Children’s hospital in SP launches campaign against fake news – 01/04/2023 – Health

Sabará Children’s Hospital launched this April 1st, April Fools’ Day, a campaign against fake news in pediatrics. Throughout the month, specialists from the institution will clarify the main doubts of parents about respiratory diseases, vaccination, nutrition, breastfeeding, among others.

One of the focuses of the campaign is childhood vaccination, whose coverage in the country has dropped historically and there is a fear that diseases that are extinct in the country, such as polio, will appear as a result of non-vaccination of children.

One of the causes of this drop is attributed to false news about vaccines, which intensified from the immunization against Covid-19. At the end of February, misinformation about the vaccine, with misleading narratives about alleged side effects and natural immunity, once again infested social networks and WhatsApp and Telegram groups.

Below are five frequently asked questions that are often the subject of fake news and were clarified by professionals at the institution.

Vaccines bring more harm than good to children

False. This was one of the most republished fake news in recent years. It is one of the causes that are leading thousands of children to stop being vaccinated against diseases that were already under control in Brazil, such as measles. “Vaccinate your children! Vaccination is the most effective way to reduce serious illnesses that can cause death or serious sequelae”, says the medical manager and infectologist at Sabará Hospital Infantil, Dr. Francisco Ivanildo de Oliveira Junior.

Eating and going into the water can lead to the death of the child

False. It’s not getting into the water that causes any type of digestion problem, but the exercises and games that take place inside the pool. The body needs time to digest.

“If you get into a pool and stay still, the child won’t have a problem. Now if he gets into the water, jumps, swims or runs away, after eating he can have complications”, explains Caroline Peev, coordinator of the emergency room at Sabará.

After a while breast milk becomes weak and needs to be supplemented with formula.

False. As long as the mother has a healthy and balanced diet, breast milk adapts to all the needs that the baby needs. “Even with the children hospitalized in the ICU here in Sabará, we try to encourage mothers to breastfeed their children for a better recovery of the baby”, explains Denise Madureira, coordinator of the hospital’s speech therapy service.

Kisses on the baby’s cheeks and hands can be given without any problems.

False. Kissing babies can transmit viruses and bacteria through skin-to-skin contact and/or inhalation of contaminated particles (droplets or aerosols). These agents can cause a series of diseases, such as flu, colds, tonsillitis, infectious mononucleosis, pneumonia, among others.

“The smaller the child, the greater the risk of infection, since, at this stage, they have not yet received all the necessary vaccines to protect them and, most of the time, they are not previously exposed to these agents, which makes them susceptible”, says infectologist Juliana Framil.

Teas and juices can be sweetened and given to children of any age.

False. Excess sugar is not indicated at any age, but it is even more harmful in children under two years old. The insertion of this ingredient can cause early cavities in children, in addition to contributing to the emergence of childhood obesity.

“The ideal is to extend the introduction of sugar into children’s diets for as long as possible, using only ‘good’ sugars such as those found in fruit”, says nutritionist at Sabará Hospital Infantil, Fernanda Rabelo.