Advice Nedded on Raising a Vaccine Free Child...

My little one is vaccine free. She is almost a year old and very healthy. She has just had a few days of slight running nose and that is it. We are a part of two different play group so are always around other children. I keep her diet as healthy as possible and am still breast feeding, both of which will strengthen her immune system. It is obviously up to you what you think is best for you little one, but it is not true that you are putting other little kids at risk. First, if vaccines work as they say they do, there should be no problems with other little kids. Second, all people, kids included, vaccinated and unvaccinated, carry bacteria and viruses in their body. We actually have more foreign bacterial cells in and on our body than we do cells of our body. The immune system keeps things at bay and keeps us healthy. Just because someone is vaccinated does not mean that they do not have any bacteria/viruses to share. That is not the way it works but is unfortunately is a common misconception. You need to do what is best for YOUR baby. There are many families out there that do not vaccinate so there is a lot of support for you if that is what you chose. I'm sure there are some local groups where you live but there are also some national ones if you can't find some there. Good Luck!!

Hi there, After vaccinating our first 5 children on schedule, we started questioning a lot of the vaccines, too, initallly b/c we found out some were made using aborted fetal tissue, and then also b/c we were concerned that there are too many vaccines being pushed and kids don't build up natural immunity. With our last two we have hardly given any vaccines, and they have been healthier than all our other children. Both of them breastfed exclusively also, and hardly ate any solids until they were about a year. We did have a scary bout with Pertussis when our last was three months old, but even some of our vaccinated kids got it. They made it through like troopers and were not sick other than little colds or the occasional stomach bug for the next year and a half, when they got strep throat, and my youngest got her first ear infection. So we are very happy with our decision, even though we get a lot of flak from our peds and others. We also have our kids drinking raw milk, and I swear by it. We do not live a sheltered life. Our kids are all part of outside activiies and so are exposed to sickness. I don't worry too much about it. I think it helps them build up immunities faster. Keep praying about it-that's a sure way to get the right answer. And trust your gut, despite the pressure you will receive. It's hard not to second guess yourself, but you'll have peace in your gut when you've made the right decision. We're still not 100% sure about no vaccines or just delayed vaccines, but we're just taking it one day at a time. Best of luck to you. There's sure no easy answers in parenting, but what a blessed adventure!

My suggestion would be that this does not have to be a decision that is set in stone.

Evaluate your risk/ benefit profile right now and if you feel the risk outweighs the benefits you hold off on further vaccines (all or some...).
I did not get all vaccines for my daughter and when I got them, we were on an alternative schedule and only did one shot at a time. For us vaccinating was the right choice, because she attends daycare and we travel internationally on a regular basis. If that had not been the case I probably would have held off in vaccines until pre-school and not done some vaccines (for example HIB - which is most dangerous in young children) at all.
We will hold off on all remaining boosters until school age, since IMO she has gotten a good base immunity at this point.

For me the argument that an unvaccinated child puts others at risk is pure propaganda. Not only is that not true (even vaccinated kids can contract infections that they have been vaccinated against and spread that disease) but in my opinion you have to make medical decisions for your own good, not for that of others.
Unfortunately the vaccine lobby tried to force a one-size-fits-all approach down our throats, that makes people vary about whether there are ANY benefits. I believe there are, but you have to make your own decision on this depending on your circumstances.
Good luck.

My youngest is on a delayed schedule so I understand your concerns. The one thing I would urge you to do is to research each vaccine individually. Don't think of vaccinating your child as an all or nothing thing. Research each one, look at the risk factors for each disease and then choose the vaccines that make the most sense for your child. The others you can choose to do when your child is older or not at all. I lucked out and have a wonderful pediatrician who supports me in my decisions but also provides me with the medical point of view behind each vaccine. She has made her recommendations for which shots should be given first and which can wait and has explained her reasons for it to me each time. I hope that you are able to find a pediatrician that can help you with this as well.

Good luck,
K.

it is not complete propaganda that not vaccinating will put other people's children at risk. it will. Diseases can mutate, or someone might have a compromised immune system (lukemia for example) and be relying on "herd immunity" not to get sick. If you dont vaccinate your child, this child could catch something that it normally wouldnt. I'm not saying that's a reason to vaccinate your children, but dont assume it's propoganda b/c you dont like it.

An alternative schedule/phasing out some vaccines is reasonable. (does an infant need a hepatitis vaccine? probably not) but things like measles, mumps, etc can be fatal to your child. Not getting them vaccinated puts them at risk.

My DD had a bad reaction to her dtp shot at 2 months, so we cut that one out until she's 4, but I am totally PRO vaccines! By not vaccinating your child, you are putting other children at risk. I strongly reccomend that you at least get the most important ones in. Just my 2 cents.

