Dr. Chheda – Around six to eight weeks of life, there is a barrier that forms that protects the entire brain from the rest of the body. This is called the blood-brain barrier. It basically is a filter system that, for the most part, can filter out viruses and bacteria and other elements from reaching the brain. It’s protecting the brain. Before this age, before six to eight weeks of age, the barrier has not formed, and so anything that’s in the blood can go to the brain – any bacteria, any virus – and that can cause meningitis within 48 hours. That’s why we want babies to stay away from other people for the first six to eight weeks. You know, their immune system is really, really weak, and this is what we’re talking about – the blood-brain barrier.

After six to eight weeks, once the barrier is formed, then babies can go out and they can be around other people. You want to still use common sense. You know, if somebody is coughing and sneezing, don’t let them hold your baby. But you want to try to keep your baby protected in those first six to eight weeks of life. If your baby has any symptoms in those first six to eight weeks of life – any fever, any runny nose, anything – we as pediatricians take it very, very seriously because we know that it can be fatal within 48 hours. And we do not want that to happen. So we do a complete workup if your baby has any symptoms in those first weeks of life.

To prevent that, just keep your baby indoors. You can take a walk outside, but just not around people, okay? So keep that in mind – that’s what we talk about, the blood-brain barrier.