To Vaccinate or Not?

[Mummy1995]

Did you choose to vaccinate?

Why? Why not?

I'm so stuck as to what to do.. I've never been vaccinated, neither has my sister, and we've never contracted a bad illness.. Yet my niece was vaccinated, and got meningitis and died.

I've been hearing of more and more horror stories of problems after vaccines.. The homeopath my sister has seen said that even though she is a doctor, she is against vaccines (although doesnt make that very well known otherwise she could lose her job!) especially after her daughter was vaccinated (8 week ones) and only a few hours later showed autistic characteristics that weren't normal to her (not from MMR for the record).

What are your views? Either way I'm going to have to live with my decision :/ x

 

[aliss]

I don't understand how an 8 week old can show autistic characteristics. To me that sounds like someone is saying what they want to believe rather than a reality.

In short, yes, I absolutely believe in vaccination. No, they are not 100% fool proof and unfortunately side effects do occur, but I believe the overall benefit outweighs that. I do respect a parent's right to choose though. Yes, herd immunity is important, but IMO the choice is a human rights issue and takes precedent.

 

[Mummy1995]

She said she wasn't herself and was being very spaced out and starey and just not normal.. And she said it took weeks of her treating her with homeopathic remedies for her to get back to her normal self.

Thanks for you response

 

[MommyJogger]

Can I just use this as a forum to admit that I'm not sure mine could have gotten any more spaced out and stare-y than he already was at 8 weeks? I worried for weeks on end that my boy must have been a bit ******** because I heard other moms talk about their newborns' personalities. He didn't stop staring at the ceiling fan until at least 10 weeks.

I believe in vaccinations, but take an alternative vaccine schedule where I feel they give too many shots at once. I'm also not going to get him the flu shot or probably the chicken pox vaccine unless I come across something that changes my mind about the cp one.

ETA: sorry, censors, didn't realize I wasn't allowed to use that word. Developmentally delayed, perhaps?

 

[Rachel_C]

That word means something slightly different in the UK

We do vaccinate but we have delayed the MMR until 15 months because it's more effective then.

I do believe that for the individual, vaccination possibly isn't the best idea if everybody else is vaccinated, because I don't think it's ideal to mess around with the immune system. An unvaccinated person in a society of vaccinated people will maybe have a health advantage, but IMO that is only because of the herd effect. I believe it's in society's best interests for everybody to be vaccinated, so really I want everybody else's children to have their jabs so that mine don't have to. However, I don't want to live like that - if I want everybody else to do it for the safety of my children, I will do it too. I don't think my child has any more value than another mum's baby (obviously they do to me, but not in the bigger picture), so we vaccinate.

So yes, I know there are some side effects to various vaccines but the autism link is absolute bollocks. In my humble opinion, of course.

 

[H2Omommy]

During my pregnancy i did tons and tons of research from books and accredited
government websites and I came to the conclusion that giving vaccines to my baby is not worth the risk.
Some diseases do not even exist anymore due to improved and hygienic living conditions and clean water access etc. While others show no full protection against a disease. Most disease outbreaks occur with fully vaccinated children anyways....... so what is the point.
The vaccine industry is a 50 billion dollar industry in this country, drug companies push pediatricians with incentives so they keep a current vaccine schedule with their patients. I do not trust drug companies period!!!
I mean why would you give a tiny creature whose immune system is merely beginning to develop, 8 viruses in one day and a chemical concoction to go along with it? I mean over 20 vaccines before their first year...really?

 

[Mummy1995]

Could I ask what risks you found to vaccinations? x

 

[hanelei]

I agree with the above- an 8 week old can't display autistic characteristics, they aren't anywhere near developed enough. My LO had roseola a few months ago and spent a lot of time staring with glassy eyes- because he felt ill and lethargic no doubt. Thinking that an 8-week old is displaying signs of autism is a huge leap based on nothing scientific. At about exactly that age my LO loved to stare at his hand- as did the babies of most people I know.

I completely support parents having the choice whether or not to vaccinate, provided they keep a sharp lookout for symptoms of things like measles and make an effort to then isolate their kids from at-risk people like newborn babies. I was vaccinated as were my brothers and we are all very healthy. I have chosen to vaccinate my LO and so far so is he, just the odd cold and the one bout of roseola in 19.5 months.

Here in Japan vaccines are not grouped together as much as they seem to be in other countries- the most you get at one time is the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) and also they don't start quite as early. Our paediatrician recommended spacing out vaccines so LO has mostly had them one at a time and has had no reactions to any of them.

