Emily MacDonagh on the importance of vaccinations and why she's weaning baby Theo 'early'
'Although I hate seeing him cry, I'm a real advocate of them.'
Emily MacDonagh has opened up about why she is an advocate of 'vaccinating babies', explaining that working with her dad in Africa gave her a different perspective on them.
The doctor, who is known for keeping her family life with husband Peter Andre very private, revealed that her youngest child, Theo, has recently had his baby vaccinations to protect against meningitis.
Unfortunately, the five-month-old tot suffered from tongue-tie, which lead to complications after birth and resulted in a later vaccination schedule than usual.
Tongue-tie is where the strip of skin connecting the baby's tongue to the floor of their mouth is shorter than usual. This can often make breastfeeding difficult for babies, something that the youngest Andre had to have corrected with surgery and, as Emily describes, 'gave him a tricky start'.
Writing in her column for OK! magazine, the mum-of-two said, 'Babies are meant to have vaccines at eight, 12 and 16 weeks but because Theo had a tricky start he's a month behind.'
Emily went on to reveal that despite the process sometimes being uncomfortable for both parent and baby, she believes vaccinations are important.
'Theo had vaccinations last week, and although I hate seeing him cry, I'm a real advocate of them.
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'Having worked in Africa with my dad – who's a surgeon and runs a charity there – I've seen the difference they make and how fortunate we are to have them for free.'
The 27-year-old mum of two also shared some details on weaning, which she and Peter started with Theo a little earlier than is usual.
The NHS advises that mums breastfeed if they can for the first six months of their child's life, but babies suffering from tongue-tie can find this difficult and may need to be weaned sooner.
Emily explained that weaning has been no problem for Theo, who is 'loving' trying solid foods. 'We've started weaning him. He loves it and he grabs at the spoon… We weaned him early because our doctor advised us that it might help.'
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