If you DO NOT vaccinate, and only those who do not please...

[StaceyinLA]

What studies/information led you to that decision? Do you have links?

 

Or is it just your feeling/belief that our bodies are designed to protect us if not bombarded with vaccines/antibiotics?

 

Sorry, typing one-handed with dgs in lap.

 

Trying to help dd make educated decisions.

 

FWIW, I didn't do vaxes til mine were teens, but I'd like more information to share with her.

[Kissy]

We delay and selective vax. We read Dr. Sears' book and it was just looking at how the changes have happened in vaxes over the years plus the absence of childhood illness but the rise on autism and adhd and other issues with kids today. I also read a lot of websites.

 

My son got really sick with respiratory stuff and was diagnosed with asthma as a baby. He was so sick that he didn't get any vaxes for a while and during that time he started getting better and his asthma (that he had for a year) disappeared. He has never been told he had asthma again. We began delaying after that.

 

My daughter had screaming fits after the DTAP I looked in the database for vax reactions and found that even though it is no longer listed it used to be listed as a side effect for DTAP. She screamed nonstop for 3 days straight with only minimal sleeping. After that we started selective vax.

[hillfarm]

My biggest sticking point was why give the antigen to humans who are just developing their immune response and who will therefore, not be able to respond as well as if receiving the same antigen later in life. After interviewing several internationally known immunologists (my dh worked at a regional children's hospital so I had great access), the answer seemed to be that infants are the most complaint population group for getting shots - their adoring parents are diligent about bringing them in for their check ups. And also, that some of the illnesses seem to be most severe in younger populations.

 

So we did get a few of the vacs for what I felt were severe diseases, liklihood of contact was high, and there were few if any reported side effects. We got them each separately - I am VERY set against bombarding the baby's immune system with multiple insults at the same time. Some we never did get because I determined through my research that the illness was not terribly severe in the vast majority of the population, that the liklihood of exposure was very low, or that there were many reported cases of problems associated with that particular vac.

 

HTH

[AK_Mom4]

For DD11, we delayed vax on recommendation from her kidney doctor. Her system was busy enough fighting kidney infections without adding in the vaccinations. She got caught up about age 8.

 

On the other hand, I personally never recieved any vaccines as a child except for diptheria. There was a scare when I was a kid and they lined us all up and gave the shot to us at school. Vaccines cost $$$ when I was a kid, so my parents never had us get them (we never saw the doctor or dentist regularly either, but that's another story). When I was 18yo, I had to go down to the city clinic and get all my shots since the college required them.

[clarkacademy]

Baby boy #1 Very social pageant baby did some modeling for Penny's just amazing potty trained at two on television etc. He got MMR late because of traveling between him and his older sisters pageants and both parents working etc. I have a videos of him at 2 and by 3 he was a different child. At a party screaming because the cake was on his shirt. Cowering in a fetal position when we sang Happy Birthday covering his ears howling. 3 and half back in diapers no longer vocal. My son was gone. We continued the shots because that is what good mothers do.

 

Baby boy 2 Happy amazing had MMR stopped babbling, stopped wanting people to touch him he was put in therapy right away we knew by then.

 

Baby girl MMR breathing problems asthma stopped eye contact seperation issues started wouldn't play with other children we stopped shots by the time she was 4 other than the asthma she is pretty normal. Baby boy 2 well he has ADHD tourettes ocd and food issues

 

Baby boy 1 I say this with love this is not who my son started out to be he is 13 years old now and we struggle everyday I dream of my little boy all locked up inside his head where no one can ever go he struggles to learn basic things he barely has friends I barely have friends my other kids just wonder what is wrong with him all the time

 

I don't know if those shots did it if it would have happened anyway I will never know but I know my 3 youngest changed afterwards and the one boy was forever changed.

 

My oldest daughter older than baby boy 1 had all shots she is highly gifted smart funny social amazingly sweet and the best gift I have ever gotten so that is why I do not or will not vaccinate

[frugalmama]

We are a fully no-vax family. For us it was a combination of things - I had a severe reaction to the DPT as a child. I found out as an adult that most likely it was from one of many "hot lots" going around in the 1980's. My family also has a family history of not doing well after shots, and I was already questioning when I got pregnant with dd.

