Looking for the pros and cons of not vaccinating, from someone who has done the same.

Anne - posted on 06/02/2011

FYI I live in the UK and the immunisation schedule appears different from the USA/Canada. I asm very pro immunisation. When I was eight months pregnant wioth DS1 my best friends baby (15 months) got meningitis and nearly died . He was a few weeks shy of the scheduled immunisation for the strain. I will NEVER forget him in the bed all hooked up to God knows what (when they finally confirmed strain was not dangerous to me and bump). after seeing that my boys got everything. Here the policy is to get shots, tlet them work for a few hours then dose with ibuprofen and paracetamol as a preventative measure. Mine were never even remotely sick or tetchy.

Amanda - posted on 06/02/2011

http://thinktwice.com/ - this will answer A LOT of your questions. It did for us.

Elfrieda - posted on 02/03/2011

I agree with Glory. My sister (younger, born in 1985) isn't completely immunized. (my mom put her foot down to the drs when my sister started getting really sick after the needles)
There were a few minor scuffles with private and public schools throughout her childhood, but my parents contacted a lawyer and got a standard note written up to give to whoever asked for it. Because you can get an exemption for religious reasons, my parents also said, "It's against my religion to make my daughter sick, therefore it's against my religion to vaccinate her." That was their reasoning. :)

Bailey - posted on 02/03/2011

Here are a couple of helpful links:

Interview with a retired vaccine researcher:
http://www.alternative-doctor.com/vaccin...

Report signed by over 80 doctors who state on record that "vaccines pose a significant risk of harm to the health of children." This one is really good. You can download the report for free, and there are many useful links available.

http://www.naturalnews.com/031173_vaccin...

Jessica - posted on 06/03/2010

I have 4 kids from 5 to 2mths, my two boys got vac before I really did my research, If you do choose to get them wait until she is 2 years old, after all the major brain dev is over :0)

Karen - posted on 06/01/2010

I agree with Glory on this issue. If you choose not to vaccinate - or extremely delay vaccinations - a good way to avoid those uncomfortable conversations is find a really good naturopath and go to him/her instead.
My daughter has never seen an MD (well, except for when she broke her leg at 14 months !!!) and in her world a doctor is a naturopath, a chiropractor, a chinese medicine doctor. I find it very refreshing that she has no fear at all of doctors. She's 18 months old now and has been treated with homeopathics for pink eye, and a couple of sniffles. She's a very healthy girl who hasn't had any vaccinations. I'll revisit the issue when she's four or five. For now, natural medicine/living all the way.

Glory - posted on 04/26/2010

Hi There :)

Just wanted to put my .02 cents in on this conversation...

I'm a new mom, and I myself, was not vaccinated as a child (my father is a alternative health care practitioner, and I am now as well). A lot of parents seem to get their children vaccinated because they fear that their child won't be accepted into the school system (among many other reasons). I went through elementary/secondary school in the 80s-90s and even back then my parents were able to get around it. Contact your local health unit and ask for the paperwork to fill out if your child won't be vaccinated. I remember bringing a handwritten note to school from my Dad the day boosters were to be given, saying that for "religious reasons" my child will not be participating in the inoculation. And it worked.

I now have a 5 month old daughter who won't be vaccinated at all - a choice my husband and I are very comfortable making with the research we have read. On her first visit to her MD, I was, in a roundabout way, told that she couldn't work with us because she is a huge advocate for immunization. Not only is that unethical, but just solidified in my mind that medical dr.'s need to be further educated on the pros & cons, as she wasn't even open to discussing our decision. My daughter now sees her Naturopathic doctor exclusively for her well baby assessments, which I think is a better fit for us anyways.

Do not be pressured by your MD. YOU are your child's protector, do your research, and make your decision based on how you feel, not by what you are forced to do.

Frances - posted on 03/10/2010

I was fortunate to have a family doctor who did not start any shots until six months old. My kids did have their shots, but they got nothing until six months of age. They were all breastfed, so they got their immunities from me.

