Vaccines - Durant,OK

I do most vaccines (not all), and alter the recommended schedule slightly. I do not do Hep A. I delay MMR 'til between 18-24 months. I do not do flu vac's either. My son got a high fever after the MMR & had to go to the ER. That's why I'm delaying longer w/ my daughter. I do not believe in the autism link, but I do believe getting many vac's at once is a lot for a little body to take. I opted not to split up the MMR b/c sometimes mfg's stop making one component separately, then there is no way to get it. I know people who split them up (measles, mumps, rubella all separate & spread apart), but now 1 or 2 of the separate shots is not made & their child is stuck. I believe most vaccines are important & children who don't get them are at risk, I just don't want my child getting a ton all at once, or the first day she's old enough to. Some vac's can't be given to a child < 1 year. So, I don't want her getting it on her 1st b-day...I'd rather wait a few months.

I'm not going to give you additional sources because I don't know what ones you have already looked at. :)

I have five children. I make my decisions on vaccinations based on what I consider to be an individual risk assessment for each of them. Three of my children have never had a single vaccination. One child received vaccinations while in foster care that I would not have given and has received none in the past four years. I have one I willingly vaccinate against a few select illnesses because I feel that his unique medical conditions warrant taking the significant risks of vaccinations, because he faces an even more significant risk of death if he contracts illnesses like the flu.
So, what I will do is give you some tips for dealing with the world ahead of you as a non-vaccinating family. This is based on years of experience:

1.) Research the medical community in your area to find care providers who are friendly or willing to accept non-vaccinated patients. It doesn't mean they have to agree with the decision, but that they recognize the decision is not theirs to make, but a parent's decision, and can work respectfully with a nonvaccinating family. Even if you have a homeopath, there very well may circumstances in which you need a routine M.D. or D.O. for your child. Be proactive and know who this will be beforehand.

2.) Never, ever, EVER discuss your reasons with the routine medical establishment. This is not because your reasons are not valid, this is because entering into a discussion on vaccines with a medical professional who is pro-vaccine is not really a discussion--- they aren't interested in hearing your reasons, all they want is an opportunity to attempt to convince you to vaccinate. The vast majority of medical professionals, *including* pediatricians, are NOT educated on vaccines in medical school. They don't know much beyond what is on the CDC sheet. Therefore if a medical professional asks you "why" you do not vaccinate, you tell them "We have made an educated, purposeful decision to not vaccinate. I am not willing to discuss it beyond that. Now, about Johnny's ear pain?" You never answer beyond that. Period. Because that question is really a challenge of your authority as a parent to make that decision and if you open the door, they WILL trample right through it like an elephant.

3) It's all about your attitude. Never be defensive, nor offensive. You must exude confidence. When you tell them that you will not discuss it, you must be calm, be pleasant, and be willing to agree to disagree. If they sense you are not completely comfortable with the decision you have made, they will prey on that.

4.) Never volunteer the information of your children's vaccination status, period. Not unless you are speaking with someone who is genuinely seeking information on vaccination. Don't bring it up at play dates, don't go around telling your parents, don't volunteer that information at the mom's meeting at the park. If everyone is having a conversation about how they just took Mary in for her four month shots and everyone else is sympathetically swapping stories, smile and remain silent, or be reflective "Ooooo, that sounds like it was hard, I'm glad it's over!"

5.) Never lie about it when directly asked. If the same mother at the park asks you "How did Johnny do with his shots?" You respond cheerily "Johnny has never had any." or "We've chosen not to vaccinate" or "Johnny's not vaccinated". Then you change the subject "So, I only overheard half of that conversation, how did dinner go last night?" If your in the E.R. for some reason and they ask, you tell them "That's not pertinent to this visit" if it isn't, or "No, we exercise our right under ______ (insert your pertinent state law and statute) not to vaccinate." and you move along.

6.) Know the laws of your state in regards to vaccinations. Know how you can legally claim an exemption for your child. Even though they're school related, understanding your rights are vital and lets medical professionals know you didn't just get lazy, you made a conscious choice. Understand the legal ramifications of your choice as it relates to the ability to participate in private day cares, or childcare, or group activities, or school. Know when they can legally deny your child access to an activity and when they cannot.

7.) Keep well-documented health records for your child/children that are not vaccinated. Every doctor's visit they have, the reasons for those visits, and the care plan that comes from those visits. This will protect in the very unlikely circumstance that you get CPS called on you for your refusal to vaccinate.

8.) Discuss your reasons only when they will be truly helpful to someone. A person you know who is wrestling with the decision. Another family that you know doesn't vaccinate. But it keep it confined to those places where it will actually be useful and or you are in friendly company.

