If you’re expecting a baby, you’re probably thinking through every detail of your birth plan—including the care your newborn will receive in those first precious hours. On Friday, the CDC made a major change that many expecting parents will want to understand before delivery.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to end the universal recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth. Going forward, only babies born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B will receive the shot at birth. For everyone else, the first dose would be delayed until at least two months of age.
Experts from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health are available to help expecting moms understand the science, the reasoning behind the change, and what to expect when your baby is born. To schedule an interview with an expert, please contact Katelyn Deckelbaum, katelyn [dot] deckelbaum
gwu [dot] edu (katelyn[dot]deckelbaum[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Jennifer Keller, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and a professor at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Arielle Effron, is an obstetrician-gynecologist with The GW Medical Faculty Associates
Kathryn Marko, is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist at The GW Medical Faculty Associates and an assistant professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Linda Cassar, clinical associate professor at the GW School of Nursing, has worked primarily with the maternal/child health patient population over her 30 years as a nurse, working in labor and delivery, mother/baby, high-risk antepartum, and outpatient community perinatal education.
Amita N. Vyas, is an associate professor at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health and Director for the MPH Maternal and Child Health program and the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health.
-GW-