Welcoming a new, tiny member into the family is exciting for everyone involved. Having kids around makes the holidays feel so much more magical, and it’s always fun to have a niece, nephew or grandchild that you can spoil. But when the baby is a newborn, it’s important that all relatives take safety precautions when seeing them. Or they might not get to meet the baby at all…
A new dad reached out to Reddit detailing how his wife’s family took it personally when they were asked to update their vaccinations before meeting the baby. Below, you’ll find the full story, as well as some of the replies invested readers shared.
Vaccines have become an extremely divisive topic in recent years
Image credits: Mufid Majnun / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
So this man’s relatives did not take it well when his wife said they needed to be up to date with their vaccinations before visiting the new baby
Image credits: Karabo Mdluli / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
He also shared screenshots of the conversation that went down after the parents expressed their wishes
Image credits: Quarantine722
Readers were appalled by the relatives’ reactions, and the father joined in on the conversation to share more details
The dad tried to de-escalate the situation in the group chat, but it was too late
Skepticism around vaccines has been on the rise in recent years
Vaccines are a divisive topic. Some of us are eager to keep up with all of our vaccinations and are first in line to get boosters when they roll out. But others are skeptical of how necessary vaccines really are. And some even believe that they cause more harm than good.
According to a 2024 Gallup Poll, only 40% of Americans believe that it’s extremely important for parents to get their children vaccinated, and 69% say it’s very important. In 2001, however, 94% of Americans said it was very important for kids to be vaccinated, and 64% considered it to be extremely important.
While the father who made this post pointed out in his text messages that he wasn’t trying to engage in a political discussion with his relatives, Gallup revealed that knowing someone’s political party might help you predict what their stance on vaccines will be.
63% of Democrats believe vaccines are extremely important, while only a quarter of Republicans feel the same way. Meanwhile, only 36% of Republicans think the government should require vaccines, compared to over two thirds of Democrats.
Skepticism about vaccines isn’t only an American issue, though. A YouGov survey found that, in 2024, 30% of adults in the UK believed that vaccines definitely or probably caused harmful effects that are not being disclosed to the public.
Meanwhile, the number of people who thought vaccines definitely did not cause harmful side effects decreased from 40% in 2020 to 27% today.
It’s important to respect the parents’ wishes when visiting a newborn
Regardless of how you personally feel about vaccines, it’s a fact that a newborn’s immune system is not going to be as strong as that of someone who’s been around for decades. So it’s important to exercise caution when visiting one.
Johns Hopkins notes on their blog that newborns are “at higher risk for developing infections from both bacteria and viruses. They are also more susceptible to developing serious infections, such as sepsis and meningitis.”
To avoid passing whooping cough on to a newborn, it’s important for all visitors to be up to date with their Tdap vaccination. Johns Hopkins also recommends having a flu shot and making sure you’re up to date with COVID vaccinations and boosters at least two weeks before visiting a baby.
In general, Baystate Health notes on their site that it’s probably safe for a newborn to start having visitors after about 3 months. But there are some rules to keep in mind. If anyone has been ill or exposed to illness in the past couple weeks, they should hold off on seeing the baby. It’s also important that they wash their hands well, and it might even be a good idea to wear a mask.
Never show up unannounced to visit a newborn, and if the parents have particular rules or wishes surrounding the visit, respect them. It’s always better to be safe than sorry, and at the end of the day, it’s up to Mom and Dad to decide who gets to spend time around their little one.
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Many readers assured the new parents that they weren’t overreacting
However, a small minority sided with the relatives
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