Tyleasha - posted on 09/01/2009

I went to the doctors when my little boy was 2 months old for him to get weighed and the doctor pressured me into getting him vaccinated. He all but told me I had to do it for all of humanity. I willingly got him his 4 months but the whole time I just didnt feel right about it, it was not what I really wanted and deep down I knew that. I have not sent him for anymore and this time Im going to stick up to the doctor and tell him no. He will argue but Im going to tell him that he does not have to agree on my decision but he has to follow it.



I think its a personal decision for any family but I do not think they should be forced to vaccinate. Im also a fan of that Facebook site Vaccines...A Licence to Kill!!!. I think it has alot of great information.

Amy - posted on 07/02/2009

our three year old also had "seizure episodes" within days of getting his shots (each and every time) our oldest didn't and i assumed i was doing the responsible thing by vaccinating them. ( i also never had a doc inform me about the risks of innoculating while a secondary infection, albeit a cold, sniffles, ear infection, anything is present. surprising this was never mentioned and i never put two and two together) my second son was also sick A LOT, hospitalized frequently and we had no visible cause...once again, none of our docs had even mentioned possible side effect from the vaccines. it was a very VERY scary and traumatizing time. after lots and lots of prayer and research we have decided to trust that our childrens bodies were well made and their naturally immunities will protect them along with a little tender loving care will provide all the protection we need. it is the best decision i have made not to immunize our little girl or any future children. she is so much healthier and happer, maybe it's a fluke..but what if its not? :) either way, just do your research and follow your instincts!

Amy - posted on 07/02/2009

Just a little insight into the rotavirus vaccine, food for thought maybe. my 3 year old son who is vaccinated has had it twice in the last year (not fun) and my unvaccinated baby girl did not get it. she tandem nurses and was cuddled and loved by him and even during his illness im sure. (there is now way we could keep them apart even if we wanted to) she did not pick it up despite all this. i think this is valid proof of the strength of the immune system that is not compromised by those vaccinations. it was a tough decision for us and one i am very glad i made.

Virginia - posted on 06/28/2009

Quoting Ally:

...all the info i posted is straight from the vaccine book by dr sears...if you are interested i would be glad to send you how we broke our daughters shots down. Hope this helps. 

Very interested in the breakdown... are you in Canada by chance?  Would love to hear from you.

Rachael - posted on 05/07/2009

My daughter did not recieve any shots whatsoever until she was almost 4. Since then she has recieved just a couple and I will not be giving her more. Due to the fact I plan to travel with her I chose to do Polio as well as teatnus. I also did DT (note DTAP) however the nurse on the 3rd round gave my child the wrong shot and we ended up in the hospital and my daughter is now terrified of needles and shots. Since I waiting the beautiful thing was that she is now past the window where she is even at risk for most of those things and therefore I couldnt even give them to her if I wanted to.

Emily - posted on 05/02/2009

Thank you for sharing your story Carolyn. I'm really sorry things were so hard for you, but I think people sharing their tough stories can help people realized they do need to do more research.

As of now we have not vaccinated any of our children, and don't plan to for a while. I do plan to start with the Tetanus vaccine sometime after my children turn 5... but my oldest will only turn 4 the end of this month, so we still have a little while.

Carolyn - posted on 04/28/2009

I also recommend the Vaccine Book. It really is a good, fairly balanced and objective read.



I did vaccinate my oldest (now almost three). I was all the responsible parent, and thought I was doing my child a favour getting her vaccinated. She tolerated the first two shots (both DaTP), and her 1st dose of flu shot without any apparent difficulties. She got her 6-month needles (DaTP & 2nd dose of flu) the day before her 7th month birthday. A week later, we were in the Children's Hospital two hours from home on a $300 a day steroid treatment to treat an uncommon and devestating seizure disorder called Infantile Spasms. In the space of only a couple of days, she went from being a bubbly, seemingly normal child to having literally hundreds of seizures a day and losing 2 months or so of development. I kept asking them if it was because of the vaccine, and they kept telling me no. Eventually, she got better, and we even got to go off meds for a few months. She caught up to her peers, starting walking and talking, and life was good.



At 15 months, the doctor (who had agreed to postpone her 12-month vacs) wanted me to "get her done". I again expressed my concerns, and his answer was, "Well, we'll never know unless we try, right?" I relented, and Abby got her MMR and varicella vacs that day.



