Did your baby’s reflux seem to start around the time they had a round of jabs?

Is there a link between vaccines and reflux?

Officially, no. Of course not. The health establishments have not asked the question or fund research into it. That does not mean that there is no link.

Before you go all high-horsey on me, this post is not about your choice to vaccinate your child or not. In fact, this has nothing to do with that debate at all. This post is about understanding the impact that vaccines may have and how to support your baby to minimise the

risk of adverse events with relation to reflux and colic. 

I’ve been asked on countless occasions if there is a link between vaccines and reflux. The first time I was asked this question, I didn’t have an answer. So I went and researched it some more. The medical journals I looked to first didn’t have anything on the subject, which did not surprise me. The next place I went was looking at the ingredients of each vaccine that babies get.

Some babies will react to their jabs. Most often it is not the active ingredient that causes the issue,

it’s the other ingredients.

The 6-in-1 vaccine contains lactose. Although strictly speaking, lactose is a milk sugar, because of the way it is processed, it is not 100% free from dairy proteins. And this can cause allergy and reflux flares for a baby with Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy. The 6-in-1 also contains antibiotics which I will discuss in a moment.

Rotavirus vaccine contains sucrose, which, if baby has a sensitive digestive system can cause a little upset (flatulence, trapped wind). It also contains the live rotavirus strain that causes

diarrhoea in 10% of babies, which literally washes out everything from the gut (including most of baby’s microbiome). An when the gut bacteria are not present in the volume they need to be to digest baby’s milk, this can give rise to fermentation of complex carbohydrates and proteins in the gut leading to trapped wind, bloating, flatulence and other digestive upset until baby’s gut bacteria recovers.

MMR vaccine contains an antibiotic (neomycin). One brand of the MMR contains lactose, which can cause issues for babies with CMPA, and sorbitol and

mannitol which can ferment in baby’s guts due to the natural immaturity of their digestive systems.

MenB vaccines also contains an antibiotic (kanamycin) and sucrose. It is document to cause vomiting and / or diarrhoea in more than 1 in 10 babies.

The challenge with antibiotics in vaccines is that they can reduce baby’s digestive capabilities. Antibiotics, by their very nature, are designed to kill bacteria, and they are non-discriminatory. This means that they don’t tell the difference between good and bad bacteria or where the bacteria are

located. The antibiotics attack all bacteria (in reference to the volume of the antibiotic). In some babies who have a weakened microbiome, or it is growing gradually, this can have a massive impact on their gut health. (see below for what to do).

A baby’s microbiome is important to their development, and they have a long time to develop it. However small injuries on a repeated scale like the vaccination schedule may cause it to deplete over time, so a baby might be fine with the first and second rounds of vaccines and then suddenly develop constant

distress and digestion issues that get diagnosed as reflux after the third round. Or of course this can happen earlier.

What do you do?

My suggestion is to give baby a probiotic (or take it yourself if you’re breastfeeding) for about a week before their jabs and up to two weeks afterwards. This should support your baby’s digestive system during this period. Boosting their gut bacteria to be able to cope with the additional ingredients in the vaccines.

My preferred probiotic is BioGaia because of the research already done with this strain and

colic, combined with the minimal risk of allergy response and no damaging ingredients in it.

Has your baby developed reflux or colic since a vaccine? Have they been diagnosed and treated for reflux? And has it worked?

References from Oxford Vaccine Group