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The above is borne from much personal experience. All of my children have medical and special needs, so avoiding the medical community has never been an option of ours. My children are routinely and regularly shuttling between the pediatrician's office and a bazillion specialty clinics. The above rules have allowed us to maintain a professional and respectful relationship no matter how much we disagree with each other. I am not in the business of attempting to persuade anyone over to my own point of view. I'm too busy and have too much to do to be wasting my time pitching a speech that my audience isn't interested in hearing in the first place.

I did make the mistake in the very beginning of discussing it. When I was asked "WHY?" by some stunned nurse, I actually answered. All that bought me was several conversations that turned disrespectful and an attempt to call CPS on me. Thankfully, that quickly went nowhere because I could easily disprove any charges of medical neglect with his medical records. I innocently bought into the idea that when people asked, they really were genuinely interested in the answer. They aren't. They, really, really really aren't. I can't stress that enough. And it doesn't matter what they say or what kind of pitch they make for vaccines, you are not obligated to prove yourself. The bottom line is that you have a RIGHT to make that decision, you *know* that it is your RIGHT, you aren't going to be intimidated out of your RIGHT, and therefore, you have no need to explain anything to anyone.

If you can develop that attitude, you will make life much more pleasant for yourself over the long run!

Katrina,

As a mother of an almost 20 and almost 16 year old AND as a registered nurse, this is what I tell people.
If I had small kids now I certainly would ask more questions and flat out refuse at least a couple vaccines. But the old nurse in me does see some benefit of some.
Both kids had everything recommended when they were little. BUT I too have done a lot of reading and research of the last few years and have opened my mind and views on alternative ways of looking at vaccination and have refused some in recent years.
I'm not going start a debate on which ones I'd get or not and why because I'm sure there will be plenty of opinions here. But if you want to message me privately I'll give you my opinion.
Barefoot Mama, gave a couple of excellent resources with the NVIC site and Dr. Sears book.

Bottom line is that you have to do what you think is best for you and your family. And whatever your decision may be, you owe no one an apology.

Good idea to do your homework. I would suggest reading Dr. Sear's book on Vaccines (he's actually pro-vaccine, but gives a lot of information about each vaccine so parents can make the best decision for themselves). I would also check out the NVIC website- www.nvic.org. They have a lot of great information and are planning on doing a study on the occurance of autism in unvaccinated children. It should be interesting.

Good luck with your decision,
T.

I chose to vaccinate my son, he is now 2 1/2 and up to date on all of his vaccines. I have also done research on the issue and I while I do belive that a very small percentage of people will have an adverse reaction to vaccines, I have yet to see sound scientific research proving that they are not safe.
Our generation is fortunate enough never to have seen chilren suffering from polio and many of the other diseases we now vaccinate against and so it is really easy for us to think of these disease as being less of a threat to our children's safety than the vaccines themselves. I think this is especially true in the age of the internet. You can see videos of moms describing conditions in their children that they belive were caused by vaccine, and those testimonals can be very compelling, but they are not backed up by science. I think that vaccines have become an unfortunate scapegoat, and I think that's sad because all of the focus on vaccines and say, autism for instance, takes focus and resources away from the finding out what really does cause autism.
Most of the opponents of vaccines will say that it is a personal decision to vaccinate or not, but I disagree with that statement. Vaccines work because the majority of us get them, and develop immunities to disease, and our immunity helps to protect those in our communities who are not able to get vaccinated. Imagine for a moment that you are the mother of a baby who is too young to receive a vaccine for measles. Your child contracts the disease from an unvaccinated friend or relative. Measles can be deadly for infants. Is this still just a personal decision?
I have read some of the other posts, and I know that my answer may not be popular, but I felt I had to respond to give a different perspective.
Congrats on your new baby!

HI Katrina,

Because this is such a controversial issue there is a lot of opinion out there being written as fact. The best way for you to research is to google the ingredients of the vaccines and then google that ingredient and determine if it is safe. Other than the mercury (thimerisol) info, I know there is formaldehyde, MSG, egg albumen, aluminums, and many other things that I didn't want to put in my child's bloodstream.

I personally don't have an issue with the concept of vaccinations but the pharmaceutical companies have gone overboard in the ingredients that are included....When I was a child, vaccines were preserved through refrigeration. Now it is through toxic chemicals that some say will simply leave our systems. Autism aside, I think that is one of the primary reason childhood cancers are on the rise. People say that their child didn't have a reaction....the problem there is we don't know if they had a reaction or not. It can take years for diseases to develop.

This is your decision as Mom. I didn't vaccinate my kids and they are healthy. They babysit sick kids. I contracted the H1N1 a few months ago from an epidemic that I was exposed to at our local hospital. Nobody else in my home got it.....

