H-P What?

By Kate Stewart

The annual trip to the doctor’s office for their yearly physicals with my daughters is a time I look back and take a few moments to think about how they have grown. You receive the instant reminders as the nurse tells you their weight and height. You look around the waiting room and see the anxious parents holding newborns and think how that seemed like just yesterday – and then you smile at the couple and think to yourself thank god my daughters sleep through the night (mostly) and diapers are a thing of the past.

Well this year my oldest turned nine and we went to her annual visit thinking about the normal things – how much she had grown, did she need any shots, how long will we have to wait to see the doctor, will we get the nice nurse who likes to chat or the one that scares everyone – including parents. The visit started off just like all the others over the years. The doctor asked the usual questions – How much milk do you drink? Do you eat your vegetables? What time do you go to bed at night? And, then it came time for the shots. “Let’s see,” the doctor started to say as he looked at her chart. “We need to do a tetanus booster and oh yes it is time for her to get the HPV vaccine.”

H-P- what? I nearly fell out of my chair. My baby. My little girl. Old enough to get the HPV vaccine. Couldn’t be happening. I looked over at my daughter and realized that yes she actually was nine years old and was starting to enter puberty.
Given the shocked look on my face, our pediatrician began to explain about the HPV vaccine and how the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends girls start getting the vaccine at age nine to ensure they receive the vaccine before they have start having intercourse. Seeing me get a little paler the doctor looked at me and said, “You know girls as young as 12 are having babies these days.”
Take a deep breath. I knew all the facts and information he was providing. In fact I just recently argued with a dear friend about the need to make HPV a mandatory vaccine for young girls. But this was different. We were talking about my girl, my little girl.

So we discussed the issue further with our doctor and decided to wait until next year for the vaccine, mainly because she was getting her tetanus booster and next year she would not need any shots and the doctor agreed that one more year was fine. “BUT,” he said looking me sternly in the eye, “she should get the vaccine next year and not put it off.”

And we won’t put it off. The HPV vaccine is too important for my daughter’s health. Unfortunately it has gotten a bad rap for being tied with sexual intercourse and concerns about young girls having sex. The truth is the vaccine saves lives. I know it will not encourage my daughter or other young girls to have sex any earlier. But don’t take my word for it. This is too important and all parents of young girls – and possibly soon young boys -- should be prepared when their pediatricians say it is time for the HPV vaccine. More importantly, if pediatricians do not bring it up, parents need to advocate for their daughters and make sure they receive the vaccine.