Info Regarding Vaccination

My son will be 2 next month and I had a lot of questions about this myself. I understand it can be a real moral dilemma. Then a friend of mine, who was dealing with her son who she was afraid was autistic sent me this link in an email. It is written by Dr.Sears and held a lot of weight with. Really I had a bunch of questions and all I was really looking for was answers that made sense to me. This article became the guide for us. Good luck to you & congratulations!!

http://sacramentoparent.com/In_This_Issue/07%2011/Is%20th...

Whether you vaccinate or not it's a big decision that involves huge responsibility...The book Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How to Make Safe, Sensible Decisions about the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives form Aviva Jill Romm helped me a lot in feeling good about my decision. You can find it on Amazon for $11-12... It gives you info on all the different vaccines and different way to go about it from not vaccinating at all to partially to completely.
If you're not going to get the book I wrote a handout about the subject based on that book that I could email you.
Good luck!
Genie

My daughter is three and has so far not received any vaccinations. I encourage you to do your research. Here are a few worthwhile reads:

•Saying No to Vaccines, A resources guide for all ages By Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

•Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How to Make Safe, Sensible Decisions about the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives by Aviva Jill Romm

•The Sanctity Human Blood by Dr. Tim O'Shea

•How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor by Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, a renowned pediatrician

•Raising a Vaccine Free Child by Wendy Lydall

•The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears

•What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave

Just remember that it is pretty much impossible to find a neutral opinion. It seems many people recommend the Dr. Sears book but he is in fact pro-vax. Just keep all that in mind when doing research.

There is the religious exemption available in Massachusetts (based on what you decide to do regarding vaccines and your own personal belief system):

http://www.vaclib.org/exempt/massachusetts.htm

I also wanted to share with you a link to a message board called Just Mommies. There are tons of different boards there including vaccination boards. If you are questioning vaccines the ladies here:

http://www.justmommies.com/forums/f325-choosing-not-to-va...

are very well informed, very welcoming to everyone (regardless of what you decide is best for your family), and full of great information and helpful links.

I wish you the best of luck!

Ditto on what Joanna said! I have vaccinate my child, but just not on the same schedule they recommended, and I decided to skip the flu shot.

One of the reasons things like mumps and polio is not around anymore is because of vaccinations! They less people choose to vaccinate, the more these diseases will come back.
Some schools will not allow an unvaccinated child to attend.

I also recommend the same book by Dr. Sears. It is great.

FYI - Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British physician who jump-started the scare about a link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, manipulated and changed data to make his case. (You can google that fact). So don't let all the media hype scare you.

Do your homework and good luck! Congrats on your pregnancy.

There are plenty of mandatory vaccinations in European countries. In fact, they give vaccines in some countries the US doesn't because they are considered too dangerous.

Rather than rejecting vaccination out of hand, I recommend doing some real research. The Dr. Sears (son of William Sears) book on vaccinations is a really fair, balanced look with straight forward science, examing the risks and benefits of each vaccination. He also encourages a delayed vaccination schedule for parents who want it.

Whatever you decide to do, I recommend being educated on it, because your decisions now will affect your child's life later. Don't just 'decide not to vaccinate' because a lot of other people are doing it, and don't just vaccinate on schedule because that's what you're told to do. I think all parents should know exactly what they are deciding to put in their children's bodies, and exactly what risks they're taking if they choose not to.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316017507?ie=UTF8&t...

You're gotten some great book recommendations already, and I can tell you it's fairly easy in Massachusetts to get exemptions. You do not have to specify your religion, simply state that you have a strongly held religious belief against vaccines (if you do this, however, you can't pick and choose - you have to do all or nothing). Although our religion is not anti-vaccine, we personally believe God does not want us injecting those toxic substances into our child, so a religious exemption works for us.

And although studies have "proven" that the MMR vaccine and thimerosol (mercury) don't cause autism, I take two big issues with that:
1. Who funded those studies? If it's the pharmaceutical companies making the vaccines, how can we trust their research?
2. There are dozens of ingredients in dozens of vaccines and they have not all been studied, separately or in conjunction, to determine what problems they could potentially cause. When you start looking at the data, there is actually shockingly little research on what effect the number and combination of vaccines could have on children (or adults for that matter!). And one of the package inserts for the Dtap shot actually lists SIDS and autism as possible adverse events! Even the vitamin K shot that they give after birth has benzyl alcohol in it and says on its' package insert that it can cause death. We didn't do that shot or the eye ointment or anything else invasive and unnecessary.

Thanks for being a thinking mama and doing your research. Your baby will thank you too!