Hope this helps!

M.

I have three children who are not vaccinated. I have friends who do vaccinate, and friends who do not. I would say this....you have to be comfortable about the decision you make. What good is delaying vaccines or choosing NOT to vaccinate if you are going to worry every day of your life whether or not you make the right decision! Likewise, you can't vaccinate and then hover over your child worrying about every little thing your baby does or doesn't do "normally" and wonder if it is related to the vaccines. I know I made the right decision for MY family, because I never think about it. It never comes up, never is an issue, and I'm never not at peace about the decision. I am a teacher, and my oldest daughter will be at school with me next year. There is an exemption form I can fill out because she is not vaccinated; I will not have to supply the school with immunization records. I would do whatever gives you peace and makes you feel comfortable. I would not be pushed into vaccinating or NOT vaccinating because that's what someone else wants you to do. And when I was struggling with the same decision, I had a friend give me some advice that put my mind at ease: "You can always choose to vaccinate, but you can't choose to UN-vaccinate, so if you are in doubt, wait until you are sure."

KnowVaccines.com have a lot of information that might be helpful. My first two got all their baby shots but no boosters. My oldest had adverse reactions. My next three didn't get any but my hubby wants me to get my older kids vaccinated. Probably only tetinus and polio... not sure. This is a hard thing to consider but that is good that you're doing your homework. Your homeopath should be able to give you information also. Good luck!

I'm choosing not to vaccinate. I don't have any sources for you to look at because I don't believe them. Mine comes from personal experience. My little sister got a series of shots at age 3 and before that was a normal little girl...very precocious. She started shutting down afterwards (not immediately, but it was noticable about a month or two after) and at age 4, she had been diagnosed with autism. That is the only link I see with her having it. No family history of it whatsoever. How can someone go from being smart for her age to totally regressed. At age 17, she still has the mentality of a 2 year at best. It's really sad to think that. And for that reason, my son will probably be not receiving vaccines.

Go on facebook and become a fan of Dr. Tenpenny's fan page. If you don't have a facebook page, then just look her up. She is very knowledgable about the dangers of vaccines. None of them are safe and most of the diseases were on the decline way before vaccines came out. They do not guarantee immunity and more than half of kids who get a vaccine against something will still get the disease if they come in contact with it. They are linking juvenile diabetes, alzheimers, stomach problems, and so many more medical problems to vaccines. If you go onto Dr. Tenpenny's page, you will see just how many people suffer from vaccines. Could you forgive yourself if your child was vibrant and happy and then completely gone the next day after receiving a vaccine? That's what I ask myself, and the answer is no. Why would I give my child a vaccine that doesn't guarantee immunity, and has a much higher chance of causing seizures or some other kind of neurological effect when they more than likely wont get any of these diseases. And yes, if your child does come in contact with something, they have a much higher chance of fighting if off because they haven't had their immune system compromised by vaccines. We don't live in 3rd world countries where people at high numbers die because they are malnourished and have filthy water supplies.

We do most vaccines, but not all. I am a believer in vaccinations, but I do not agree with the "one size fits all" approach that the AAP and CDC preach.
I would say do your research and do your own risk-benefit analysis and then make a decision.
Once you make a decision it does not have to be set in stone, when your circumstances change reassess your analysis and see what makes sense.
We have gotten most recommended vaccines, but not all. We have vaccinated on an alternate schedule and spaced out vaccinations to only get one shot at a time. We are not doing all young childhood boosters, instead opting to get fewer boosters later in life.

The recommended vaccine schedule serves one purpose and one purpose ONLY: to vaccinate as many children as young as possible, because this is the time when children that are underprivileged and have no health insurance still have access and make regular use of free well baby visits.
For most vaccines it has NOTHING to do with the likelihood of your infant actually catching a disease at a certain point (there are exceptions based on individual circumstances) but it is simply a strategy to increase compliance.
Our pediatrician (a regular run of the mill, AAP ped) has agreed with our assessment and was very supportive of our decisions - seriously, she has never so much as blinked when we told her what we would and would not do...

Good luck.

Good for you for doing research! I wish I had done mine a lot sooner. Thankfully, my son has never had any adverse reactions and is totally normal. But when I think back to how many vaccines I exposed him to all at once, makes me feel completely guilty. More importantly though, I have done a lot of research and this is my favorite website:

http://www.nvic.org//

I have gone to all other legitimate websites including the FDA and the CDC. I even went to the website of the maker of the MMR vaccine, Merck. You can download a 12 page product insert that tells you everything you might need to know about this vaccine and I am sure other vaccines.

