Immunizations - Beeville, TX

Hi K.-

This is a really personal choice and everyone has a different opinion about it. Here's what my husband and I did.

When our first two children were born 23 months apart, we didn't give any thought to not vaccinating our children. We did what our parents had done and went with what the pediatrician told us was best for our children. When my son was 4, he was diagnosed with autism. Now we are not convinced that vaccinations caused this. We, like all of the researchers and medical professionals out there, don't know what caused it. By the way, our daughter who also was fully vaccinated on schedule is perfectly healthy.

When we became pregnant with our now 1 year old son we spent a lot of time debating about vaccinations. In the end we decided to vaccinate on an alternative schedule. We felt that we would never be able to forgive ourselves if he were to contract one of the preventable diseases because we were afraid of something that we weren't even sure was a risk. We went with the alternative schedule because we felt that we were giving him the benefit of the vaccinations but were also not overloading his immune system with so many vaccinations at one time.

In the end, you have to do what is best for your family.

Good Luck,
K.

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First, let me correct Heather's statement, "autism is genetic". While there may be a genetic component to autism, the truth is that the cause of autism is unknown. As long as it is 'unknown', nobody can say with certainty that vaccines do not contribute to it. Second, I treat vaccine-injured children in my office every day. Some mildly injured, some severely. Their parents all say the same thing: "Why didn't anyone warn me of the possible dangers of too many vaccines, too soon?" As for assuming that because "we all got vaccines, and we're fine", think again. The vaccine schedule has been TRIPLED for this generation of children, which increases the amounts of heavy metals (including mercury and aluminum), as well as many other toxic substances that MANY children cannot tolerate safely.
As for assuming they're safe because "doctors wouldn't recommend them if they weren't."....think again. Medical doctors are the ones who administered the vaccines that account for more than $2 Billion in compensation which has been paid out for dead and injured children over the past 15 years. I understand feeling resistent to "internet science", but there are several reliable websites that promote vaccine safety. One is the "National Vaccine Information Center" (NVIC), and another is "Thinktwice.com". They both contain exhaustive information regarding the details of each and every vaccine, and allow you to understand which ones are the most important for YOUR child. Alternative scheduling is essential if you are to avoid becoming a statistic, while the numbers continue to climb. Don't rely on medical professionals for this one--they have a stong bias toward vaccine, and many are utterly UNinformed or in denial about the down-side.

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check out the following websites for more info:
www.vaccineinfo.net
www.nvic.org
www.cdc.org-----look for "the pink book"
www.fda.gov/cber/index.html

my husband and i are both in the medical field-doctor and masters in mpublic health. we have chosen to partially vaccinate due to our travelling outside the usa. i would do some research and decide what your child will be exposed to and what the risks are for your situation. good luck! and congrats on taking the time to find what is best for your child.

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Take a microbiology class and then choose. It is safer to immunate. I promise you if there was ever an outbreak of polio or rubella all of those that did not immunate would wish they had. You can look into an alternate schedule. There has been no proven link between autism and immunizations. Do some research into countries that don't vaccinate. Those who choose not to are relying on everyone else doing it to take advantage of the herd immunity. Then do some research on these particular diseases. How contagious are they? What are the outcomes of the disease?

I know people sometimes get injured by vaccines...that why the goverment has a Vaccine Injury Fund. But you have to weight the risks.

Everything is more global in this day and age. Even if you stay at home someone can enter your community that is infected. Do you ever plan to have your child at an international airport? Grocery store? Fair or concert? How can you be sure no one it there with the measeals? It takes alot of faith not to immunize. It is a tough decision, not to be taken lightly.

2 moms found this helpful

My situation is a little different. First of all, I decided not to vaccinate before I had my daughter. My father educated himself for years about vaccinations, and, gave me the literature to educate myself. I got a lot of my information from many of the most respectful political and medical magazines in the country. I also found many articles by doctors who were against the vaccination schedule and, immunizing children so young. There are alternative schedules out there that are considered safer by a large amount of doctors in the country. Many doctors do not agree with the schedules put out by the government.

