Vaccinations- to vaccinate or not

Vesna - posted on 03/27/2010

Thanks everyone for your input. Most of us feel strongly about this subject whether it is to vaccinate or not. The difference between me and the rest of you who have chosen to vaccinate "because your doctor says so" or to "protect your child", is that I have done extensive research regarding the topic and you have not. I will not subject my child to any medications, the most dangerous of which are vaccines, just because my doctor says so. I will not let fear of not vaccinating impact my decision. I have informed myself and have chosen this option, to wait until she is 2 years old, and to only give a few, if any vaccines at that time. Thanks for your input, but I was really hoping to hear from moms who have actually done research and have made informed choices, rather than from moms who do what their doctors say.

Sharon - posted on 03/27/2010

Vesna

I have giving my 2 children all the vac guided by the health board, there is no right or wrong answer in regards to vac's you are between a rock and a hard place if u don't give it to them and something happens u blame ur self if u do give it to them and something happens u blame ur self so what do . you yourself knows whats is best for your child so i think you should trust your own instinct

Vanessa - posted on 03/27/2010

My baby has all the vaccines he needs for his age...bcg - anti tuberculosis, dpt - diptheria pertussis tetanus, hepa b, polio, hib - anti meningitis and measles..i believe it is the best way to prevent my baby from getting those diseases besides giving them the food for their age... i am giving him vitamins as well with added zinc and taurine, for better brain growth and boost his immune system. i believe that taking good care of them means giving them all the things he needs and it includes vaccines. do not be afraid to talk to her pedia just in case...they will help you!

Gail - posted on 03/26/2010

Vacination all the way...

Mainly coz when i was growing up there was only about 5% of children that werent vacinated so they had less chance of catching anything. This has dramically changed and the % or un vacinated children is way higher and diseases that were previously almost erradicated in the western world are not returning.

There are always risks with what ever but i believe the benefits far outway the negative. I will admit im wary of the Swine flu jabs but i think when he gets his letter i will go along to have him vacinated.

Iysha - posted on 03/26/2010

I think if children are going to get vaccinated, which they should, they should get vaccinated the way doctors (especially their doctor) advises. My daughter got her vaccines...all that were recommended except the seasonal flu shot because they did not have it in the right dose for her age. However she did get the H1N1, they had it in her dose. It's very important to get your babies vaccinated. The vaccine schedule is there for a reason, why mess with that schedule? Having vaccines spread out or waiting for whatever reason isn't even as researched as people think...I swear, if one doctor says something about vaccines causing autism and spreading out vaccines, suddenly everyone listens...and when the majority of health care professionals advise otherwise and suddenly they don't know what the hell they're talking about...that just doesn't make any sense at all. There isn't sufficient evidence to support that alternative ways of vaccination are better or more safe then the current vaccination schedule.

Amber - posted on 03/26/2010

I myself work in the medical field and totally agree with vaccinations. I have seen the results of elders that had these diseases before vaccines and it is devastating. If you allow your child to contract these illnesses and expose children that may be immunocompromised or who have been vaccinated and there immunity may just be low, in cases where they me have a cold or such you are guilty of infected dozens. Autism is still be extensively researched and thimerosal and aluminum have been taking out of most vaccines, you can request that you get your children's vaccines without these. Genetics and diet have been known to play a part in such disorders as well but many parents do not get genetic testing before even thinking of having children and many parents follow the "McDonald's diet" for their children and this is just as dangerous. There was a recent article that I read about a little girl that was not vaccinated with the MMR and contracted measles and infected 11 children and many more had gotten sick and it was unknown at that point whether they had it yet or not. The thought of "these diseases are no longer around, so why should I vaccinate?!" is ignorant. The reason we do not have these diseases are due to the vaccines, if you stop vaccinating they will return and often have the ability to mutate.....

Rebecca - posted on 03/26/2010

Meghan, look in to the link to autism again and you will see that within the last few months the "report" on the link has been thrown out because it is not proven and the DR who conducted the study "rigged" it to favor what he thought it should say. There is still no link.

Meghan - posted on 03/26/2010

I wanted to forgo vaccinations altogether but the doctors treat you like crap unless you do it and make it seem like you are a horrible person! I ended up vaccinating my sons but I am frustrated. I want to know the truth instead of fanatical "sides" to each and every thing. Sigh. The doctor said it was so important to get them but links to ADHD and autism scared me. This is a topic I am lost on... I just don't know. I have read a lot and yet, know nothing...

Lori - posted on 03/26/2010

AMEN REBECCA!!!!!

