rubella immunity, thus likely received the MMR vaccine at some point. We'll both be going for booster shots soon.

Thanks all.

PS our intention was always to discuss this with our doctor, but I turn to AskMeFi for additional background research.
posted by wutangclan at 11:38 AM on February 20, 2019 [5 favorites]