Anyway, I did do a few immunizations for my oldest daughter at the delayed schedule. One of the vaccinations was supposed to keep her safe while attending daycare. She still ended up getting Streptococcus. After spending a week in the hospital and relapsing after a week out, the doctors at the second hospital started grilling me about her vaccines. I had told them that she had some, and, they obtained the records from her doctor. So, after numerous blood tests and poking and prodding, we found out that vaccines do not work on her. After having my second child we found out that I had to have the MMR again, for the third time since a teen, because I too, showed no evidence of the vaccine. Come to find out after this, vaccines do not work on me either. So, we discussed in great detail whether or not to vaccinate our second child, as parents and with her pediatrician, and, decided not to. There was a 50% chance that they would not work on her, and, we decided not to inject her with the chemicals and such if it was not going to work. We are now expecting our third, and, he will not be vaccinated either. Also, if they tell me I have to have the MMR again after giving birth to our son because it does not show up in me, I will refuse the shot. I will not put anymore chemicals in my body either.

On another note, I did have a very bad reaction to the tetanus shot at 25 yrs old. I fell very ill, like the flu, on top of burning throughout my body and major swelling. I really felt so bad, one of the worst weeks of my life. The fact is that you will not know if your child will have an allergic reaction / chemical reaction, until after it has happened. In reference to the Gardisil for girls, not only have there been reactions, but, the last article about this I received in my emails from Dr. Sears reported about 20 deaths so far related to the vaccine. Many of which were heart problems that came after the vaccination.

I say do your research, and, go by your instincts. Talk it over with more than one doctor / pediatrician, and, you will find they all feel differently. I know nurses and doctors alike that do not immunize their own children, and, that tells me something there. Look up the different manufacturers and the different chemicals they all use. You do not have to use what they have in the office, you can request a specific manufacturer if you wish. Also, as someone else mentioned, you can request no combo vaccines. Yes, you can get each immunization alone, there is a vaccine out there for each, and you just have to inquire about it and maybe find it on your own.

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I have a son with Autism and I totally do not believe that a specific shot triggered his autism. I think the benfits out weigh the risk. Now extras, like the flu I am not doing. I am beginning to understand that there may be a cumulative effect of all the shot with build up of heavy metals and that can trigger autism. I also personally think that Autism right now is a crazy diagnosis that many professionals are looking for. For example, my son is high functioning autism. TCH diagnosed him and said he never function as a member of society and gave me little hope. Well if you met him you might think there is something not quite right but he seems pretty normal. He was a preemie too. He talks and is independant and goes to regualr kindergarten. I have been battling for more medical testing and further reasearch b/c for him I think there is more to the story.

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Oh, and to those of your with children who have autism, do look into the GFCF diet. My girls have NO GLUTEN and went from being obviously autistic to mostly 'normal.' But if they have a little bit of gluten it negates everything, sometimes for days!I can always tell when my children have been given gluten. My sister called me once and said "I just want to read the ingredients to you and make sure it's ok to give to your kids." Amazingly, the corndogs had no wheat in them and I asked her where she got them. The next day my children were awful but she swore she didn't give them gluten. Well, I found those corndogs and the FIRST INGREDIENT is wheat flour, which has gluten.

For the member who said they have to have vaccines for school, that is not true. No state in the US requires children to be vaccinated, but you will need to sign a waiver. And just because you might want your child vaccinated DOES NOT MEAN it has to be at birth, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 15 months, 18 months and age 2!

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Totally worth it. We as a nation don't face the same life-threatening, contagious diseases that other nations do because our kids get vaccinated. If the trend goes the other way and more kids don't vaccinated (which is what is happening) we will see those diseases come back.

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Don't listen to anyone's advice on this subject. You do your research, and decide what you need to do for your children. The most important thing is that you make an educated decision. There are pros and cons on each side, and you have to weigh them. Also, another thing to consider if you do want to do some/all of the vaccinations is an alternative schedule where you delay the vaccinations until the child is older, and/or you give single vaccinations. You can always wait to do any vaccinations until you decide exactly what to do. The Dr. Sears book is very informative. Here are some websites I used in making my decision:
http://www.909shot.com/

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/school/default.shtm#...

http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/

There's a couple more that I used and can't remember right now, so I'll look tonight and repost tomorrow if I find them. All that being said, I did vaccinate my oldest son until age 18 months, and then I started researching after he had a reaction to the chicken pox shot. I no longer vaccinate him, and my 2 year old does not receive vaccinations. Until being encouraged to do research, I had no idea that vaccinations were optional and that it is very simple to get a vaccination exemption for public schools. I have faced alot of scrutiny and had to put up with people offering me their uneducated opinions, though. I just put on my big girl panties and deal with it!

