Your baby’s immunisations

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way of protecting your baby against some serious disease. Your baby will be offered her first immunisations when she is two months old.

What is immunisation?

Immunisation protects us from serious diseases. Once we have been immunised our bodies are better able to fight diseases we come in contact with.

Vaccines and immunity

Breastfeeding will certainly boost your baby’s immune system and help protect against infections such as the common cold and tummy upsets, but it does not protect against major childhood diseases.

Some babies have temporary side-effects such as redness and swelling where they have had the injection or may feel a bit irritable and unwell and have a fever. Your health visitor or public health nurse or GP may suggest you give your baby a dose of infant paracetamol or ibuprofen liquid if she gets a fever. From 2 months you can give a single 2.5ml dose of paracetomol, and from 3 months a single 2.5ml dose of infant ibuprofen. Read the instructions on the bottle carefully.

Immunisation when your baby is unwell

If your baby has a minor illness without a fever, such as a cold, she can have her immunisation as normal. However, if your baby is ill with a fever, delay the immunisation until she has recovered. This is to avoid the fever being associated with the vaccine, or the vaccine increasing the fever.

If your baby has a bleeding disorder or has had a fit not associated with fever, she can receive immunisations, but may need additional care. If this is the case, speak to your health visitor or public health nurse or practice nurse first.

Immunisation and premature babies

Premature babies may be at a greater risk of infection. They should be immunised according to the recommended schedule from two months after birth, regardless of how premature they were.

Your immunisation appointment

You will be sent an appointment by your GP surgery when it’s time to bring your baby in for her immunisations. The nurse or doctor will explain the process, ask about any known allergies your baby has, and answer questions you have. The vaccine is then injected into the muscle of your baby’s thigh.

For more information about immunisation for babies up to 13 months, visit Immunisation Scotland. You can download a copy of the booklet A guide to childhood immunisation for babies up to 13 months of age, which should also be available from your GP surgery.