Less than two weeks later, we were back in the same hospital, on the same ward, on the same damn medications. We watched her deteriorate and lose her speech and social skills over the two weeks leading up to her admission back to Children's. We were not surprised when she started taking fits again.



The same drug didn't work this time. The nature of her epilepsy had changed. We started a 6-month journey of different anti-seizure medications before we hit the right ones. About a month into this new round of seizures, we noticed that Abby had changed. We started questioning whether she had Autism. At 25 months, she was diagnosied with Autism.



When we were struggling to get her seizures under control and nothing in the conventional medicinal toolbox was working, I took her to a naturopath, who referred us to a homeopath. The homeopath gave us something called thuya. She told me to give her one dose, and wait. With the single dose of thuya, we went from having 3-6 seizure episodes a day to one every other day, without changing any other medication. Imagine my non-surprise when I learned that thuya is commonly prescribed as a "vaccine remedy".



Now, I refuse to let them get near her with a needle. Even her doctor agrees, "No more vaccines for Abby." I've nearly gotten in fistfights with residents and other pediatricians who want to "get her done". When I got pregnant with my second daughter, I was very on the fence about whether or not I should get her vaccinated. When she was born and I took one look at that perfect little face, I knew I couldn't. I couldn't risk going down that road again. I am less afraid of the diseases than being a IS and ASD mommy twice over.



That being said, she will eventually get vaccinated for tetnus. Even the naturopath recommends everyone gets vaccinated for tetnus, because it's still a very serious threat that is still in our environment. Abby split her chin wide open on the pavement about a month ago and needed stitches. Even with everything she went through, I'm glad she's at least protected from that.

Carissa - posted on 04/17/2009

I second/third/fourth Dr. Sears' Vaccine Book.

If your baby is breast fed and not in a day care situation, the chances of your child contracting any of the diseases they vaccinate for in the first year of life are VERY small. HOWEVER, some of the vaccines carry with them a 15-20% side effect rate. So, we decided to hold of on vaccines for now. I do believe that it is important to keep immunizing our population so that we don't see something like Polio come back. But, since Polio is nearly extinct in the Western world, I feel pretty good about waiting until my baby is older before I vaccinate.

Natalie - posted on 04/17/2009

I haven't yet vaccinated my 4 month old baby girl and like you are feeling the pressure! I have decided to immunise against pertussis as there is an outbreak in our area, but have no interest in any others at this stage. I'll revisit the issue before she begins school. I plan to longterm breastfeed so feel a little more confident with my decision. I think if you choose not to vaccinate, it's important to find like minded families who will support you in your decision. I know it's helped me :)

Coreena - posted on 03/27/2009

I know that this is a really hard one. For every article that you find that is pro vaccine you will fine one that is against. Both seem to have really good arguments. I have two family members who have elected not to vaccinate their children and the kids are thriving. I decided to vaccinate my little one because of my job and what I'm exposed to on a daily basis.



Just remember while reading the information on anti/pro vaccination that most Dr's, hospitals etc are funded by the drug companies that make the vaccines. Do what is best for your family and don't feel pressured either way.



I did hold off on the MMR with all three of my children until after the onset age of Autism just to be on the safe side. Good luck to you.

Lorena - posted on 03/24/2009

Kaflin check out the Facebook group Vaccines...A Licence to Kill!!!. I know the title sounds extreme, but it is a group of very well-informed, well-educated people that have done an amazing amount of research. They also have ingredient listings for all vaccines used in US, Canada, and I believe UK as well. The best thing you can do is be informed, so that when you make your decision you won't have any regrets. Good luck!

Chelsey - posted on 02/25/2009

Wow this has helped me so much I am definately getting that book. Thanks Kaflin for asking the question.

Emily - posted on 02/03/2009

I'm also in the US but I highly recommend "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears also. He is not anti-vax, but I felt like I got enough info from his book to make some great, well-informed decisions. We have chosen not to vaccinate at all until age 5... then possibly start with a few. So we're basically going with an extreme selective-delayed approach.

Also, don't allow anyone to pressure you into doing something you don't feel comfortable with. Waiting an extra month or two so that you can do your research is not going to make a huge difference in the long run. I decided with my first that even though I was undecided on the vax issue (and leaning towards vaxing), we would not give her any vaccines until I had made my final decisions.

