Immunisation Passport

movingsucks

Does anyone else have one of these?
I was given one by my PHN when my baby was born. She said it was really important to bring it to all vaccinations and make sure it was filled in.
Grand, so the doctor in Coolock who did the BCG asked for it and filled it all in.
Then when I went to get the 6 in 1 and PCV I brought it along and the nurse looked at me like I had three heads and said "Oh I don't need anything like that" and printed me off a letter with the information.
Anyway, I since moved away and at my new GP when I was arranging the next batch of needles I couldn't remember the date of the last ones so had to dig out the letter and even when I mentioned the passport to the new practice they didn't seem to know what I was talking about!

I think it's a really good idea because I got a letter about the BCG today (current Child Health Office has no record obviously) and they were saying they'd need to contact Coolock to get the batch number but I have the batch number written on the "passport". Handy for someone like me who moves quite a bit!

Is it just not being used everywhere? Maybe I should just fill it in myself

How Strange

I brought mine for all the vaccinations and the gp filled it in although he forgot to put in the batch no for the 12 month. However I'm sure he has a record.

I found it handy even as a reminder of when the vacs were due

IvyTheTerrible

I can't understand why the nurse couldn't just fill out the passport.

Here in France, you have to have the "passport" completed to be allowed put your child into a creche.

movingsucks

That's why I don't understand, she seemed offended I even suggested it. And she made a big deal of making sure I kept the letter so I'd know the date and I had proof she'd had it etc.

What's the point of having these things if people refuse to adopt them - anyway, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things obviously but I just found it weird. A few of my friends never got the passport at all.

IvyTheTerrible

movingsucks wrote: »

That's why I don't understand, she seemed offended I even suggested it. And she made a big deal of making sure I kept the letter so I'd know the date and I had proof she'd had it etc.

What's the point of having these things if people refuse to adopt them - anyway, it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things obviously but I just found it weird. A few of my friends never got the passport at all.

Also, I mean, you had the passport with you, now you have a letter that is much easier to get lost!

Staple it into your passport!

Here, they write it into the passport, but they also have to fill a form in and send it to the town hall. So if you lose the passport, you can contact the town hall and they'll issue you with a new vaccination cert.

pwurple

Write it into the booklet yourself. The GP's office where we get them done also logs them for their own records, but it is handy to have someplace with the batch numbers and dates of immunisation.

I didn't have mine for one, and I just filled it out myself with the info from the GP's letter.

sillysocks

I had one and used it at the start but forgot after a few vaccinations. When the baby was finished the vaccinations, well the baby ones anyway, we got a letter from the HSE detailing the vaccines she got and date she got them etc so will hang onto that.

Moonbeam

I lost the one i had for #1 and never had one for #2:) do not worry you get plenty of letters and just get them all done at the same gp ,then they have a record.

wmpdd3

As above^^

1st baby's book filled out perfectly, 2nd, started 2 books, lost 2 books!

I have the letter they send at 13 months, the creche did ask if I had one, but didnt demand one.

Neyite

movingsucks wrote: »

Then when I went to get the 6 in 1 and PCV I brought it along and the nurse looked at me like I had three heads and said "Oh I don't need anything like that" and printed me off a letter with the information.

See, thats where I would have got a tad thick with her and replied "eh, its not for you, missus, its for ME"

The mother never knew when we got our jabs - there was a fair few of us to keep track of, and these little booklets would have been so handy when we got older.

I've got the 4mth vaccine due tomorrow, poor pet

IvyTheTerrible

Neyite wrote: »

See, thats where I would have got a tad thick with her and replied "eh, its not for you, missus, its for ME"

The mother never knew when we got our jabs - there was a fair few of us to keep track of, and these little booklets would have been so handy when we got older.

I've got the 4mth vaccine due tomorrow, poor pet

This is exactly it. I never got my rubella booster and then it was forgotten about til I got pregnant. Then the blood tests showed I wasn't immune, so I had to be very careful to avoid getting infected.

KGLady

I had them alright, but when I got one for no1 the schedule of vaccines had recently changed and it was no longer matching with the book. No2 came a year later and yet again the schedule was already different from No1 and the passport thingy was even more useless as it was still the same outdated one being used. (Prior to PCV and only 5-1 for example).