We did not do the recommended schedule and our Dr. was very understanding and thankfully, not pushy.
We did not give our daugther any vaccinations until she was 6 months old, and then we did one here and one there. NOT all three at one time as they try to do. She is 16 months now and we are still chipping away at the first year's worth of vaccines. She did not get the MMR or the Flu Shot.
I do plan on getting all the vaccines just on my own schedule. Right now we have a nanny that comes to the house, so I haven't been overally concerned about things like the Flu Shot.
Good Luck and Congrats!

Congrats on your pregnancy. Other countries seem to have similar lists of vaccines, plus or minus a few. The schedules seem to vary among countries and states. What is different is many other countries don't try to force it by tying it to school attendance. I think there has been some discussion about this on the vaccine board at mothering.com. You may want to check there.

I think a good way to approach the question is to try not to get bogged down in yes-vax or no-vax to begin with. The propaganda on both sides can get a bit extreme. Unfortunately most pedis are not a good source of info as they do have an agenda here.

I've read the Cave, Sears, Romm and Mendelsohn books listed by someone else. They give you a lot of decent info without the absolutist fear mongering. Sears is pro vax. I think it is pretty difficult politically for a pedi to be otherwise. I heard him speak last year and he is very reasonable, and reasonably concerned about the amount aluminum in the vaccines. He actually thinks parents should have a say in this. Wow, radical view.

The schedule isn't necesssarily structured on what the baby needs protection from at a given age. I absolutely believe that vaxing for hep B right after birth is ridiculous for ex. (unless someone in the household has it). They do that because they have a "captive audience," not because your baby is at risk. And that's the CDC's own words. It is no problem to decline it at birth, I just wouldn't leave my baby alone with the staff if this were my choice.

The fact that they keep adding vaxes and then the diseases they "protect" against are suddenly the worst thing ever if you get them is very questionable. Consider how chicken pox was looked at 30 years ago pre-vax and how it is looked at now, it makes you think about how they frame the danger from other diseases.

We should all be concerned about the quantity of vaxes. They just keep adding more and more. There are plenty of serious diseases around that we just don't worry about, but once a vax becomes available suddenly those diseases whether or not they are serious for most kids need to be feared.

If you decide not to vax at all I'd recommend asking around to find a doc who won't have an issue with that. Most pedis won't fit that bill, and though some will tell you it is your decision, they will try to talk you into it at every visit. Family practitioners may be more amenable.

You don't have to vax to send your kids to school or day care. The law in MA does provide for religious exemption (and that is your personal religious views on the matter, not church sanctioned). There is no law that says you must vax for anything. You must vax or submit an exemption to attend daycare or school, that is all. If you aren't in MA, some states allow philosophical exemption too. It is all or nothing; you need to be opposed to the practice of vax, not particular vaxes (philosophical may be different). So if you want to vax for some things, you would need to do so before claiming religious exemption.

Whether you decide to vax or not, it is important that you feel confident in your decision. I personally would never follow the schedule they have now. It's just too much.

Read Dr Robert Sears' Vaccine Book for balanced, objective information about the pros and cons of vaccines. It also includes an alternative vaccine schedule, which is what we are using. My son is 17 months old and we have never had more than 2 shots at one visit.
As far as mandatory vaccination, if you are planning to send your child to public school or daycare in Massachusetts, there are certain vaccines which are required. There is no waiver for philosophical reasons in Massachusetts, but if you can prove that you have religious reasons for not having your child vaccinated, they will allow that. This is the main reason I am having my son vaccinated. I am not sending him to daycare and I have considered homeschooling, but I want to keep the option of public school open.

I've also done a TON of research on the topic. My findings made me less worried about the autism link, but more worried about other far more likely adverse reactions- allergic and otherwise. I found some of the best information on the vaccine product inserts themselves- ask your pediatrician for a copy of the inserts before your scheduled vaccines. They don't often tell you which children are at higher risk of adverse reactions- for example kids of low birthweight (mine was), or family history of neurological or autoimmune disease, or multiple allergies. Unfortunately, you must be your child's advocate in getting more information about vaccines especially if he/she falls into these categories. On the other side, you must decide if your child is at increased risk of certain diseases at earlier age, when they are much more dangerous- such as in daycare, or spends regular time in a home where someone is smoking. Obviously, vaccines have been the great pinnacle of success of modern medicine, we have eliminated or nearly eliminated some very destructive diseases with them. But.... certain vaccines may not be a good choice for certain individuals in certain circumstances. We chose to vaccinate on a limited, and delayed basis, and my daughter ended up having a strong reaction with welts all over her body after the third dTap dose. It was very scary, and frankly, my pediatrician did not take it too seriously at first, until I made a big stink about it. But now he is in agreement that she should never receive another dTap booster. And I still do not know whether we will ever give her any others again, since I do not know which ingredient caused the problem.