 

I was 90% sure when she was born, and then the hospital bullied me into giving her the HepB at 3 days old. Within a few hours she went from being a quiet calm baby to screaming bloody murder most of the day from colitis. You could visibly see her little tummy contract the cramps were so strong. Turned out she is allergic to oats {even through mamamilk} - and the HepB contains yeast grown on - you guess it - oats. Her colitis didn't improve until she was nearly 4. I'll never know for certain that the vaccine caused her stomach issues, but the fact that she hadn't had anything else but my milk and hadn't reacted prior to that makes me mighty suspicious that the vaccine did in fact cause it.

 

 

I can say that hanging out at the mothering forums gave me a lot of info too.

[StaceyinLA]

I'll be looking forward to hearing from anyone else.

[chiguirre]

We delayed and limited dd's vaccines on the advice of our Venezuelan developmental pediatrician, pediatrician and neonatologist. None of them thought we should risk vaccinating her as a baby because both of our sons are autistic. The only pressure to vaccinate her that we received was by a few American pediatricians. My regular American pediatrician quietly concurred with delaying vaxes and our DAN doctor (an autism specialist) specifically warned us not to vaccinate on the current schedule.

[SebastianCat]

We vaccinated on schedule (mostly - no flu shots, no Rotavirus, no Giardisil).

 

My nephew, who is now 4 (4 years younger than my youngest), developed severe food allergies after his MMR. He spent a month covered in hives, miserable, until they figured out what was going on. Because of that, if I had younger children, I would have made much different choices with my own kids. We would have (at a minimum) delayed or done selective vaxing.

 

I don't have any specific articles to point you to. I know I've read a ton, and they're all pretty confusing to a new mom. I guess it would come down to what I know had happened within my own family, to outweigh the recommendation of my ped.

 

For a mom who is considering selective/delayed/no vaxing, my biggest recommendation is to find a pediatrician who is supportive of that route. As an experienced mom of pre-teens, I have much more confidence now to make those choices. But as a brand new mom, I tended to follow the advice of my ped. Having a ped who was open to a discussion or supportive of non-vaxing would be essential for someone choosing that option.

[kewb]

I used to vax on schedule. I had friends who did not vax and I thought they were loony tunes but I would listen to what they were saying. After my ds got the chicken pox a couple of years after he received the vax I started digging a little deeper. I had already been on a quest to improve our diet and the researching of vaccinations was a natural extension of it.

 

I read articles, looked at the cdc website, looked up each ingredient in the vaccine and what it does, it is very overwhelming and in the end I went with my gut feeling that better nutrition and healthy living would be better protection then the vaccines.

[Karen in CO]

My first two were fully vax'ed, and I never thought about immunizations. That all changed when my youngest received her DTaP. The side-effect she experienced happens in 1 child out of 16,000. It sounds reasonably safe unless you happen to have that child. Although she had that reaction, it could have been a coincidence so for her next round of shots, she only had the DTaP and had a more severe reaction. I completely lost my trust in vaccines. I realized how much I was relying on statistics to protect my child, and they failed me. We didn't resume any vaccinations until she was over 5 and did them once every 6 months. She's way behind, but I really don't care. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have survived another dose of DTaP. I'm not anti-vax, but I strongly support informed consent, delay, and giving only one vaccine at a time. The Dr. Sears book, the physician information pamphlets for each vaccine, and my terrific family physician were great sources for me when I was first searching for my position on vaccines.

Edited June 18, 2012 by Karen in CO

[Mrs. A]

The book I found most helpful is called "Vaccinations: a Thoughtful Parent's Guide" by Aviva Jill Romm. She carefully and clearly outlines the pros and cons of each vaccine without using scare tactics or relying on purely anecdotal evidence. After reading it I was very comfortable with our decision to stop vaccinating completely.

[cassiemc]

The basic reason for us not vaccinating is this, for us, the benefits do not outweigh the risks. I did lots of research 13 years ago when I was pregnant with our first. Mothering.com was quite useful as was Dr. Sears. I never felt it was right to bombard a baby's immune system with so much at such a young age. I am so thankful that we didn't vaccinate. I believe that some people's systems are predisposed to autism and spectrum disorders, vaccines, in some cases, aids in the development of this. My nephew and second cousin are autistic. My oldest is quirky and this and other things leads me to strongly believe that if we had vaccinated he would be autistic. Look at the vaccine schedule in Europe and other countries. They are more spread out and fewer recommended vaccines, something to think about.