We switched to an alternative vaccine schedule for our daughter after she had bad reactions to her 2 and 4 month shots. Now she never gets vaccinated for more than 1 disease at a time and most vaccines have been cut out. Basically, we don't vaccinate her for something that isn't fatal. So far this works really well for us. We take other steps to boost her immune system like making sure she has a healthy diet, gets enough Vitamin D and Vitamin C, etc. Many many families are on alternative vaccine schedules or don't vaccinate their children at all these days, so there is plenty of support out there :)

I completely agree with Ina G, the argument that you are putting other children in danger by not vaccinating yours is complete propaganda. It's illogical and it's a tactic to bully parents (who have every right to question vaccine safety) into vaccinating their children. If other children are vaccinated, and if vaccines work as well as they claim, shouldn't those children be safe from your unvaccinated child?

When we adopted our kiddo his birth mom had not given him any shots. While he was in foster care the state tried to order shots but the judge said that he couldn't even get his own daughter to get her kids shot so he wouldn't order it for us - which was fine with me. He is 3 now and still hasn't had shots and if I have my way he never will. He is in a private day care so that is not an issue yet - we shall see what school brings. I do know that if they don't have shots and there is an outbreak in the school then the child has to stay home until the outbreak is over - that happened in colleges a few years back.

I am pro-vaccine. I just read all of your responses. Everyone that is against vaccinating states that their children are healthy. Why wouldn't they be? Vaccines help our body build a stronger/faster immune response to one specific disease. I agree with the comment that you should evaluate each vaccination seperately. Keep in mind that many diseases (mumps, measles, etc) still exist. Especially, in communites that do not vaccinate (Amish communites for example). Occasionally, there are outbreaks in these communities that leak out into vaccinated communites.

I am not going to weigh my opinion on vaccines here - just want to make a couple of statements. First and foremost EVERY child should be treated as an individual and clearly if your child has negative reactions to a vaccine - then he should not be vaccinated for that and it would be prudent to be cautious with other vaccines as well.

As far as school is concerned - you are legally able to NOT vaccinate your child on religious or moral grounds - but you will need to have a form filled out and notarized depending on where you live. The school system may pressure you - but it is your right to NOT vaccinate.

And it is actually NOT propaganda that not vaccinating your child puts other children at risk - the person below was accurate in the "herd" mentality immunity! But when you don't have community immunity - dormant viruses - come back out and do their thing! We are seeing more and more diseases that were once thought "eradicated" making a resurgence in the community! No one should have pertussis these days - yet all my kids have had exposure in their schools, and I had an adult friend who also had it - b/c adults don't routinely get vaccinated any more. Think about it - there is a reason we don't see the crippling effects of polio any more...because of the vaccination campaign!

Get all the facts for your child - I don't feed into hype in either direction.

Do you plan to homeschool when your child is school age? The reason I ask is the last time I rook my kids in for their check up, I was questioning no vacs too and was told that by next year all kids will have to be vaccinated or no admittance to school. I'm not sure if this was just MN or across the U.S. Just something to think about.

Obviously if your child can't tolerate vaccines, you are right to question their safety. I am pro-vaccine but if my child had an issue I would think twice. I am pro peanut butter for toddlers too, but we don't have any food allergies. I agree that you don't have to make this an all-or-nothing decision. You can get some shots much much later, especially if you have the luxury of being a SAHM or extended breastfeeding. You might have problems with daycare if you choose not to vaccinate, I believe they have a lot more freedom to say NO if they choose about accepting non-vaccinated children than public schools do.

Two of the posters who said that not vaccinating does not harm other children actually disproved thier own arguments themselves. Yes, they are right- even vaccinated kids can still get sick from the things they have been vaccinated against. That's the point. Part of the way the vaccines work is through "herd immunity". Vaccines do not protect 100% all of the time. But if everyone is protected 96% the chances are a lot smaller that a disease will slip through. But when you start coming into contact with people with zero immunity, your 4% chance of getting sick from someone with a vaccine-preventable disease increases greatly. The family that got pertussis probably got it through the unvaccinated child, and then the other children also got it even though they had been vaccinated. Had everyone been vaccinated the likelihood of any of them getting it was a lot smaller.

You have to do what is best for your child absolutely. My child is one of the healthiest kids I know, and he has been vaccinated. All the arguments about them being less healthy is silly to me. Our pediatrician barely knows us because we only go for his routine checkups. The worst he has ever gotten is a sniffle. So don't let that be an argument that sways you either way. What does your pediatrician say? I would certainly eliminate vaccines for all non-fatal illnesses at least for right now. After that you can just take it one vaccine at a time. And depending on what he already has gotten, he already has some immunities. And if you breastfeed, seriously think about doing it as long as possible.

Try checking out Dr. Sears' The Vaccine Book. Very unbiased info, though Dr.Sears is pro vaccines himself. We are vaccine free. The book covers everything from ingredients to side effects and why some parents choose to get or opt out of each vaccine. Very helpful. A non-vaccinated baby does not put other vaccinated kids at risk. Hope this helps.

we have chosen not to vaccinate our children and have decided to "supplement" with healthy meals, regular chiropractic care and vitamins and probiotics.