 

[CMarie]

I completely agree with H2OMommy

My 16 month old son is not vaccinated and most likely never will be. He is extremely healthy and has only been sick twice, once with Roseola and once with a minor cold. Like H2O, I did a lot of research while pregnant and after reading, watching, and hearing what I did, I could never get my son vaccinated . . the risks of the vaccines outweigh the "pros" to me. There are so many things to consider with vaccines like the studies done, adverse reactions, ingredients, the true effectiveness, etc.

One of the risks I've heard a lot about and actually have some experience with within my family is allergic reactions. My cousin has a severe allergy to eggs and there is actually egg in a number of vaccines. Sadly my aunt didn't know this and brought him in for his vaccines and he had a serious reaction to it because the doctors never tested him for allergies prior to the shots. I've done a ton of research and if you'd like anymore info you can PM me and I can send you some

All that said, I really think vaccinating your child is an extremely personal decision. You can do all the research you want and listen to all the advice you can, but as a mom you need to go with your gut and do what you believe is best for your child

 

[mommyof3co]

We started out vaccinating my first and second. I was young when I had them, had my first at 16, and thought I had no choice, I had never heard anything negative about vaccines, truly knew nothing about them. After my 2nd was born I started reading more online about it, we still had him almost fully vaccinated, at least for the first 2yrs. Neither child ever had a bad side effect but after doing tons and tons of research while pregnant with my 3rd we made the decision to stop vaccinating and to never vaccinate further children. We found that for OUR children the risks outweighed the benefits. We looked at everything. We looked at the efficiency of the vaccines, the ingredients, the risks and benefits of having the vaccine, the risks and benefits of having the actual disease, the chance of contracting the disease, etc. After all of that we felt the vaccines posed more risk than the benefits you receive from them.

With that said I'm not against vaccines. I think every parent should research and decide for themselves. Just because I feel they aren't right for my kid doesn't mean I think that no one should get vaccinated.

My kids are now 9yrs (vaccinated until about age 3), 7yrs (vaccinated until age 2), 5yrs and 18mo (neither have had any vaccines). None has ever had anything that could have been prevented by a vaccine. All are very healthy, even the youngest who was a preemie. The older 3 all attend public school.

 

[aliss]

With that said I'm not against vaccines. I think every parent should research and decide for themselves. Just because I feel they aren't right for my kid doesn't mean I think that no one should get vaccinated.

I am pro-vaccine and agree with you 100% (just because mine is, does not mean everyone should either). I get frustrated with those who feel people should vaccinate against parent's will - at what point is it a violation of a person's human rights to not inject?

 

[H2Omommy]

So There is a website called national vaccine information center, where they go through some of the most common adverse reactions from vaccines and they are listed as follows

Pronounced swelling, redness, heat or hardness at the site of the injection;
Body rash or hives;
Shock/collapse;
High pitched screaming or persistent crying for hours;
Extreme sleepiness or long periods of unresponsiveness;
High fever (over 103 F)
Twitching or jerking of the body, arm, leg or head;
Crossing of eyes;
Weakness or paralysis of any part of the body;
Loss of eye contact or awareness or social withdrawal;
Loss of ability to roll over, sit up or stand up;
Vision or hearing loss;
Restlessness, hyperactivity or inability to concentrate;
Sleep disturbances that change wake/sleep pattern;
Head banging or onset of repetitive movements (flapping, rubbing, rocking, spinning);
Joint pain;
Muscle weakness;
Disabling fatigue;
Loss of memory;
Onset of chronic ear or respiratory infections;
Violent or persistent diarrhea or chronic constipation;
Breathing problems (asthma);
Excessive bleeding (thrombocytopenia) or anemia.

But of course i still think that every parent should do their own research and decide on their own. I just do not want to comply blindly to vaccinating my child just from what the pediatricians tell me.

 

[Feronia]

I agree with H20Mommy and mommyof3co and will not be vaccinating LO. DH and I spent a lot of time researching this when I first became pregnant. We were both vaccinated as children, so we went into this with completely open minds thinking "eh, let's research this vaccination thing since we know nothing about it," and ended up completely changing our views. We read lots of books and articles and talked this over for a few months before finally deciding. (Note: stay away from the majority of pro- and anti-vaccine sites alike! I found that both of them make very exaggerated claims.) Whatever you choose, it's important that you're thinking about it now.

For us, our choice is based on the awful vaccine ingredients and the fact that babies have so many of them injected in a short amount of time while their immune systems are still very fragile. I personally don't trust the long-term effects of most of these chemicals, and it would be near impossible to test anyway. We also looked at the risk of getting each disease, the severity, and the efficacy of each vaccine and determined that the benefits did not outweigh the long-term and short-term risks of side effects in any one of them.

This may be completely different for you, though! You may very well do some research and determine the opposite, which is completely fine. As others have said, it's more important that we all have choices in the matter.