Rebecca - posted on 03/26/2010

I too struggled with this as my nephew is autistic so we talked to my son's Dr, who is also my whole family's Dr, and she went over everything and we believe it is best to give our kids vaccines when scheduled to. I am with Lori that is drives me nuts to my CORE when people don't vaccinate and especially when they don't disclose they don't. I am a child care provider and when i was 7 months pregnant with my second child i stopped my care and started back up when she was 2 months old. I took in a new family of 3 as well as the 2 kids i had while pregnant and after my son was RUSHED to the ER i discussed vaccines with the family of 3 like i did with the family of 2 and found out they didn't vaccinate for ANYTHING! We were on the topic of H1N1 shots because it was that time of year and i wasn't sure if i was going to get it for my oldest son who was 2 at the time. I found it VERY irresponsible of that family not to disclose it to me seeing as how i had a new baby in my home as well as other kids and 2 of their kids were on school I let them go the following week and i ever looked back. I loved the kids to death and i wish they did vaccinate but they didn't feel it was safe to do so and thought it increased the risk of autism...their son, the youngest child of age 2yrs has now been diagnosed with autism and i bet they feel real bad for putting other people's kids at risk for not choosing to vaccinate for something they truly CANNOT control. If it cause autism wouldn't we all be that way?? I believe it is genetic and vaccines can TRIGGER it but i certainly do not think it causes it. Just because a child is vaccinated also doesn't mean they are 100% protected either. It only reduces the risk of catching it so if your child got something and was sitting next to my child in school and my child got sick, you better be damn sure i would go after you and the school for not telling the parents there was a none vaccinated child in the class. Where i live it is mandatory unless you have religious beliefs and you wouldn't believe how many people i have seen on COM saying oh just sign the form to say it's religious...it's a lie! How can you feel ok by lying about it! UGH! This topic just urks me. We are parents and we need to protect our children! I do not feel by opting out of the shots you are protecting your child. If you child goes to play groups tell the parents you don't vaccinate and see how many parents will still want your child around there's...

Lori - posted on 03/26/2010

There have been study after study to determine when is the BEST time to give vaccines...that is why they created the schedule they did....as for waiting because "babies need to build a better immunity..." your babies immune system IS STRONGEST IN THE FIRST MONTHS OF LIFE! They have your immunity! I struggle with people not vaccinating their children and find it selfish and annoying....give yourbaby thebest start possible by ensuring that they will not catch deadly diseases that ARE still around and with people traveling to 3rd world countries they bring illnesses back here all the time....PROTECT your children......

I opted IN for the H1N1 even tho I am a SAHM because I have 2 kids in school and they both got H1N1....my baby and 3 year old did not catch it but were vaccinated,....they were not giving vacines here to kids 5 and older until later....H1N1 was MISERABLE for both of them and my 8 year old nearly ended up in the hospital.....

Liz - posted on 03/25/2010

my son got all the "normal" vaccines from day 1 to month 8. w. the h1n1 vaccine, i'm a stay at home mom so my son doesnt go to a daycare or anything like that -so i opted against it. it's so new still and there have been some negative feedback. i also BF, and i know that is one of the best boosts for immune systems.

Michelle - posted on 03/25/2010

Oh how I struggle with this topic. I am one of those who belief that a slower schedule is best. I feel that the babies need to build a better immunity and stronger system. After all that is why now it is best to wait to feed them solids until they are 6months old. We used to be able to put rice in the formula or breast milk. Now we found that their digestive systems just aren't strong enough for that. However, I had issues with our doctor. He argued with me for almost the entire visit. We were already late on our sons first set because we moved and had issue with insurance. But he got three shots with 6 different vaccines. This freaked me out so the next visit we only got the ones that would finish off the series. My doctor argued with me once again. I have since fired him. He was misleading in his info and reluctant to give me accurate info such as the package insert and company names of the vaccines used. I just wanted to do my personal research so I knew what was going into my sons body. I do believe it is important to vaccinate, but why so much so fast? Especially with my son not being in daycare he is at a lower risk in my opinion at least. We will not get the MMR until well after 2yrs old. That vaccine is the one I read the most controversy about. I think the key is to do as much research as possible, and find a really good Dr that will listen to your wishes and educate you on a broad perspective as well as respect your wishes. Now, I am wishy washy about this... I sometimes think why vaccinate for something there hasn't been a known case of in 25yrs, but realistically it only takes one person to bring the disease back. For example when we treated people from Haiti here in the U.S. after the earthquake. They obviously don't have the medical care we have so they may have left us open to disease if they weren't vaccinated. Also with regards to Autism, I believe it's not only the mercury and aluminum in the vaccinations. It's also a predisposition to the disease in combination with environmental causes such as diet.