And I agree with the previous poster who mentioned daycare and breastfeeding as extra factors. I am a SAHM and am planning to breastfeed all current and future children for at least two years. This was a huge factor in me being comfortable with not vaccinating our children.

Ally - posted on 02/01/2009

I am in the US so things might be different where you are...we also waited until our daughter was 4 months old to begin her shots because I stay at home with her and she is breastfed and we felt that gave her more time to build up her own immune system. We also did not get the rotavirus vaccine simply because we waited too long to begin the series. (if I had to do it over again after doing the research I believe I would have her recieve that one) I also made sure that she always only recieved one vaccine at a time that contained aluminum just to keep her exposure to heavy metals to a minimum.



just as a reference so you have something to look at we had her recieve



DTaP at- 4,6 and 8 months..she will recieve another at 18months and 4 years

PC and HIB- 5,7,9 and will recieve another at 15 months



so far those are the ones she has received since we felt those are the things she is most at risk for. like i said next time i will prob include the rotavirus at 2,4 and 6 months.



I havent had as much luch with dr. sears website as I have with his book..he lists 3 reasons why he thinks these particular shots are so important and for him to highly recommend them they have to meet at least 2 of three criteria.

1. the disease is likely to be very severe if contracted.

2. The disease is not only sever it is also fairly common

3.The vaccines for these diseases have the lowest probability of causing a serious reaction and have as few controversial ingredients as possible.



in his list for selective vaccination he includes up to 15 months- 2,4,6 months rotavirus and dtap and at 3,5,7,15 months Pc and hib



Also whether or not you are breastfeeding or if your baby is in daycare is a big factor. dr sears recommends breastfeeding through age two for parent who follow a selective scheduel of decline vaccines.

Kaflin - posted on 02/01/2009

Thanks, this is really helpful and I had looked on Dr Sears site but not in great detail before so I will have another look. I am in England though and I am guessing your not? So I dont know if some of the vaccines are the same or not...

Thanks though this was immensely helpful! X

Sarah - posted on 02/01/2009

http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/...

Some interesting stuff on here....can I just point out that while I did have all the same concerns as you my son has had ALL of his jabs including the MMR. But that said I used to be a support worker for adults with learning disabilities and during that time I was a key worker (spent alot of one on one time with and developed behaviour management plans for him. Also on the flip side special outings and so on.) for a young man with autism so I have a little more understanding about living with autism and know full well that I would be able to cope with having an autistic child/adult but I'm not so sure I could have lived with myself if my son had contracted an illness i could have protected him from and ended up disabled or worse....

...at the end of the day you have to do what is right for you but whatever you do you mustn't let doctors or anyone else make you feel pressured into doing something you aren't comfortable with....it's you that will have to live with the regret if you do.

Ally - posted on 01/31/2009

I would really recommend reading the Vaccine book by dr.sears it is an incredibly easy read and you will have all the pros and cons of every single vaccine. You should never feel pressured one way or the other...we were very pressured by our previous doctor who all but called me a horrible mother for delaying some of my daughters shots just until I felt I had all the information. There are way too many pro's /cons to list them all...but I will try and give you some of the main ones for the important 2 month vaccines..

usually they are schueduled for the dtap hib polio pc and rotavirus (and hep b at birth one months and 6 months)



here are the pros and cons for each taken straight from the vaccine book;

rotavirus-

reasons to get; besides the flu it is the most common vaccine preventable disease and since most children will catch this disease in the first few years its not if your child will get it but when and how severe will it be. Infants in daycare are at high risk for it and formula fed infants are alikely to suffer a more severe case. Getting this vaccine will decrease your childs cance of getting it or the severit when they do.



reasons some people choose not to- the older rotavirus vaccine was found to have a risk of intussuscption and the new brand has only been out for about 2 years now. infants who are breast fed and dont go to day care have a low risk of catching the disease in the first year when it is the most risky. It is a new vaccine and not all side effects may be known it is also a live virus vaccine. the seizure rate is also much higher than with most vaccines (1 in 1300) which was two times the number in the placebo group



dtap- About 15 percent of babies have standard side effects to this shot (fever pain redness swelling

reasons people get this vaccine- pertussis is a common disease and it is most serious in the first six months of life .these are good reasons to follow the aap guidelines and have your baby vaccinated for this in infancy. the booster shots are also logical since they prevent the spread to babies too young to be immunized.

tetnus and diptheria while rare in infants and children are both very serious and it provides them with protection as they grow into later childhood.



reasons people choose not to get it- Tetnus is not an infant disease and diptheria doesnt exist in the united states. The chemical components of this shot also concern some parents. Some parents are also leary of the bad press surrounding the old DPT shot and feel this one may not be safe enough.