 

[Meaggers]

Our LO has an 8 week "well baby" check-up next week where he should be getting vaccines. This is an issue we're really struggling with ourselves. We've been researching for months and chose not to get the the Hep B shot for our LO right after he was born. Our pediatrician gave us a hard time about it so I have a feeling telling her that we're still deciding and will either be on a delayed schedule or will not be vaccinating at all will cause a big issue. I've read a lot about Dr.s refusing to see your child if they aren't vaccinated here and it's a big concern for us since our LO is on Medicaid due to job loss. We are leaning most toward not vaccinating due to the side effects, risks vs benefits, etc. I have angered my mother with my opinion and she seems to believe that me not vaccinating my child is selfish. I tried to explain things to her, but some people refuse to do their own research. All I can say is it's your decision to make and we're struggling as well. All you can do is research for yourself and try and make the best decision, that you as a mother, can for your child.

 

[mommyof3co]

Our LO has an 8 week "well baby" check-up next week where he should be getting vaccines. This is an issue we're really struggling with ourselves. We've been researching for months and chose not to get the the Hep B shot for our LO right after he was born. Our pediatrician gave us a hard time about it so I have a feeling telling her that we're still deciding and will either be on a delayed schedule or will not be vaccinating at all will cause a big issue. I've read a lot about Dr.s refusing to see your child if they aren't vaccinated here and it's a big concern for us since our LO is on Medicaid due to job loss. We are leaning most toward not vaccinating due to the side effects, risks vs benefits, etc. I have angered my mother with my opinion and she seems to believe that me not vaccinating my child is selfish. I tried to explain things to her, but some people refuse to do their own research. All I can say is it's your decision to make and we're struggling as well. All you can do is research for yourself and try and make the best decision, that you as a mother, can for your child.

What part of TX are you in? We had my youngest on Medicaid for his first year as well, we are in the DFW area. We had to call around a lot (for all of my kids) to find a pedi that would accept patients that don't vaccinate but they are out there and there are ones that medicaid covers as well

 

[Meaggers]

We're in SW Houston. I have a feeling Ill be calling around very soon to find someone. We're even willing to travel to the other side of the city if we have to in order to find a pedi that'll work with us. Medicaid makes it even more difficult since it narrows the field even more.

 

[seaweed eater]

I do believe that for the individual, vaccination possibly isn't the best idea if everybody else is vaccinated, because I don't think it's ideal to mess around with the immune system. An unvaccinated person in a society of vaccinated people will maybe have a health advantage, but IMO that is only because of the herd effect. I believe it's in society's best interests for everybody to be vaccinated, so really I want everybody else's children to have their jabs so that mine don't have to. However, I don't want to live like that - if I want everybody else to do it for the safety of my children, I will do it too. I don't think my child has any more value than another mum's baby (obviously they do to me, but not in the bigger picture), so we vaccinate.

So yes, I know there are some side effects to various vaccines but the autism link is absolute bollocks. In my humble opinion, of course.

One more vote for all of this.

 

[Hellylou]

When parents argue that their kids are unvaccinated and have never caught any diseases...that's because the vast majority of people are vaccinated and therefore immune, so these diseases are rarer. But if people continue to avoid vaccination, these deadly diseases will return, and are returning right now. In the UK we are in the middle of the biggest outbreak of whooping cough in 20 years, with 400 cases and 3 babies dying of it in October, babies who were too young to have been vaccinated against it. If people were getting vaccinated, this disease would not be spreading, and these babies wouldn't be exposed to it. The affects of avoiding vaccination are not seen immediately. It can take years to be apparent, but before you know it, there is an outbreak, and we have a situation like we are seeing now.

 

[lozzy21]

We vaccinated on a delayed schedule, no more than one injection at a time and about 6-8 weeks in between each one. To me the benefits out weight any risks. A lot of the side affects listed are actually nothing to do with the vaccination but since they happened in the time frame they have to list them.

We have a large foreign population in my town and i cannot be sure they have come from a country where vaccinations are done routinely like they are in the UK. I also feel i have to protect the more vulnerable in society. Not every one is able to have vaccinations, those too young or to ill to be vaccinated should be protected from things that can be prevented.

 

[Samiam03]

My first was fully vaccinated. I really didn't want my second vaccinated but my husband is a firm believer in vaccines and won't allow me to not do them. I am not going to press the issue because he has allowed me to do everything else I wanted with the kids without any pushback (not circumcising, baby wearing, co sleeping, ect). He is allowing me to delay vaccines according to the dr sears schedule, however, and he allowed me to decline the flu vaccine for my son and myself. I'm just going to pick my battles wisely.