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This one was tough for my husband and I. He has a niece who was labeled as borderline autistic. When our son was born we went through with all the immunizations up to 18 months. We stopped there until he was ready for kindergarten this fall. I am a stay at home mom so it wasn't a problem as he never attended organized daycare. Gymboree and Kindermusik don't require the records for enrollment. Our eight your old niece is about on the same level as our son who is 5. Congrats and I wish you well!!!

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Hi! Obviously this is a very personal decision. My hubby and I have decided not to vaccinate our children. Our decision stems from a bad result with our first, and with the great support of our family chiropractor, we realized for us, that it was the best decision for our kids. While researching, I found the vaccine ingredient list at www.cdc.gov to be very helpful.. the ingredietns alone were terrifying.. and using the google search engine on vaccine ingredients pulls up a wealth of reliable information for your decision. If you would like the name of our chiropractor, please message me.
Good Luck in whatever you decide.
L.

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My kids are 12 and 7 yrs. old.
They are fully vaccinated.
I even got my daughter the HPV vaccine.
When my kids were babies ,there was no fear of any thing going wrong with multiple shots in one visit( the autism theory).
Now, if I had a baby now,I would definately consider when my baby needed multiple shots at one time to stagger the shots out.Like one shot per visit a week untilthey were all given.
It is a tough decision and a personal one.
Good luck with your baby and your decision.

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I think that what you need to consider is that with all the traveling to different countries people do these days, we are not living in a nice, little, safe bubble. All sorts of diseases come over here via plane travel by people who don't know they are sick yet.

I think it would be a far greater risk to NOT get the immunizations and have your child contract one of those deadly diseases.

I had all three of my kids immunized and my 11 yr old just got his boosters.

I am one who believes the studies out there that link autism with environmental factors, such as the toxic chemicals that our kids are exposed to on a daily basis. Our kids generation is the most bombarded by toxins than any generation before.

Good luck,
J.

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Have you gone to www.mothering.com? They have a message board about vaccines. You click on discuss at the top and then scroll down until you see vaccinations. They have tons of great advice on that message board. And you can ask specific questions and those mothers will tell you where to go for the best information on vaccinating. Personally, my first is completely vaccinated. My second has only had one vaccine which I thought was an important one and I did not give it to her until she was 2 years old. My BS degree is in Respiratory Therapy and I am now a senior midwife student. After much research I decided that most of the vaccines now days do more harm than good.

L.

P.S. There are many doctors in Austin that do NOT vaccinate their children. There is one pediatrician in Round Rock who even refuses to vaccinate any children. If a doctor won't vaccinate their children you have to wonder what is in the vaccines.

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This post is both for some vaccines and against other vaccines. Please forgive me, this is a long post because I have both good and bad experiences with vaccinations. Thankfully, we have not had any life-threatening or life-changing effects from vaccinations.

You have the right to choose whether or not your children get vaccinated. Everyone needs to make the decision for their families based on their own hearts and no one should tell you one way or the other. It is not wrong which ever decision you make. If you vaccinate against against one disease, you do not have to vaccinate against another. It is your choice as a parent. I know in Texas that you can sign papers stating that you refuse to vaccinate your children and the public schools CANNOT refuse your child as a student. I believe private schools can refuse because they are not run by the government.

I applaud you for thinking of these things BEFORE your child is born. It is best considered now instead of the pressure you will feel in the doctor's office or around your family. No one can make these decisions for you. I believe there are risks to everything we do medically. We have to weigh those risks. In order to have my daughter, I had to sign papers saying my husband wouldn't sue if I died from my c-section. I could have a c-section or try to push out an 8 pound 13 ounce baby who was sitting head-up and coming out butt-first AND had her legs crossed blocking her from coming out. I had more of a chance of losing me, the baby or both of us trying to do it natural than I did with the surgery. It was worth the risk.

If I had known about the possible autism links I would have spaced out my kids shots but still would have gotten them. I didn't know until afterwards. I have read that many (not all) of the children who have the possible links have relatives that have autism. That raises the risks of autism. I also read that those children with autistic family members can be tested for the autism gene before they are given vaccines. I'm not sure if that's true or not. I believe my kids did not suffer from the autism effects because we have no family with autism, therefore the gene is not there.