( as a side note...i have seen cases of pertussis in infants while in nursing school...it was not pretty so this is the only "opinion" i have...i think this shot is sooo important esp. if you are going to do some and not others)



ok back to the facts..



polio- there has not been a reported wild case of polio in the entire western hemisphere in over 25 years (last us case 1979 last west hem case 1991). IT is only found i some african and asian countries.



why people get this shot- the side effect profile is one of the safest of all vaccines. some people worry that immigrants will bring this disease back and feel it is important that their child is protected.



whey some people don't get this shot- The use of monkey kidney cells cow serum and human blood proteins concerns some parents. Since polio doesnt exists in this hemishpere parents feel safe skipping this vaccine. The chance that an unvaccinated child will catch poilio in the US us very close to zero. Some parents also wait until their child is older to give this vaccine so that their children dont have to have as many immunizations during infancy.



HIB- Has one of the safest side effect profiles standard reactions only occur in 5 percent of babies. the only severe side effests reported were guillain barre syndrome and a serious hib infection...not from the vaccine but because the body takes about 5 days to react to a natural hib infection and if they are infected during this period their infection could be much worse.



why people get this shot- meningitis and blood infections are very serious . there are many germs that cause these infections and hib used to be the most common one ...although it is very rare now parents vaccinate to prevent the chance that their child will catch this nasty bug. the ingredients are very pure compared to most other vaccines.



reasons some people don't get this- the main reason is bc a severe case of this disease is now extremely rare (about 25 cases per year in the us in kids under 5) a breast fed baby not attending daycare is at a particularly low risk.



Pc- this is a vaccine that protects agains the pnuemococcus bacteria..that bacteria is very common. It is also the most common cause of infant meningitis.



rasons to get this vaccine- it can be a serious infection and it occurs mainly in infants and the elderly. It is also a common bug so it makes sense to protect your children from it . the ingredient list is fairly safe as are the known side effects.



reasons some people don't get this- The main reason is the highter than average rate of seizures with this vaccine. it is considered a more reactive vaccine and parents may worry about that. Also again breastfed babies not in daycare have a lower than average risk so those parents may opt out.



hep b- unless the mother is positive for this or has an extremely rebellious baby who is out sharing needle and getting tatoos this shot can wait till later :)



Sorry this is so long but i know you said you didnt have a lot of time to decide...all the info i posted is straight from the vaccine book by dr sears...if you are interested i would be glad to send you how we broke our daughters shots down. Hope this helps. Again sorry so long

Maia - posted on 01/30/2009

First off, you should not feel any pressure to do any vaccines just because that's what the schedule says for the 6 week appointment. If you don't feel comfortable telling the doctor that you are waiting to make that decision, you can always say that she has been sniffly or had a fever the day before. Doctors generally don't push vaccines on babies that have any sign of a weakened immune system because they are risking more severe side effects and the baby could actually contract the illness the vaccine is supposed to protect them from.

For pros of not vaccinating: you don't have to worry whether or not vaccines cause autism, you don't have to worry about what chemicals are in the vaccines or whether anyone not paid by pharmaceutical companies has bothered to study their long-term effects, you don't have to deal with the side effects, and, most importantly, you can always change your mind later.

For the cons: you do worry about some of those illnesses (although vaccines are not as fool-proof as doctors would have you believe), especially if your child will go to daycare, not vaccinating makes it harder to enroll your child in daycare, school, and extracurricular activities, other parents will judge you and some will refuse to let their children play with yours.

Just make sure you take your time and are sure it is something you want to do. And you can read on the Dr. Sears website about his delayed vaccination schedule so that you are armed with some medical facts before talking to your doctor.