[Dory]

My dad's boss had a little boy that was a bright little boy until her had he started his MMR series. It was like a light switch turned him off. He regressed severely and is now a 4 year old with no verbal skills, no potty training skills, and no walking skills. His parents had even delayed the shots until he was 12 months because debate between his parents on whether they even wanted him to receive them. I guess they should've left it.

I didn't get the shots for my kids because both my older brother and my cousin ended up convulsing with extremely high temperatures after receiving their first shot. It would seem a lot of people in my family react strongly to the pertussis shot is what the doctors concluded. My cousin is now mentally handicapped, my brother (thank goodness) is just fine. I wasn't about to go there with my kids.

 

I guess if my kids get whooping cough I'll take them for an airplane ride. Whooping cough can't survive in higher elevations, or so I'm told. lol

Edited June 19, 2012 by Dory

[Unicorn.]

My advice for your dd. Google each vaccine and the disease it is supposed to prevent. Tell her to ask herself if the risks of the disease outweigh the risks of the side effects of the vaccine. I never intended to delay, but it just kind of happened. I'm glad we did though. I'm much more informed now, than when they were little. The only thing I knew then, was that I didn't want my dc having the oral polio, so they got IPV instead. If I had it to do over, the only ones on my have to have list would be pertussis, tetnus, and now that mine are teens, meningitis. I wasn't going to do the varicella at all, but about the time my ds was supposed to get it, a 3 yr old about 30 miles away died from chicken pox. That scared me into it. Now, I don't know that I would do that one, unless they were older and didn't get CP.

[mommymilkies]

Yikes. I have TONS of scientific studies on my mac. I researched this for a few years (and dh worked in pharma-I was a lab rat). I could email you some info, if you want. It would take me forever to look up all the studies and link them. We don't vaccinate at all. When my daughters are at childbearing ages, I will have their titers checked and they may elect to get the rubella vax, if they want to.

 

I never wanted to vax, but was threatened with CPS. When my 3rd child was 5 months old or so, my best friend's daughter (1 week older than my 5 mo) died the day after her shots. She aspirated in her crib. There was a lot of confusion around that one, but it scared me to death. Baby funerals are something I never wish to go to again. For me, the risks heavily outweighed the benefits of vaccination. THe risks of vaccinations were very heavy in my research. I will not vax my healthy breastfed children. If I formula fed, my opinion might change because of the health difference and lack of immunity in young infants.

[justamouse]

We delay and are selective. My Dh had an uncle die from the MMR shot. Then, my Dh AND his sister got mumps from their vax. I was against them for the most part before I got married, but with Dh's history, and what I've heard from some very smart people I know in Pharma, I stay away until they are older.

 

Dd 17 got meningitis to go back to school, and they would get tetnus if they had to.

 

When I was in HS, too, I knew a family whose child became non communicative and regressed to an infantile state after MMR. They couldn't prove it, but they knew it. I used to stay over at their house all the time and gramma carrying around her 6 yo grandson like a baby-with him completely unresponsive--that was when I first started to question it all.

 

Actually, at this point, my youngers haven't gotten anything. Dd17 did because she was in PS at first, but with her we were selective, too.

Edited June 19, 2012 by justamouse

[suzyqak]

My first 2 children have had several immunizations, the last 2 none. I do not believe they are healthy...lots of research, including asking everyone I could. The following website has lots of info....

 

http://drtenpenny.com/

[AmyontheFarm]

My girl friend decided that they would delay the tetanus shot until her dd was ten. She is currently 7. On the weekend she stepped on a rusty nail.

 

Off to the hospital they go. Mom was prepared and stopped them when they wanted to give the daughter a regular tetanus shot. Mom had to ask specifically for tetanus hemoglobin, the regular tetanus shot would not do any good at this point.

 

In 30 years, the hospital had not given a child tetanus hemoglobin. Five dr's later and 7 hours later, Mom got what was needed and was back home.