Doctors are also more aware of the broad spectrums and mild forms of autism than they were before. This could also be why we have more diagnoses of autism. This does not mean that vaccines aren't a cause, just that it's being caught earlier and more often.

My children are both up-to-date with their immunizations. I'm glad they are. This past school year 2007-2008 we had an outbreak of chicken pox at our elementary school. Most of those who came down with it the worst ~ and there were quite a few ~ had not been vaccinated, although some who suffered milder cases HAD been vaccinated. When reading the info about this particular vaccine, the risk of a mild case of chicken pox was in the paper. Because my kids are vaccinated, I am not concerned with who they play with as to whether their friends have had any shots or not. However, yes, my kids can still catch bugs and viruses, but that's the risk in living in contact with people :)

Before we had the vaccine for chicken pox (and a few others), parents would actually take their kids to the infected child's house so their kids could catch it and "get it over with" all at once instead of a few kids getting it at a time. My mom and aunts did this with me, my sisters and my cousins. We all got it together and recovered about the same time. This was the old way of vaccinating your kids with some diseases. You didn't do this with polio and some other diseases because of the deadliness and lasting effects. My mother-in-law thought only "dirty" people got such illnesses so she kept my husband away from his friends and he never got it as a kid. When my stepson who is now 25 was 3 years old in daycare, he came down with a typical case of chicken pox from school. His wasn't too bad, but my husband caught it from him and since he had never been exposed (naturally vaccinated) he came down with a really bad case of it ~ he had symptoms for a week and a half longer than my stepson. Mumps are also worse if men get them as adults as well ~ mumps have the capability to cause men to become unable to have children if infected as adults, while they are mainly just painful when you're a kid (I got them at about 8 years old from my aunt who worked at a daycare ~ she brought home quite a few illnesses).

However... I am totally against the flu vaccine. The vaccine they make works against ONLY ONE strain of flu out of several strains. Each year they make a GUESS as to which one flu will be The Big One that year and they make a vaccine for just that one strain. A lot of times they guess wrong and the shot was worthless. My Mom gets the shot almost every year and she gets sick from the shot EVERY time. She has not gotten the flu when she doesn't get the shot. I have never gotten the shot for me or my kids because it's hit or miss. We also have never gotten the flu from anyone else, although my husband has caught it twice from work. We haven't gotten it from him either.

In countries where vaccines are not used there are deadly out breaks of various diseases. They used to be deadly here. Some people believe that because we don't have the epidemic outbreaks like we used to have, that we no longer need the vaccinations. However, with more people not being vaccinated and people coming from or visiting places where the vaccinations aren't used, we are having worse outbreaks than we should. Small pox is one of these because we thought we had wiped it out so we stopped vaccinating against it. We had several cases awhile back that killed quite a few people so we are vaccinating against it again. Think about what happened when Europeans came to the Americas. The native people had no antibodies to these diseases and it wiped out several cultures completely. The Europeans only had mild cases because they had been naturally vaccinated to the diseases by living with people who had caught the diseases. I am a "Heinz 57" when it comes to all of the countries my family members came from. 7/8 of my family came from all over Europe, only 1/8 was Native American, so this is not an "I hate Europeans ~ or anybody else" speech, I love all of my heritages.

Congratulations on your new Blessing!

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I have always been afraid of this but there is no way around it. You can't put your child in school with out them. It is either get them all now or all at once later. I hate them I find them somewhat rediculous that they at time have to give a infant four at a time. I was not to happy. So I never liked them one bit. I wouldn't sleep just to keep an eye on her to make sure she wasn't one of the ones with the reactions that could be fatal. Good luck.

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Please contact Rebecca Rex, at the web page http://www.vaccineinfo.net/index.shtml (she is the founder of this page) she gives speeches in Houston. She did not vaccinate her two children for several reasons. That will become to long here to describe. She is open to immunisation, but also gives you all information about pro and cons.

FYI: Day care and school, your child can attend without vaccination. Most parents do not know this!
It is your decision if you like to vaccinate. Do not forget, this is your child and nobody can force you into anything to do. If your are educated about immunization you can just easier make your decision. But unfortunately most of the pediatricians are cost orientated and give you not always the correct advise. Please read also the link with the victims of vaccination.

