Just 24 days

Things have changed since my first child was born in 1961. The thought then was that they needed some time to build up immunity before meeting the world and its bacteria, viruses and contaminants. When I was on my way out of the coffee shop this morning I stopped at a table and asked, "How old is your little one?" "Three and a half weeks," she said. So I looked it up at several web sites thinking perhaps there was new advice. Doesn't seem to be.

"Immediately after birth, the newborn has high levels of the mother's antibodies in the bloodstream. Babies who are breastfed continue to receive antibodies via breast milk. Breast milk contains all five types of antibodies, including immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin D (IgD), immunoglobulin E (IgE), IgG, and immunoglobulin M (IgM). This is called passive immunity because the mother is "passing" her antibodies to her child. This helps prevent the baby from developing diseases and infections.

During the next several months, the antibodies passed from the mother to the infant steadily decrease. When healthy babies are about two to three months old, the immune system will start producing its own antibodies. During this time, the baby will experience the body's natural low point of antibodies in the bloodstream. This is because the maternal antibodies have decreased, and young children, who are making antibodies for the first time, produce them at a much slower rate than adults.
Once healthy babies reach six months of age, their antibodies are produced at a normal rate."

Add to that it is flu season; our government is hyping a pandemic; the mother might not be breastfeeding; the table where I sit always needs to be wiped down before I use it; it was noisy and confusing with strangers' voices (like mine) battering her little ears; she couldn't focus yet so was staring at the brilliant can lights above.

Maybe someday someone will investigate the increase in allergies and autism in today's children (peanut butter, gluten, pets, etc.) over those of 40 years ago and find out if they inhaled things in the built environment before their bodies were ready for the insult to their delicate systems.