Ask Amy: boundaries to protect a newborn from unvaccinated relatives

Dear Amy: My wife and I just welcomed our first child, and, of course, we are over the moon. Our baby was born healthy, but came into the world a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.

As parents of a newborn, we are concerned about our baby’s health.

My brother and sister-in-law have a 6-year-old son.

We love the parents and the child.

However, the parents have elected not to have their son vaccinated, and we are very concerned about exposing our nephew to his newborn cousin.

Your advice?

– New Parents

Dear New Parents: You and your wife must ask your child’s doctor for advice regarding your concern about exposing your baby to unvaccinated people.

From a parenting point of view, this is really your first test about how to create and enforce reasonable boundaries for physical contact with your child.

In the shorter term, you should limit all close contact until you two have your sea legs and your baby is healthy and thriving (perhaps after that one-month checkup).

During that checkup, go over your child’s vaccination schedule and ask about specific risks to the baby regarding contact with unvaccinated people before your baby is vaccinated.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)