“At what age is a child's immune system fully developed?”
My baby is 3 years old. I want to know at what age is a child's immune system fully developed?
1 Answer
Hello,
I am happy to share with you that a newborn's immune system is fully developed at birth, although it is inefficient or immature. Without a fully developed immune system at birth, a baby would be quickly overwhelmed by bacteria and viruses and life would be impossible. In addition to the newborn's own immune system for survival, other factors are active to protect the newborn. The mother's immune system allows for the passage of her own antibodies to the fetus during her last trimester through the umbilical cord to her baby. These antibodies once in her baby allow for some protection from bacterial and viral infections for the first few months of the baby's life. That's why women in their last trimester are encouraged to get an influenza vaccine and a Tdap vaccine to protect both themselves and their newborns against the flu and pertussis (whooping cough). In addition, a breastfeeding mother gives her baby in her breast milk living white blood cells and antibodies that protect her baby from many intestinal infections.
A baby's first childhood immunizations can be given as early as 6 weeks of age to develop antibodies to selected germs before the baby actually encounters these germs in real life. Because a newborn's immune system is inefficient/immature at birth, care should be taken not to expose the newborn to unnecessary risks of germs in large crowds or social gatherings, e.g., restaurants, airports, movie theaters, parties, etc.
I hope this information is helpful.
Best regards,
Dr. T
I am happy to share with you that a newborn's immune system is fully developed at birth, although it is inefficient or immature. Without a fully developed immune system at birth, a baby would be quickly overwhelmed by bacteria and viruses and life would be impossible. In addition to the newborn's own immune system for survival, other factors are active to protect the newborn. The mother's immune system allows for the passage of her own antibodies to the fetus during her last trimester through the umbilical cord to her baby. These antibodies once in her baby allow for some protection from bacterial and viral infections for the first few months of the baby's life. That's why women in their last trimester are encouraged to get an influenza vaccine and a Tdap vaccine to protect both themselves and their newborns against the flu and pertussis (whooping cough). In addition, a breastfeeding mother gives her baby in her breast milk living white blood cells and antibodies that protect her baby from many intestinal infections.
A baby's first childhood immunizations can be given as early as 6 weeks of age to develop antibodies to selected germs before the baby actually encounters these germs in real life. Because a newborn's immune system is inefficient/immature at birth, care should be taken not to expose the newborn to unnecessary risks of germs in large crowds or social gatherings, e.g., restaurants, airports, movie theaters, parties, etc.
I hope this information is helpful.
Best regards,
Dr. T