Here are some links that are interesting and relating to the exemptions and more info without influence from the pharmazie:
http://www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/index.shtml
http://www.vaccineinfo.net/
http://www.vaccineinfo.net/victims/index.shtml

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Hi K., I too have had many concerns on this issue. I have a medical background, with 15 years experience in health care and scientific research. I have looked very carefully at the studies and how they were designed. I have arrived at the decision, to use an altered vaccination schedule. I have followed Dr. Miller's here is the link...http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller15.html. Your pediatrician will most likely talk you out of this and try to convince you that your child needs all the vaccines all at once, but I would remain strong and stick to your guns if you so chose to wait. Hope this helps. TG

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Hello K.

A first time mom myself, I went through a similar debate. What I have found most useful are these 2 books:

What your doctor may not tell you about children's vaccination, by Stephanie Cave

The Vaccine Book
by Dr. Sears

I found that this is a very difficult and personal decision that does require, in my opinion, a lot of good research to get as many hard facts, as first hand as you can (as opposed to celebrities' positions of the topic, as you mentioned). Ultimately, it is OUR decision and we will be accountable for it (not anybody else, not doctors or drug companies or relatives).

There are so many pros and cons that I decided to just pray for clarity and rely on my own and my husband's instincts. So,
after extensive reading and research (we also went to the forums at mothering.com, and many, many other websites), we decided to do a selective, delayed vaccination schedule for our daughter.

Hope this helps and best of luck, especially if you decide not to follow standard vaccination recommendations.

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I have a question or two for you. Will you be home schooling your child? Also, what happens when your child is exposed to children that have a certain disease.

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You are going to be a first time mom, that probably means that you don't as yet have a pediatrician. I would suggest that you go ahead and choose one. Depending on how far along you are, get some good recommendations from other mothers then when the time comes, discuss this with the physician. That's what you'll be paying him/her for, advice. An take it, they've had the training and know a lot mmore about it than the various mothers whose biased opinions you'll be getting.

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hi K. A! I'm K. A too! From what I can tell there is not hard evidence either way. I do know that mercury has been used as a preservative. My doctor told me that I could ask for the kind that doesn't have this but it cost a little more, and you have to let them know in advance because they have to order it. There is also a book out about a different kind of shot schedule that doesn't have them getting sooo many all at once. I cant remember what its called though.:( sorry! Oh, and Vaccines aren't required to go to school. If you choose not to vaccinate you have to provide an affidavit saying that the parents have elected not to, so they can put it in there child's file in case they get audited by the state. This applies to day care as well. Good luck!

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Hi K.,
I found this site very informative on vaccinations.

http://www.jabberjaw.name/jabberjaw/2007/10/on-vaccinatio...

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I would not give all the shots, and did you know that the only polo cases is from the polo shot. Also, never let them give you child more than one vaccine at a time and never when they are sick. You do not have to stick to their schedule. My kids were many years behind. The only reason the doctors are more aggressive with the shots now is because of all the illegals in this country and they are bring with them all the dieases we no longer had a problem with, so because of the illegals we still need some of the shots but not all at once.

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I can't help you make a choice as to whether you do or don't or wait and do later, but I do have some advice for if and when you do decide to do them. First, make sure you decide which one your child gets and when. DO NOT just go by the clinic's schedule as they can be wrong!! Both of my kids received theirs 6 days too early and the state caught it during the day care audit. My children had gone unprotected in day care for about a year from pertussis. This one happens to come in a group shot called DTap and while the diptheria and tetnus is viable after the second dose, the pertussis isn't. I couldn't give them just a pertusis shot after because it isn't made. So my only option was to remove them from day care and keep them at home and unprotected, or have them re-immunized again. I was very angry and mainly at myself because I dropped the ball and trusted the "nurse" at the clinic. The "nurse" was someone who had been working a few months and was following the clinic's schedule only they didn't realize that they were giving them too early. When I inquired as to the risk of double immunizing, I was told by the state that it happens all the time and they had not had any adverse effects documented. They told me that they get mexican kids immunized on a different schedule that get re-immunized once they start school here and so I really shouldn't worry. I had them re-immunized and luckily I have seen no ill effects as of yet, but it is very scary.

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I would highly recommend reading Dr. Sears' vaccination book. Really, he's very AP but at the same time he presents a very balanced perspective to help you decide.