 

If you delay or chose to do no vaccinations, make sure you know what the standard procedure will now be for YOUR child in case they are exposed to polio, tetanus, etc, because the front desk nurses didn't know and Mom had to fight to get the right thing for her daughter.

[LibraryLover]

wrong thread. sorry!

Edited June 20, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Stayseeliz]

I've done a good bit of research and second the suggestions for Dr Tenpenny and Aviv above. One of the huge decision makers for us was Dr Jay Gordon's video about vaccines. He basically says that only one that is even remotely needed is pertussis and only because it takes so long to get over.

[Dory]

I've done a good bit of research and second the suggestions for Dr Tenpenny and Aviv above. One of the huge decision makers for us was Dr Jay Gordon's video about vaccines. He basically says that only one that is even remotely needed is pertussis and only because it takes so long to get over.

 

I've heard that too. Although I had all my shots and still ended up getting it.

[misidawnrn]

I also read Dr Sears' vaccine book. This may sound contrite and condescending but our 3yo's birthmom isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and her now 4 1/2yo son is very developmentally/emotionally delayed (I think from lack of stimulation/instruction/parenting, etc). At first I was afraid of interferring with DDs brain development and DH and I had the same thoughts of "let's let her brain develop without any chemicals/vaccines to give her the best start in life even though she got shorted in the gene department." I read his book and we weighed the risks of the vaccines vs. the risks of the disease itself. I also watched vaccine injured children on Youtube (very scientific, I know!). Another thing that had me even thinking of this in the first place is that I took care of a young girl when I was in nursing school who was definately vaccine injured. Her parents showed me videos of a smiling, happy, walking 9 month old who turned into a complete vegetable after her 12 months shots.

 

We wanted our DD to have the best nature vs. nurture that she could get without any possible reaction from vaccines.

 

I think she is ahead of some other kids her age. She knows all of her letters and their sounds. She can spell words if I sound out the letters like mmmmmm aaaaaaa mmmmm is MOM, etc. She figured out how to spell STOP all by herself at a stop sign and now spells it when she sees one. For comparison, her 4.5yo brother can hardly say his name, doesn't know his ABCs or 123s, isn't potty trained.at.all, etc.

 

I can't say that not vaxxing has helped in her development being ahead but it sure didn't hurt it.

[Mo_Babee]

My DS9 got all his shots because I was in the army and was used to being told what to do...the end. DS7.5 started his shots on time and by 5 months old had developed rsv out of nowhere less than a week after getting 4 month shots. After 6 month shots he broke out in hives and had trouble breathing, they admitted him to the hospital with bronchitis. The doc informed me that it ” could not” be a reaction to the shots because it would have shown within a few hours after getting the shots, not almost 12 hours later. :001_huh: say what?!!! :confused: it was then that I decided to do my own research about these shots. My DS now had asthma and we discovered at 1 year old that he has an allergy to eggs and whole list of other things, why take that chance. So that he doesn't get chicken pox??? No thank you! I did not want my soon to become THAT one in a million, So my second DS has yet to receive another shot and my DD1 has not received any either. I contemplate selective vaxing for them on their way to middle school but haven't fully decided.

Edited June 19, 2012 by Mo_Babee

[Elfknitter.#]

I have one partially vaxed and two not vaxed. For me, it was lots of reading and learning about some of the additives in vaccines. I also, personally, believe we should be exposed to some childhood illnesses rather than a vaccine.

[MollyAnn]

We do not vaccinate at all.

I am a firm believer that vaccines are the cause of autism. I also believe that they bring on asthma, diabetes, arthritis, brain damage, and can actually ruin an immune system.

There many books out there:

Dr. Sears The Vaccine Book

Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy

A Shot in the Dark: Why the P in the Dpt Vaccination May Be Hazardous to Your Child's Health

Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children

And many many more.

I think what is fascinating though is when we were growing up, no one thought anything of the chicken pox. My brother had them so bad they were on his eyelids and the inside of his mouth! He never went to the doctor, he stayed on our couch or in his bed. If you watch old movies you will see the lack of concern over the other ones too. In 'Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows" with Haley Mills they are at a boarding school during the holidays and one other girl couldn't go home because she has the mumps. They go down to the infirmary to make fun of her! The girl is sitting in bed thumbing through a magazine, no one hovering over her, she just has ice packs tied under her jaw.