We needed their full vaccine schedule for their ECCE pre-school registration so I ended up contacting the GP and getting the details - which highlighted that no2 had missed a vaccine in the schedule that neither me, the GP or the HSE seemed to have picked up on, so we got her jabbed on the spot. Absolute p.i.t.a.

I really love the idea of the passport in theory anyway, just hoping that when no3 comes (in the next few days hopefully!) that we'll not be handed the same ancient uselessly out of date booklet AGAIN!

EDIT:

I'm glad I read this thread now, it started me thinking so I goggled it and found the HSE have it in a PDF format, so I've downloaded one to have as a backup in case someone tries to give me that useless old fecking rainbow striped book with the Ann & Barry lookalikes on it
http://www.immunisation.ie/en/Downloads/NewmaterialsApril2011/PDFFile_16757_en.pdf

Hannibal Smith

I've never even heard of these :eek: I got a letter from the hse about their jabs and the gp just tells me when to come back. But I've never seen or even heard of these passport things

movingsucks

Yeah I asked a few of my friends from differing parts of the country and some of them never heard of it either.
It's great for someone like me who moves a good bit so as not to be ringing up various GPs for information!

movingsucks

IvyTheTerrible wrote:

This is exactly it. I never got my rubella booster and then it was forgotten about til I got pregnant. Then the blood tests showed I wasn't immune, so I had to be very careful to avoid getting infected.

I had mmr as a child and the booster but my tests when preggers showed I wasn't immune anyway. It can "wear off" apparently. It'll be interesting to see if this latest one lasts!

IvyTheTerrible

movingsucks wrote: »

I had mmr as a child and the booster but my tests when preggers showed I wasn't immune anyway. It can "wear off" apparently. It'll be interesting to see if this latest one lasts!

I got mine a month after the birth, hope it lasts til I get pregnant again!

movingsucks

Neyite wrote: »

movingsucks wrote: »

Then when I went to get the 6 in 1 and PCV I brought it along and the nurse looked at me like I had three heads and said "Oh I don't need anything like that" and printed me off a letter with the information.

See, thats where I would have got a tad thick with her and replied "eh, its not for you, missus, its for ME"

The mother never knew when we got our jabs - there was a fair few of us to keep track of, and these little booklets would have been so handy when we got older.

I've got the 4mth vaccine due tomorrow, poor pet

I have 4MTH this week too, I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna! But she gets so annoyed when at doctors anyway she doesn't even notice the needles she's giving out so much!!!

movingsucks

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

movingsucks wrote: »

I had mmr as a child and the booster but my tests when preggers showed I wasn't immune anyway. It can "wear off" apparently. It'll be interesting to see if this latest one lasts!

I got mine a month after the birth, hope it lasts til I get pregnant again!

I had mine the day I left the hospital I'm curious to see if it lasts seeing as I somehow killed the other one hehe

IvyTheTerrible

movingsucks wrote: »

I have 4MTH this week too, I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna! But she gets so annoyed when at doctors anyway she doesn't even notice the needles she's giving out so much!!!

I don't know if you breastfeed, but something I find great is to put the baby on the breast while the doc is giving the vaccination. He cries a tiny bit just when the needle goes in but he doesn't scream the place down, he gets distracted by the breast!

movingsucks

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

movingsucks wrote: »

I have 4MTH this week too, I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna! But she gets so annoyed when at doctors anyway she doesn't even notice the needles she's giving out so much!!!

I don't know if you breastfeed, but something I find great is to put the baby on the breast while the doc is giving the vaccination. He cries a tiny bit just when the needle goes in but he doesn't scream the place down, he gets distracted by the breast!

I used to but I don't anymore sadly. Due to slow weight gain and an overly concerned PHN I ended up combined feeding pretty early on.
It's funny though because when I got the first needles they brought a doctor in to check her heart and she said she couldn't check while she was crying and could I give her a soother?
I said she doesn't take one but I have a bottle with me it might help. Of course the feckin bottle was too hot - baaaad mamma - so I said hold on I'll just breastfeed her a little bit. The nurse and doc both looked uncomfortable and one said "oh can you just let her suck your finger instead?!".
I gave up then.

