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Over Vaccinating Children?
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4.2 after 6 votes
What are your thoughts on vaccinating children? I read an interesting book called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, M.D.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marguerite Wright on -
This is a very intense topic that I have joined many times online, but from the research I have done I choose not to vaccinate my children at this time but keep them on a healthy diet, supplements and boost their immune system naturally. My mom was born before vaccinations were big. She was born in 1920. She was never vaccinated. She lived to be 87 and never caught any diseases that people are vaccinated for. I know other families that don't vaccinate and have growth children in good health with no diseases. The bottom line is each parent does have the right to decide, this is the important thing to remember.
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Permalink Reply by Valerie on -
I haven't read the book but stopped giving my daughter vax at 18 months. She had severe reactions each time she got the shots. I said to myself that I would continue the vax when she was older and could tell me what is wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Kari Wolfe on -
I do believe that people should have their children vaccinated. My major concern is whether or not we are giving them way too much all at once or not. My daughter had her HepB at birth and then at her 2 month checkup, she had FOUR vaccinations! That's a crazy amount of viruses (dead OR live) to fight off for an infant, don't you think?
Last year, I didn't know that the flu shot contained thimerisol - my daughter received two of these (your first time, you're supposed to). (sigh) If I had only known... Anyway, I feel like she changed during that time, but how do you actually know? She's going to get one this year (a single dose - no thimerisol) and I'm absolutely paranoid about it. And she should have gotten another HepB shot at 2 years old.
I am terrified that any amount of progress that I've seen since she's been in occupational therapy will disappear or backtrack or something, even though I know that all the professionals I have spoken with have stated that there is no connection between autism and vaccines. The reasons for the vaccinations are perfectly sound and I understand that research hasn't shown anything yet... but there's still a "what if..?" niggling in the back of my head.
But I do want her to be protected and I don't want to risk her getting one of these dangerous diseases. With all the children who are not being vaccinated, I worry about outbreaks of these diseases that we haven't seen in years. It's always a possibility and while I understand exactly why some parents choose not to vaccinate, I do want my daughter to be protected in those cases.
I live in Colorado and before I started college to get my Master's, I had to get a second MMR (the first one was given earlier in life) because the school required it due to an outbreak of mumps in the state. I completely understand why I needed it and have no problem giving it to my daughter - my issue is I simply want to make sure it's safe for her to take.
(sigh) It's hard, but what do you do? You do the best you can in the situations you're given. We all love our children and are trying to do what's best for them, but I think until the industry can figure out either a way to convince parents that the vaccines are 100% safe OR they figure out what is causing these developmental delays and autism spectrum disorder, there is ALWAYS going to be this discussion among parents, this worry that there's a possibility that the vaccines may be a factor in development. And yes, the vaccines ARE better than they used to be, but the industry still has a long way to go in convincing parents that they ultimately will not cause any detrimental effect to their child.
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Permalink Reply by Rachel @ Surviving The Stores on -
I would like to highly, highly, highly (did I say highly?) recommend the book "Unraveling The Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research and Recovery" by Karen Seroussi. It was EXCELLENT... one of my favorite books and a very easy and engaging read! A great puzzle piece in the vaccination/autism link question. You can get it for around $4 from half.com.
Here's the synopsis from the book:
When Seroussi's 19-month-old son Miles was diagnosed as autistic, she and her husband were told that the condition was incurable. Unwilling to accept that opinion, the couple dedicated themselves to learning all they could about autism in an effort to find a cure. During the course of their research, they came to believe that Miles's autism might be tied to a digestive disorder possibly caused by his vaccinations. Based on medical information and their own observances, Seroussi and her scientist husband created a dietary regimen that actually reversed Miles's autism--and has since helped other children with similar disorders. In addition to sharing her personal story, Seroussi also outlines the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, reviews behavior therapies, lists foods that should be avoided, and provides recipes and information on nutritional supplements.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy on -
Being a pediatric nurse I am for vaccinating children. I know there is a lot of opinions on them, but I have seen first hand what they prevent....and I personally would never want to take that chance with my kids. I work for 8 pediatricians and if any of them ever felt like they were endangering children in any way..they would be the first to say...No they were not going to give them.
There has been a lot of hype on possible complications from the vaccines, but there should be as much hype on the complications from the diseases they are trying to prevent...then I think the decision would be much easier. Most of these diseases have been under control because of the vaccines and so most of us have never seen the real damage they can do.
I know it is a very personal thing and you have to be comfortable with your choice, but if you are researching the complications from the vaccines....then also look into the diseases themselves if you are unsure what to do. Then you can make your decision fully informed.
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Permalink Reply by Denise on -
Maybe because my son is a preemie and he can get super sick really quick, I am all for vaccinating my child. I guess I just feel like if I was vaccinated and I am perfectly fine, 20 some odd years later, it will be ok. They wouldn't even suggest them if they were concerned with over vaccination. I think we should be thankful that we have the ability to help keep our kids healthy and safe like this.
