Disease fears keep many new parents at home

AUCKLAND: Many parents around the country are terrified to leave their homes out of fear their babies might become infected with measles.

This comes as Auckland health officials confirmed on Tuesday two unborn babies died after their mothers caught measles during the outbreak of the highly contagious disease.

Cases have topped 1307 in Auckland this year, the majority of those aged under 5.

The figure has risen to nearly 1500 nationwide, new cases having been confirmed in Canterbury, Taupo, Wanaka and Dunedin this week.

Hundreds of calls from ‘‘extremely worried’’ parents have been flooding PlunketLine every day.

PlunketLine manager Anne Marie Morris said many callers were in tears and were too scared to leave their home for fear their baby would catch measles.

This had been the case since late August, when the outbreak skyrocketed, she said.

Ms Morris stressed it was important parents did call the helpline if they were scared and needed some advice.

‘‘Each case is different and it’s important they know we are here to help.

‘‘Some days we are getting an extra 50% to normal call volume, due to concerns of the measles outbreak.’’

One new mother said she had been forced to put herself on ‘‘home arrest’’ after discovering the immunisation she had had in the Ukraine, where she was born, was ineffective and she had no immunity against the disease.

‘‘We were nervous and of course hypervigilant, even just leaving the hospital with our new family,’’ Irene DirenkoSmith said.

The 35yearold was could not receive the vaccine while she was pregnant, due to the risk it could pose for her baby, but she was immunised with the first dose two days after giving birth to her son.

Ms DirenkoSmith said it was not clear whether her baby could gain immunity through breastfeeding.

She was getting contradictory information from her doctor and midwife.

‘‘My doctor told me breastfeeding wouldn’t give my baby any immunity and my midwife said it would,’’ she said.

Immunisation Advisory Centre director Nikki Turner said there was evidence breastfeeding did give babies some immunity and it was not 100% specific to measles.

‘‘Generally, the risk of mums and newborns getting infected with measles from venturing outside is low, but they should try to avoid crowded areas, like shopping malls and supermarkets . . .’’ Dr Turner said.

Ms Morris said Plunket had been hearing from a lot of mothers who had been cooped up at home for weeks, unsure if it was safe for them to go outside.

‘‘A lot of people were making the decision to stay at home, thinking their baby will be less at risk and they would worry less and could instead focus their attention on bonding with their newborn.

‘‘Each case is different, but often when parents ask where is safe, we say to them, if you know who you are mixing with and you’re in an open air environment, like the park on a fine day, then it’s a lot safer.

‘‘It’s also OK to ask people for their immunisation status,’’ Ms Morris said.

In South Auckland, Plunket outreach programme manager Sophie Woodger’s team has been visiting families needing the immunisation, who have expressed similar concerns.

‘‘Some are too scared to go to the supermarket, or even take their children to school.

‘‘They are feeling concerned about how best to protect themselves, especially when their baby was less than six months,’’ Ms Woodger said. —