Hi @jonsigler! In many places, the first series of childhood immunizations are administered at the hospital within 24 hours of birth. However, these first rounds of immunizations do not necessarily have to be given at this time. The only requirement for most of these is that they be given prior to two months of age, so they can be administered at your child's first appointment with their pediatrician.

The only exception to this is the Hepatitis B vaccine, and this is one that has recently sparked a lot of controversy. it was once recommended that all babies receive the Hepatitis B vaccination at birth. However, recent research demonstrates that in some cases, this vaccination can actually do more harm than good. This is due to the fact that there is a relatively low incidence of Hepatitis B in children today and immunizations are often comprised of a small amount of the virus in order to increase the body's immunological resistance to it. About the only time that Hepatitis B is actually a threat to an infant is when they are born to a mother who already has Hepatitis B. Many doctors are now recommending that the Hepatitis B immunization only be administered at birth to infants that are in this high risk category.

Other childhood immunizations that should be administered prior to two months of age are Inactivated Polio Vaccine, or IPV, the H. Influenza type B vaccine, or HiB, the Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine, or PCV, and the Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis combination vaccine, which is known as DTaP. For these types of vaccines, the risk of not having the immunization is often much worse than actually getting it, and they provide a great deal of protection for your child's health.

Keep accurate records of all of your child's immunizations at home. In some cases, doctors will tell you that there is no need to, since they keep this information on file. However, when my son was young, his pediatrician suddenly closed up shop and went elsewhere. When it came time for him to start school, I was unable to obtain an immunization record from them. It never hurts to have a backup record.

The best person to ask is your pediatrician or family doctor. My kids have had all of the recommended vaccinations with no issues and my next child will as well. The thing to remember is that what you are going to find in researching this is that the danger of not having the vaccinations is far greater than the risks of having them.

The biggest concern you will hear now is thimerisol which is a preservative derived from mercury and the fact that the increased use coincided with increased cases of Autism. Of course it also coincides with things like women having children at a later age as well. Below is the link to the latest study on the subject.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2010-0309v1

This is the link to the American Academy of Pediatrics and will be a good place for you to read up on vaccinations or at least start your independent research.
http://www.aap.org/