Hi H.,

I actually live in Europe, and have put off vaccinating while I am breastfeeding and my daughter is still home with me (and not in daycare). At one year we will re-examine where we are and then possibly vaccinate selectively. Many of the vaccines here are similar to those in the states - and a few we have that you don't and vice versa. The real difference is you're a bit more free to choose whether or not you vaccinate in Europe as schools and institutions don't insist on them.

It's a very big decision not to vaccinate so the best thing to do is to read as much as you can about it. It seems good in theory but things can change when you have that little defenseless munchkin in your arms! The Dr. Sears book is great and easy to understand. I also read "Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parents Guide" by Jill Aviva Romm which is very intense, but will give you a lot of good info if you can persevere! You'll find a lot of resistance to your decision as well - from doctors, family and friends, so it's really helpful to have your reasons well researched - both for arguments sake and also because at some point you'll probably doubt your original decision!

Good luck!

All the best,
V.

Hi H.. What a vast of info you got!

This is a hard decision, and not one that is easy to make when some say vaccinate and other say not to.

It seems to me some people have a political agenda or use scare tactics.

I struggled with this, and as many others have done - vaccinated, but not all vaccines and on a much broader schedule.

The reasons I chose to vaccinate at all were because of life experiences. You think these things only happen to 'other people' but they happened to people in my life.

My own grandmother caught the measles as a child (when there was no vaccine), got very sick, got a hole in heart, and has been on medication for life.

My best friend's aunt was not vaccinated, got polio (YES, polio) and is in a wheelchair.

My next door neighbor has a child with leukemia and cannot be vaccinated - and this causes complications with school, daycare, playgroups, etc, etc.

My own child's daycare has kids who were not vaccinated and brought chicken pox to the daycare, spread it to others who were not vaccinated, who then gave it to parents who never had chicken pox, including a grandmother who ended up with shingles and in the hospital. Thank God it was only chicken pox and not something far worse.

As far as God not wanting our little one's to have such injections, well our air is impure, our water, our food, etc, etc. I think God wants us to protect one another.

Despite this, I was still skeptical, still am, but know vaccines are important, so decided to skip a few, and do the others are my own schedule. I think choosing not to vaccinate at all is far riskier than the other way around, but that is my opinion. Many of us could argue that point for days.

Ask yourself, do you want your child exposed to others who are not vaccinated? Do you want your child to get chicken pox? Are there allergies at all in your families? Is abc vaccine an important one to you, while xyz is not? Get the info you need to be comfortable, not scared into doing it one way or the other. Get FACTS, no agendas. The Dr. Sears book is an excellent one.

So do ask your pediatrician LOTS of questions. Get the ingredients lists, go over any allergies in the family, etc, etc - and - most of all - GOOD luck!!

Enjoy the birth of your new baby and your new life to come - every precious second of it!

My children are not vaccinated and I did a LOT of research to get to that decision. Lilah G. lists some great resources. There's also Mothering Magazine and mothering.com. They are one of the for-runners of vaccine discussion and most vocal magazine regarding vaccination. There's also the National Vaccine Information Center at www.nvic.org.

This site has some interesting info about the exemptions and samples of the forms. http://www.vaclib.org/exempt/massachusetts.htm.

If you decide to use the religious exemption in Mass. know that by law the school cannot ask you what your religion is. We have never been questioned by our school system when we hand in the health forms with the exemption attached. We do get the exemption sheet certified. The wording for the exemption I found through my research.

We use homeopathy as our main source of medical care and there are remedies and nosode that can be used as alternatives to vaccines and/or in conjunction to vaccines to help things go smoother.

Find a pediatrician who will support you too or at least won't make you feel guilty every time you go see the doctor for a checkup and refuse the vaccine.

Take the time to do the research and remember that while you are breastfeeding your baby in the beginning they are getting all the immunities they need. So don't feel pressured to get the vaccines right away or even within the first year if that's the route you go. Then be selective.

Good luck with your decision.

My husband and I were very skeptical, but our pediatrician was very forthcoming with the reasons why, and there are a lot of informative handouts, etc. That aside, we did get the vaccinations mainly because our daughter was going into day care at 3 months. Once she went in (even on 75% breastmilk), she was sick off and on for 3 months (including antibiotics and more), but that phase helped build her immunity. If your child is not in daycare, there may be a few less vaccinations you need.

There are mandatory shots that you have to get, and the optional ones you can opt out of, especially if you aren't planning any international travel or daycare.