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Permalink Reply by Krista on
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I haven't seen this yet so I'd like to recommend The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. I found it to be pretty balanced, from a doctor's point of view. He lays out the dangers of the disease, how likely various groups are to catch them, and the side effects of the vaccines. He has also done his research and tells you exactly how each vaccine is made (there are various forms of each from different manufacturers) so you can choose which one is the safest. He also has a spread out schedule of vaccinations that lessens the doses of preservatives your child would get at any one time. It makes for more doctor visits (and unfortunately more co-pays), but this is what I'm choosing.
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Permalink Reply by Rachel @ Surviving The Stores on
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I do not have an autistic child. But the book was still one of the most engaging books I have ever read.
Nancy said:Do you have an autistic child?
Rachel @ Surviving The Stores said:I would like to highly, highly, highly (did I say highly?) recommend the book "Unraveling The Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research and Recovery" by Karen Seroussi. It was EXCELLENT... one of my favorite books and a very easy and engaging read! A great puzzle piece in the vaccination/autism link question. You can get it for around $4 from half.com.
Here's the synopsis from the book:
When Seroussi's 19-month-old son Miles was diagnosed as autistic, she and her husband were told that the condition was incurable. Unwilling to accept that opinion, the couple dedicated themselves to learning all they could about autism in an effort to find a cure. During the course of their research, they came to believe that Miles's autism might be tied to a digestive disorder possibly caused by his vaccinations. Based on medical information and their own observances, Seroussi and her scientist husband created a dietary regimen that actually reversed Miles's autism--and has since helped other children with similar disorders. In addition to sharing her personal story, Seroussi also outlines the symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, reviews behavior therapies, lists foods that should be avoided, and provides recipes and information on nutritional supplements.
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Permalink Reply by Angel McClinton on -
I think that there is so much confusing and contrary information given regarding vaccinations. My daughters have both been vaccinated. My son however, has had a "mystery" illness since he was about 2. I gave him his first set of shots and my husband I decided against the rest. He's been tested, misdiagnosed, overmedicated and I we just can't in good conscious put any more foreign matter in his body. Right now he's on a GF diet and that has done WONDERS! I think we all have to make these hard decisions based on education, personal beliefs and each child's individual health status. AND we have to support each other as moms in a very unsure world.
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Permalink Reply by dawn on
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I raised four children and according to the laws in Idaho all were vaccinated. I'm not sure I would have chosen to vaccinate if I had've had the choice. I think that it would be a hard decision to make. I met a young mom in the last few months who's beautiful 3 year old boy was a vegetable because of vaccinations at least that was her belief. She said he was a vibrant beautiful 1 year old full of life until his 1 year check up and vaccinations. It still makes me sad when I think of that little boy.
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Permalink Reply by Mommy Greenest on -
What an important topic Cari, thanks for opening it up for discussion. We have a 4 year old and now twin babies and I can tell you it was the most difficult decision we made when we decided to indefinitely hold off on vaccinating our children. I too read the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" as well as others. After reading books such as this that are not in favor of vaccinations, I found it all too easy to say "absolutely no vaccinations", but I wanted to make sure I didn't get caught up in 1 sided arguments so I researched both sides. I gathered pamphlets from our doctor and did tons of research online. In our minds, by deciding to hold off or bypass immunizing, it became critical that we build up and maintaining the strength of our children's immune systems via proper nutrition and supplementation. Most childhood illnesses can be combatted by a fit immune system. Others such as chicken pox are necessary to contract in childhood because once the body has fought it off it builds up a permanent immunity to it. The reading that I have done has stressed that illnesses such as chicken pox, if not contracted as a child, can pose a greater threat with more permanent damage if contracted as an adult.
This is a topic that I am very passionate about. No matter what decision a family makes, for or against, it is critical that they gather information before blindly letting the doctor begin immunizing.
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Permalink Reply by Simchabe on
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We vaccinated our first three children as directed by our doctor. When we moved to Port Townsend WA, we started changing our ways to be more organic and purposeful. We had our youngest son and started raising him with different values. When he was given his first set of vaccintations he become so ill and sore, he cried for 3 days and couldn't move. We decided at that point we would questoin everything the doctors wanted to put inside of our kids.
Mothering magazine had an excellent article a few years ago that discussed vaccination in details. It helped guide our decision on whitch vaccinations to give our children and which ones they don't need. We support some vaccines, especially when we travel internationally, but not all.
Educate yourself on vaccination and make your own decisions. Don't let big drug companies make the decisions for you. You're aksing all the rigt questions and am glad to see so many other parents who support working with your doctor to make the right decisions for your family.
