A Pledge to PLAY: A Disease Awareness Campaign

Late last month, Berry and I, along with the rest of the SoMoms were invited by Janice Villanueva aka Mommy Mundo to Protection, Love, and Activities for Young Kids or P.L.A.Y. - a disease awareness raising campaign at The Fun Ranch in Ortigas.

While I make sure that the kiddos vaccination schedules are followed to the letter, because hello, health is wealth, I thought it was still worth our time to learn more about vaccinations. I mean, I don't really even question our pedia as to why we have to have them done, it always is just a given that it has to be done. I saw my mom meticulously looking at our immunization charts growing up, so taking my cue from her, I make sure I do the same for Berry and Xavi.

So it was with rapt attention that I listened to pediatrician Dra. Carmina delos Reyes' talk about preventable diseases via vaccination.

Thankfully, Berry and her friends Gabbie, Reese and Anika were kept busy with their own activities, because it allowed me to really take in the lecture. And it was OMG. Did you know that each year, roughly a million children die from Pneumococcal Diseases or PDs?  Pneumococcal diseases include invasive ones also known as IPD such as meningitis, sepsis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, and other common diseases such as acute otitis media.

PD is considered as the #1 killer of children less than 5 years of age worldwide, pneumonia in fact kills 37 Filipino kids each day! Meanwhile Acute Otitis Media (AOM), more commonly known as an infection of the middle ear, causes twenty million doctor visits annually. As a mom, I find these statistics horrendous, because these diseases are actually preventable through vaccination. 

I can just imagine the stress of having your kid sick with colds, so imagine the intensity when it's something serious, even life threatening. Now imagine how horrible it would feel if you knew you could have done something to prevent that from happening.

I don't mean to be a downer, but this is serious stuff that us parents shouldn't take for granted. When it comes to our health, it's always better to be proactive than reactive. Here's to a safe and fun summer for everyone!

Protection, Love, and Activities for Young Kids or P.L.A.Y. is a disease awareness raising campaign organized by Mommy Mundo in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline, a global leader in preventive healthcare. For more information, visit www.mommymundo.com/vaccinate.