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A.The BCG is a vaccination against tuberculosis or TB for short. TB is an infection that often affects the lungs but can also attack other parts of the body. The TB germs are coughed out by people with the infection and this is how it spreads from person to person. It can have severe effects if not treated. Babies can be at risk of infection with TB if someone in their close family has it. They can also be at risk if their family comes from an area where there is a lot of TB such as parts of Africa and South Asia, or if they live in an area where TB is common. The BCG helps make the baby immune to infection with TB. If the baby needs a BCG this can often be given in the first few days of life and is not painful. It is a very effective and safe vaccination. After about 2 weeks a spot will appear on the baby’s arm where the vaccination was given. This will last for a few weeks and sometimes will ooze some clear fluid. It will heal without treatment and should simply be covered with a clean dry dressing if required. The baby should not have any injections in the same arm for 3 months after the BCG. If you think your baby might need a BCG or have questions about the BCG vaccination you should discuss this with your Doctor.

Epidurals do not cause backache

Epidurals are highly effective for relief of labour pain, and are used by many women. However, there has been some controversy over whether epidurals might cause women to have backache. This issue has been addressed in a recent study of over 300 women in England.

The researchers randomly allocated the women to have an epidural or another form of pain relief in labour. The women were followed up more than 2 years, on average, after their delivery. Over two thirds of all the women experienced backache after delivery and in over 10% of them it was severe. However, there was no difference in the number of women who reported backache after an epidural compared with those who had other forms of pain relief. Indeed, the women who did not have an epidural were more likely to have persistent and recent back pain compared women who had had an epidural. Furthermore physiotherapists found that there was no difference in the mobility of womens’s backs between the groups. While backache is common after having a baby, it would appear that epidurals for pain relief in labour are not the cause.

*Reference: Howell et al BMJ 2002;325:357