Vaccines

[LizzieD932]

So, I was getting coffee at a local coffee shop earlier today and I ran into a lady I used to work with. I told her I was pregnant and one of the first things she said to me was, "You're not going to make the baby get any kind of vaccines, are you?" I looked at her for a minute and finally said, "Well, why wouldn't I?" She went on for at least 20 minutes about how some of these vaccines are proven to cause autism and other conditions.

Does anyone know if there is truth to this? Or is she a conspiracy theorist or something? I'd never heard anything like this until this morning.

[bearda93]

I'm surprised you have not heard of this controversy before. It's pretty much spread over the headlines on most major news websites in the mainstream media.

There is so much to say on this topic, but it's something you really need to research on your own. Try Googling some keywords and go from there. There are some credible and not so credible websites on both sides of the issue, so be careful of your sources. But, bottomline for me, I have my kids on a very delayed vax schedule. After researching it all, I concluded that I didn't think it was in my family's best interest to follow the AAP timeline. Too many vaxes in too short of a time frame. One book I liked was "The Vaccine Book," by Dr. Robert Sears. It was a good jumping off point for me, but it certainly wasn't the only resource I used.

It's a tough decision, probably one of the biggest you can make as a parent. It deserves careful attention and research. Good luck!

[lismom2]

here is that list I was going to give you to get you started on your vaccine research. This is a shortened list that a wise lady gave to me to make my own choice. I currently do not vaccinate my kids (however, I'm always researching and may one day change my mind...right now I mainly feel that they are just too young to vaccinate), but I don't fault anyone for researching and choosing to do so Knowledge is key and I can see why and when some families choose to vaccinate and I'm all for scientific progress. Also, FWIW, Autism really had little to do with my decision not to vaccinate. Best of luck!

The Cutter Incident , Paul Offit
Don't Vaccinate Before You Educate , Mayer Eisenstein
Evidence of Harm , David Kirby
How To Raise A Healthy Child ... Inspite Of Your Doctor , Robert S. Mendelsohn
Just a Little Prick , Hilary Butler
Raising a Vaccine Free Child, Wendy Lydall
A Shot in the Dark , Harris Coulter & Barbara Loe Fisher
Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parents' Guide , Aviva Jill Romm
Vaccine , Arthur Allen
The Vaccine Book , Robert W. Sears
The Vaccine Controversy , Kurt Link
The Vaccine Guide , Randall Neustaedter
Vaccines , Neil Z. Miller
Vaccines , Sherri Tenpenny
The Virus and the Vaccine , Debbie Bookchin and Jim Schumacher
What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization , Jamie Murphy
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations , Stephanie Cave
When Your Doctor is Wrong , Judy Converse


Here are some of the questions we asked ourselves:


Name of the disease
Treatments of the disease and how effective are those treatments
Relevant research about the disease
Name/Company/contents of the vaccine
The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
History of development of the vaccine
Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
Relevant research into the vaccine
How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission).

Here are links

http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html (download the current issue)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...splay.php?f=47
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...k-chapters.htm
http://vaers.hhs.gov/pdf/PackageInserts.pdf
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40451107552&q=
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87981735&hl=en
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...ses&deaths.pdf

[swtangelbaby]

Another good source of information is-

http://www.exploringvaccines.com/

[LizzieD932]

Wow, thanks for all that information. I guess I have some research to do. I've been talking to friends about this, and I must not have been paying attention to CNN and the late night news on this subject. Then again, I never paid much attention to any of the pregnancy health/childrens health news until now. But thanks.

[Kerisweetpea]

i myself am choosing to get my children vaccinated! my son is very healthy and has only gotten sick once in his 2yrs of life. now on the other hand my friend she is all about organic, and natural remedies! she has 2 kids and her youngest is just over a year and oldest is 3 both of them are sick ALL the time,at least 4 times a month and its not just colds its full sick throwing up and everything! and they have already had the chicken pox. now im not saying dont get your children vaccinated its your choice im just telling you my experience.
and you can also choose what ones you want to give, if there is only a couple you think are important.

[bearda93]

now on the other hand my friend she is all about organic, and natural remedies! she has 2 kids and her youngest is just over a year and oldest is 3 both of them are sick ALL the time,at least 4 times a month and its not just colds its full sick throwing up and everything!

What does this have to do with vaxing? I'm puzzled. Unless someone has come up with a vax against a GI virus that I'm unaware of, this has nothing to do with the issue. Her poor kids, they are sick pretty much every week of every month? *Wow*

Lizzie, lismom2 gave you a tremendous list of resources. It's a lot of work researching, but you'll feel good knowing that whatever decision you make, you've done so from an educated standpoint.

[bearda93]

and they have already had the chicken pox.

Oh, I missed this little tidbit. I can assure you, your friend is probably doing the happy dance, because now her kids have lifelong immunity against varicella, something that those kids who are vaxed *do not* have - vaxing against varicella is no guarantee that you won't get it.

[dcroberts]

Oh, I missed this little tidbit. I can assure you, your friend is probably doing the happy dance, because now her kids have lifelong immunity against varicella, something that those kids who are vaxed *do not* have - vaxing against varicella is no guarantee that you won't get it.

Of course no vaccination is a 100% guarantee. However, getting chicken pox the "old fashioned" way will also subject you to a lifetime possibility of a flare-up known as shingles. Very painful.

[Nana83]

Oh, I missed this little tidbit. I can assure you, your friend is probably doing the happy dance, because now her kids have lifelong immunity against varicella, something that those kids who are vaxed *do not* have - vaxing against varicella is no guarantee that you won't get it.

Haha, I am a mommie to be who will be happily sending my child over to play with the first kid I can find with chickenpox. Not sure why varicella vax are all of a sudden so important for children to have.