Gabrielle Union addressed worrywarts on Instagram who expressed concern about the 46-year-old actress kissing her infant daughter Kaavia on the mouth.
Kaavia was born on November 8 via a surrogate mom. Gabrielle and NBA star Dwyane Wade, 36, announced the baby's birth on Nov. 9.
On Thursday, Gabrielle posted a video of herself showering Kaavia with kisses. She responded defensively when her followers criticized her for showing affection to her own child:
"Hey guys I appreciate all the concern about kisses on the mouth and labored breathing, I am blessed to have a [wet] nurse here with us while at work. Kaav is healthy and I don't even touch her without washing and sanitizing myself and everything."
She explained that visitors who come in contact with Kaavia must wash and sanitize their hands before touching the baby.
"No visits with sick folk and even all of Oprah's crew got whooping cough vaccinations and current on all vaccinations to be in our home. If you think I waited this long and went thru all this to put my baby in harm's way... you got another thing coming."
Gabrielle's post sparked even more concerns about the first-time mom overprotecting her daughter.
Passive Immunity
Babies are born with antibodies passed to them from the birth mother. If the mother had Chickenpox, some of her Chickenpox antibodies will be passed to her baby. But if the mother never had Chickenpox, the baby will not be protected. This type of immunity is called passive immunity.
Passive immunity is only temporary (it lasts a few weeks). Breastmilk contains antibodies, so a baby who is raised on breastmilk will develop their own immunity faster than babies who are fed formula from a bottle.
Premature babies, like Kaavia, are at higher risk of developing an illness -- which is why Gabrielle's followers are so concerned.
The infant should develop her own immune system after being exposed to common germs. If she is not exposed to common germs, she will grow up to be a sickly child.
Some doctors even encourage moms to let their baby's crawl around on the kitchen floor to build up their own immunity.
Childhood Immunizations
Doctors recommend childhood immunizations when a baby is 2 months old to protect her from whooping cough, mumps, measles, Rubella, etc.
When parents overprotect their babies -- by insisting that visitors sanitize their hands -- their babies may not build up an immune system fast enough. Overprotection is also the cause of many childhood allergies, such as allergy to peanut butter, because the child is not exposed to allergens at an early age.
Gabby is an overprotective parent because of her history of miscarriages. But Kaavia's body may not be able to fight off common bacteria and common viruses when she gets older.