Re: Chicken pox, question of immunity

[Guest guest]

I am not the best person to answer this since there are people here

with much more knowledge than myself, but I will share a few

things. First, the testing that they did for antibodies does not

actually mean that you are immune to chicken pox. There is no way

that I have heard of to actually test for immunity to something, the

antibodies just mean that you have been exposed. Others might be

able to explain this a bit better.

As far as I can tell, these antibodies will be passed on through

breastmilk, but are no guarentee that your child will not get an

illness, though many of the breastfeeding moms I know who tried to

expose there child, did not have any luck with their child getting

chicken pox.

I can say for certain that your child is not immune, at least not

for life. She just may have temporary protection provided by the

breastmilk.

Tara

>

> I have a general question about immunity, but I will use chicken

pox as an

> example. I never had ch.p. as a child, but I was exposed to it --

and

> probably more than once.

>

> Years ago, before my daughter was born, I had some kind of blood

test that

> my doctor wanted to determine immunity to ch.p. Seemed harmless,

so I said

> 'sure' and the test indicated that I have immunity. Terrific.

>

> But here is the question: is natural immunity always passed on to

an infant?

> (I breastfed my daughter for 2 years.) I never intentionally

exposed her to

> kids with ch.p. because it just never worked out. Someone's child

would have

> ch.p., and we'd be leaving town the next day -- stuff like that.

Now I'm

> wondering if what I understand about natural immunity is true-- is

she

> immune or is the acquisition of immunity from the mother uncertain?

>

> Thanks,

> K.

>