Good luck!

The spring 2009 issue of the magazine Pathways, which I believe is available at Borders Bookstores or at Barnes & Nobles has a number of articles on this subject. If you can't find that issue at Borders or Barnes& Noble, you can visit their website at
www.pathwaystofamilywellness.org.

You can also access a lot of information on this subject, including books and other resources at www.icpa4kids.org.

There are a lot of concerns no matter which way you go, to vaccinate or not. However, it does not have to be all or nothing. Some people choose to vaccinate, but use the schedule that the Japanese use, which is to vaccinate when the child is a little older and their immune system has had a chance to mature. A family physician medical doctor who has worked with some of my patients around this issue on the North Shore, is Dr. Leonard Horowitz. He is an MD family physician, but also a homeopathic physician.

Dr. E

The over abundance of scary information on both sides make this such a challenging topic. Make sure you are reading current information when you are researching. Vaccines and vaccination schedules have changed a lot since we were kids - even in the last 10 years.
RESOURCES FOR SOME/ALL: The website http://www.TooManyTooSoon.org and the Dr. Sears Vaccination Book have some great info about middle of the road options. If you decide to vaccinate you might also consider working with a homeopathic physician who can "prescribe" a remedy to help your child integrate the vaccine.
RESOURCE FOR NONE/FEW: http://www.nvic.org// If you decide not to vaccinate, or a select few, working with a homeopath, chiropractor or osteopath to enhance natural immunity might be beneficial. Also increase your awareness of your child's risk of exposure and symptoms of some of the more common illnesses (whooping cough, meningitis, chicken pox...) so you know when to keep your child home or seek treatment.

the vaccine book by Dr. Sears and http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/ are excellent resources for unbiased, informed information about vaccines.

H.,

I know what you're going through. This is one of the toughest decisions a parent faces I think. On the one hand there are the risk of these diseases on the other hand the vaccines aren't as safe as "they" would love us all to think. There are definite risks either way. When our infants are hours old they want to to inject them with adult doses of a vaccine (Hepatitis) that contains heavy duty chemicals and preservatives. I spent many, many hours of research on vaccines. With my first child, I did have him vaccinated up until 18 months old (which I regret now). Then I was expecting our second child I did even more research and decided to stop the vaccines on my first and not give any to my second. My husband was very supportive so it wasn't a source of contention between us. I think the thing that had the greatest impact on me was a seminar by Dr. Sherry Tenpenny. There is a DVD and manual that I ordered online about the subject. This woman is a medical doctor and now she goes around the country speaking about the dangers of most of the vaccines. Besides the dangers due to the ingredients in the vaccines, she talked a lot about molecular mimicry. We take in a vaccine. Our body builds an antibody to that disease. What if we're never exposed to that disease? We have these antibodies looking to fight Polio for example, and it can't find Polio to fight. So it looks to fight something with a similar molecular structure. This basically leads to autoimmune diseases. She explains it all scientifically and medically. She gives a lot of statistics about the diseases that are at issue and the vaccines and their dangers. She does talk about the dangers of the diseases too. It all made a lot of sense to me. It made me feel good that she's a medical doctor and not just an herbalist or something. I do have concern about Meningitis so I might have my children get those when they're older. Both of my kids are very healthy. They've gotten stomach bugs, colds and bronchitis, but so far herbs have been all they've needed. They've never needed antibiotics or anything. My son will be going to school in September (we had to sign a waiver because of the vaccines) so I'm sure he'll get exposed to more things, we'll just see how it all goes. I wish you all the best with the new baby. If you're not sure what you want to do still when the baby is born, just wait to get the vaccines. You can always do it a little later. I know some people wait until the baby is a year or 2 then they start the vaccines. It gives the immune system time to develop. I hope this helps.

Jen

Hi H.
My husband and I do not vaccinate. He is a chiropractor and we've done tons of research on this topic, he holds lectures specifically about the dangers and effects today's vaccines have on our kids. Go to ICPA4KIDS.COM and you can find great resources on this topic.
If you need further info, you can stop by our office in Canton and ask for a copy of the handouts from my husband's lectures. The number is ###-###-####.
Hope you find the info helpful, don't be discouraged by doctors and people in society that try to intimidate your decisions.
Do the research yourself, you'll be surprised.
E. K. :-)

Vaccinations are required in order to attend public school. I don't think you can avoid them really.

I totally respect that some people do not vaccinate, and that is their right. However, I did a lot of reading about vaccinations and decided to vaccinate my children because it is worth it to me to know they will be protected from so many life threatening diseases. Both vaccinating and not vaccinating are a risk, but to me it was more of a risk not to vaccinate.