IvyTheTerrible

movingsucks wrote: »

I used to but I don't anymore sadly. Due to slow weight gain and an overly concerned PHN I ended up combined feeding pretty early on.
It's funny though because when I got the first needles they brought a doctor in to check her heart and she said she couldn't check while she was crying and could I give her a soother?
I said she doesn't take one but I have a bottle with me it might help. Of course the feckin bottle was too hot - baaaad mamma - so I said hold on I'll just breastfeed her a little bit. The nurse and doc both looked uncomfortable and one said "oh can you just let her suck your finger instead?!".
I gave up then.

Really!?!

My pediatrician says she loves when babies coming in for vaccinations are breastfed, she says at least it doesn't sound like she's killing the child in the room when she injects them! She gives a sugar solution to bottlefed babies but finds it's not as effective.

movingsucks

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

movingsucks wrote: »

I used to but I don't anymore sadly. Due to slow weight gain and an overly concerned PHN I ended up combined feeding pretty early on.
It's funny though because when I got the first needles they brought a doctor in to check her heart and she said she couldn't check while she was crying and could I give her a soother?
I said she doesn't take one but I have a bottle with me it might help. Of course the feckin bottle was too hot - baaaad mamma - so I said hold on I'll just breastfeed her a little bit. The nurse and doc both looked uncomfortable and one said "oh can you just let her suck your finger instead?!".
I gave up then.

Really!?!

My pediatrician says she loves when babies coming in for vaccinations are breastfed, she says at least it doesn't sound like she's killing the child in the room when she injects them! She gives a sugar solution to bottlefed babies but finds it's not as effective.

Yea mine was just a bit weird she also ranted at me when I jokingly suggested my husband bring our baby for the injections when she's older and they hurt more. She gave me a really judgemental look and said "You know ... this is YOUR baby, and YOU need to know exactly what she's being injected with".
Well that told me eh!!!
Hopefully the next one will be a bit nicer

pwurple

movingsucks wrote: »

Yea mine was just a bit weird she also ranted at me when I jokingly suggested my husband bring our baby for the injections when she's older and they hurt more. She gave me a really judgemental look and said "You know ... this is YOUR baby, and YOU need to know exactly what she's being injected with".
Well that told me eh!!!
Hopefully the next one will be a bit nicer

Um, is it not HIS baby as well?

movingsucks

pwurple wrote: »

Um, is it not HIS baby as well?

Yea it was real WTF moment. Me and my fancy passport and notions of modern parenting - I must have pushed her over the edge.

Neyite

movingsucks wrote: »

I used to but I don't anymore sadly. Due to slow weight gain and an overly concerned PHN I ended up combined feeding pretty early on.
It's funny though because when I got the first needles they brought a doctor in to check her heart and she said she couldn't check while she was crying and could I give her a soother?
I said she doesn't take one but I have a bottle with me it might help. Of course the feckin bottle was too hot - baaaad mamma - so I said hold on I'll just breastfeed her a little bit. The nurse and doc both looked uncomfortable and one said "oh can you just let her suck your finger instead?!".
I gave up then.

Two health care professionals embarrased at breastfeeding?? I would be leaving that practice and attending a doctors that dont get embarassed. They must have died of mortification during their studies so! What do you have to do, point out on a doll where it hurts? :rolleyes: I think I would have laughed in their face.

celticopia

movingsucks wrote: »

I used to but I don't anymore sadly. Due to slow weight gain and an overly concerned PHN I ended up combined feeding pretty early on.
It's funny though because when I got the first needles they brought a doctor in to check her heart and she said she couldn't check while she was crying and could I give her a soother?
I said she doesn't take one but I have a bottle with me it might help. Of course the feckin bottle was too hot - baaaad mamma - so I said hold on I'll just breastfeed her a little bit. The nurse and doc both looked uncomfortable and one said "oh can you just let her suck your finger instead?!".
I gave up then.

Oh my god that's scandalous. A doctor and nurse both being uncomfortable with it! Who were they I want to avoid them! I mostly just ignored my phn's (plural) not a one of them gave advice consistent with the other, and didn't know half of what they should have. The charts they are on for weight gain are also wrong for babies breastfed, as they were developed in the 50's (!!!) from formula fed babies.