Mum Bans Mother In Law From Visiting Grandchild Until She Agrees To Get The Flu Shot!
Mum Bans Mother In Law From Visiting Grandchild Until She Agrees To Get The Flu Shot!
Keeping our baby safe is an instinct that kicks in the second we find out we’re pregnant. We take vitamins, abstain from alcohol and foods like sushi all in the hopes of keeping our unborn bub in optimum health.
Once they’re born the desire to protect them becomes even stronger. So much so, that as parents we enforce any rules we see fit in order to keep our babies safe.
One mum has done just this and forbidden her mother in law from visiting her newborn until she agrees to get the flu shot. The outraged grandmother isn’t having a bar of it and wrote into Slate’s Dear Prudence column to voice her frustrations.
The grandma, who happens to be a former nurse, says she’s even considered lying about getting the shot just so she can have a chance to see her first grandchild. She says she’s totally against getting the flu shot and feels devastated to find herself in this predicament.
“I am in a quandary,” she wrote. “I don’t want to lie and say my husband and I have gotten one when we haven’t. But I don’t want to be left out of this little one’s life because that side of the family thinks I am being unreasonable by not caving to have a shot I do not want.”
Her lack of co-operation has seen a huge response online from people calling the grandma selfish and telling her to just get on with it and have the shot.
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While not everyone agrees with the flu-shot, they do agree that sometimes we have to do things we don’t want as they are for the good of our friends and family.
Second, babies, toddlers and preschoolers are at a higher risk for developing complications such as pneumonia when they do come down with the flu, as Flor M. Munoz, MD, associate professor of paediatric infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine explains. “Children under age 5 and adults over age 65 are the groups most at risk of being hospitalised or dying from the flu. Babies don’t have a mature immune system yet—they’re still figuring out how to fight infection. Their little lungs are still developing, they get more inflammation, and it takes longer for them to recover.”
Here are some ways you can prepare your friends and family for the ‘vaccine or no baby’ conversation.
1. Make sure your friends and family know how you stand well before the baby is born. Explain that your doctor has strongly recommended that anyone who is going to be spending time with the baby should be up-to-date on flu vaccines. Let them know how serious it is for a baby to contact the influenza virus.
2. Make it easy for everyone. Perhaps suggest where the nearest pharmacy or doctor’s office is and even consider paying the fee for the shot. People will really appreciate the fact you took the extra step to help.
3. Do the best you can but don’t stress too much. Even though we would love it if everyone was fully vaccinated before they came near our baby, the truth is that as long as you got your flu shot when you were pregnant, your baby will also have good protection. Of course always keep people away from the baby if they aren’t feeling well and ask that they wash their hands and practice good hygiene before holding your newborn.
Images: Pixabay
Chrystal Lovevintage
Chrystal is a writer and blogger who loves nothing more than watching back to back episodes of crime shows. Should she ever find herself needing to cover up a crime, she'll know exactly what to do! Her dream is to one day live in Palm Springs where she can do her writing poolside while drinking endless gin and tonics. Mum to the cutest twin boys in the world, she loves nothing more than the sound of their laughter (usually heard when they're conspiring against her). Entertainment writer and pop culture junkie, she will be bringing you all the celebrity gossip and news that your brain can handle. You can follow her blog at https://lovechrystal.com.au and on Instagram at Chrystalovevintage