Good luck with your decision! Ultimately, I went with my gut.

We do not vaccinate and have many more friends who don't either. My favorite book is the sanctity of human blood (www.thedoctorwithin.com). In my state there are exemption forms at school you sign declaring personal or religious beliefs. You can probably have your homeopath sign a medical exemption as well, check with your state and school district. My kids are under regular chiropractic care, take daily vitamins, omega 3s, and probiotics. My own kids and those I know personally who aren't vaccinated are healthier and get sick less than those I know who are!

I am a firm believer that vaccines are good for our world. They have solved a LOT of health problems all over the world, and are necessary to our survival. However, I also believe that vaccines are not appropriately safety tested, and that vaccine companies are making money first and looking out for your safety second.

If you haven't read it yet, check out Dr. Sears' "The Vaccine Book," and then check out his website (on there, he updates all of the information that is out-of-date or has changed since his book was published, for example, the H1N1 shot). He is pro-vaccination but suggests a wonderful alternative schedule so that your child will never receive more than 1 live vaccine at a time. He also has a second alternative schedule for parents who only want to vaccinate their children for the most dangerous diseases. He dissects each vaccine - what hard metals are in them, what chemicals are in them, what risks the vaccines present to your child - and what risks not vaccinating presents as well. We decided to vaccinate our son but to spread out his vaccines and delay some of the more controversial ones such as the MMR and the chicken pox vaccine. With our next child, we also plan to delay the Hep B, and avoid flu shots. It comes down to gut instinct, of course, and what vaccines you decide to give or not to give may have to depend on if you intend to use daycare (most states require vaccines to put your child in a state-certified daycare) and whether or not pediatricians in the area will treat your unvaccinated child (this is actually an issue in my area!).

Katrina,

To ease your mind, children with healthy immune systems don't pass along diseases. I didn't vaccinate my kids and they hardly get sick and when they do it might be a sniffle. (I don't expose my children to others if they are sick.) What I have found is that there are some parents that think because their kids are immunized there is no danger so the supervision of their health is lacking. (don't take offense ladies, these are people I know, I didn't conclude this from any answers) I agree that you are doing right to research. The pharmaceutical companies have us so scared of diseases that we are exposing our little ones to toxic chemicals and doing it gladly. What's worse to die from, a disease or a chemical exposure? Seems like the end result is the same. The documented leading cause of death in this country is pharmaceuticals taken ACCORDING to directions.

I don't have them here at the house but I can get the figures of the deaths during the bubonic plaque. There were almost 3 times as many deaths of those that went through traditional medical treatment as those that went through chiropractic care. Chiropractic care builds the immune system so the body can fight off diseases. That's what most people are doing by not immunizing. They are protecting the God-given immune system that will work if not attacked consistently with synthetic chemicals.

Ultimately, vaccinations are a parents choice. I don't begrudge any mother who chooses to vaccinate but I also KNOW that I am not jeopardizing other children with my choice.

I agree that you should look at the ingredients in the vaccines. That tells a lot more than simply what the vaccine is for. God bless you!

S.

Keep researching I know what your feeling.
keep in mind the other option you have is to wait until your child is older.

Not to offend anyone, but I feel that vaccines and their reactions depend on a persons genes. From the research that I have done it seems that the kids that do end up autistic has a family history of it. I'm not say every case does, but the articles and claims that I had a chance to read had some sort of family history with it.
But I applaud your wanting to know more about vaccines. They are a very difficult subject for the people that care. I've decided to vaccine, but am going to start doing the Dr. Sears alternative schedule starting tomorrow! That's when my son's 6 month appointment is.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/parents.htm#myths
Autism develops in the first trimester of pregnancy. There is nothing you can give your child after birth that will give them autism. Being exposed to Rubella (German Measles) during the 1st trimester of pregnancy increases the incidence of autism. So people who do not vaccinate are allowing their children to become possible vectors in spreading the disease and increasing the chance pregnant women will be exposed. Diseases that we thought were almost gone are being imported all the time. Whooping cough and TB are making a big comeback.

I know my son has had all his vaccines including the H1N1 vaccine. Everything is up to you, but most school systems will not allow your child to attend classes if they haven't been vaccinated. Might be different where you are, but never know.

The morbidity and mortality stats (as well as the common side effects for surviving the illness... like measles frequently = blindness, scarlet fever = heart damage, allllllll of the ones that come along with various forms brain damage, etc.) available through the CDC or World Health Organization.

http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/

It's just not possible (yet!) to vaccinate the world, so all of the information about organ damage, side effects, mortality rates, etc., are taking into account modern day medicine that includes fever reducers, gatorade, etc.