Now I open a parenting magazine and I am threatened that my child is going to die of the chicken pox. I watch TV and a commercial comes on telling me that if I don't get the pertussis vaccine myself, my arms are the most dangerous place for my baby.

I think when vaccines first started the intention was to truly do some good, but then the money started rolling in. The drug companies are so scared of losing money that when a batch of the HepB went out with to much lead the only thing they did was to say "Don't give it to the newborns, only the 6 month and older"

[jackson'smama]

oldest ds is allergic to eggs and all or some componenents of neosporin (all of these things are potentially in some if not all vaccines). fortunately we planned to at least delay and space out vaxes before he was even born so we found out the allergies thru egg consumption and neosporin usage. not pretty, but it scares me to think what the reaction may have been had they been introduced by injection. who knows? but i'm glad we didn't have to find out. for younger sibs, it's now out of the question. they were/are breastfed. two have never even had an antibiotic. the only sick visit my oldest has had was for an ingrown toenail. at this point, it doesn't make sense b/c we feel the risks outweigh the benefits. sometimes i get a shocked response on this topic because i am a RN with a master's degree in public health where vaccine hoopla was beat into my head on a daily basis!

best wishes on your journey of discovery and wherever it may take your family!

[KS_]

We haven't vaxed, but it actually started with dogs I had long before I had kids. I had 2 puppies at the same time, and did all the regular puppy shots and things you were supposed to do. Both dogs (one a purebred, one a mutt) had horrible reactions to multiple vaccines and boosters. And one almost died from the rabies vaccine. I was told I must just has very sensitive pups. . . Then, a number of years later, I had my cats vaccinated because I had to board them for a trip, and both cats were very sick when I got home, and took a long time to get better. That led me into researching vaccines and animals, which later led into researching them for my dc.

[BlsdMama]

What studies/information led you to that decision? Do you have links?

 

Or is it just your feeling/belief that our bodies are designed to protect us if not bombarded with vaccines/antibiotics?

 

Sorry, typing one-handed with dgs in lap.

 

Trying to help dd make educated decisions.

 

FWIW, I didn't do vaxes til mine were teens, but I'd like more information to share with her.

 

I selectively vax AND delay vax. We do Tetanus and Hib before age five.

Aviva Jill Romm's book on vaccinations was the best vax book I could find that presented information WITHOUT scare tactics so I could make MY OWN decisions. That's all I wanted - information presented so I could think. I wish she'd update the book! The original copyright was September 2001.

Edited June 19, 2012 by BlsdMama

[Alyeska]

My dd was vax'ed through her 5 year old shots. My ds was vaccinated in the orphanage until he came home at nearly 3 years old. Neither one has received any shots since that time.

 

I was always leery about shots and was especially concerned with the MMR when dd was 18 months. When I was working, she had to have shots to be in daycare...I was completely unaware that we could 'opt out' with daycares or schools. So some of it was ignorance on my part.

 

After dd got her last set of shots, I started researching the ingredients in vaccines. It concerned me. So we stopped. I read a lot of information about them. One helpful website in particular is vaclib.org. They provide info on the ingredients in vaccines.

 

Dd developed a dairy allergy when she was about 5...but I don't remember if it was before or after her 5 year old shots. She also developed asthma. I do not know if these things are vaccine related at all and don't think there is any way to tell.

 

The only shots we will possibly consider in the future are tetanus hemoglobin and meningitis. As far as tetanus, I stepped on numerous nails as a kid. And I knew to make it bleed to clean it out. I never received a tetanus hemoglobin. But I certainly would consider it for my kids if they had a puncture wound.

[*********]

Moose is delayed and selectively vaccinated.

 

I actually used the AAP website for my info. I looked over their reccommeded schedule, as well as their notes for each vax.

 

You'll find on there things for specific vaxes like "doesn't need fourth dose if third dose is given after age X' or whatever. So I made our own schedule for him, spacing them out so that the ones we DID get, he got less of.

 

The reason I used AAP site was because I figured if they couldn't sell me on getting a particuar vax, no one could, IYKWIM.

 

I looked at each vax individually, researched the disease it was for, etc.