I think this is a very personal decision, and you'll find many people on both sides of it. I will say that the links to autism have mainly been a couple of studies that have been refuted for many years. You can find lots of info about that. This is a very sore subject for parents of children with autism (Jenny McCarthy, whom I know you've heard!), but facts are that autism is cropping up more and more because a) it is being diagnosed more because more understanding has developed and b) the population is growing, therefore more children will develop it and c) adults with diagnosed and undiagnosed autism are having children. But then new info is coming up all the time....

Can you tell that I, too, am on the fence?!?!?

Yet the risk is there. Most pediatricians you discuss this with (and I recommend discussing this when you interview pedis during pregnancy) feel very strongly that the benefits outweigh the risks. Things like small pox have virtually been wiped out (though cases have cropped up among un-vaccinated children) because of vaccinations. But then it seems like there is a vaccination for everything!!!!!! I never believe "everything" a doctor says, but I think there is benefit to discussing it and hearing what he/she says.

Another thought (and the Dr. Sears book can help you see a good schedule for this) is delaying vacs, not necessarily avoiding them all together. This, to me, is a very good compromise, and, though I did not do this with my first, I am trying to do it with my second, and my third will definitely be on an alternative schedule.

Remember it is YOUR choice. Whatever you make for your child is going to be ok, as long as you go into it with the knowledge you need.

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My kids are 3, 5, 7 and have all had their immunizations. None of them have had any problems. My understanding is that the only real problems have been associated with autism and there isn't conclusive information as to which came first, the predisposition for autism or the reaction to the vaccine. I think that death or serious physical damage to my child is worth the risks presented by the vaccine. One way to know for yourself is to pray about it...you will get a "feeling" one way or another.

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http://mainstreamparenting.wordpress.com/

http://epiwonk.com/?p=143

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it doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. You can choose to do an alternative schedule. I did that and I am waiting till he is 2 to get his one year shots(mmr)

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Dr. Sears immunization book is very good. It helped me make my decision about it. Very unbiased. You can also check out his website.

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Hi K.,
I don't want to tell you what to do but I'll share my thoughts for myself. On tetanus, I got the vaccine because if you don't and you have to because something happens then they use a live vaccine which I'd prefer not.
As for the other ones, I couldn't just sign a paper that says this may cause ______ or even death! I can't sign a paper that says that chance is okay. I'm grateful for the advances vaccines have done but at what cost? Also there are many that use stem cell research and I'm NOT going to relate myself with that.
Best wishes

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Pick up The Vaccine Book by Robert Sears. Very balanced pros and cons. Great "alternate" vaccine schedule as well.

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K.,

Since you have concerns and probably a whole lot of questions, I highly recommend talking to your pediatrician. He/she will give you the run down on what they know, what studies have shown, etc.

Personally, the thought of not vaccinating my children never crossed my mind or my husband's. When I have questions (which I always do), I always discuss it with my pediatrian, who I truly love. I value her professional advice greatly and we discuss pros and cons all the time.

The percentage of children having any issues with vaccinations is very, very small (when compared to the success rates) and there are all kinds of factors that come into play outside of the vaccine itself.

Don't be swayed by what the media says or what you find on the internet. There is nothing wrong with researching things on your own to become educated. However, I would bring what you read or heard to your pediatrician, and then have a discussion about it.

Hope this helps!
K.

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Hey K.!
Wow, you will probably get tons of advice on the subject, but remember this choice is totally up to you:) I thought a lot on this subject when I was pregnant as well and ultimately decided to vaccinate my son. I met with my pedi and asked him a ton of questions about who manufactures his vaccines, if there was any mercury in any of his vaccines, did he use live viruses etc. I had a ton of questions and after meeting with him and asking him these questions I felt confident about going forward with vaccination. I do feel that in crowded living conditions vaccinations are valuable and my son has done absolutley great with them and he is now 16 months old. Every time I take him I pray that the vaccine will do only what it is meant to do and cause my son no harm. If your child will be attending day care and then later public school there is definately a benefit to having him/her protected from exposure to disease. Whatever you decide, I say have an open discussion with your pedi about it. I have heard something about an alternate vaccine schedule which limits the number of vaccines and gives certain vaccines at different times. If you continue to feel concern about the safety of vaccines but don't want to risk not giving them, this could be a good middle of the road decision for you. Best wishes and congratulations on your upcoming arrival!

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I just read an article about vaccines in the most recent issue of Parenting magazine. I found the information very valuable. I have a 20 month old and he is current on all of his vaccines, but I must admit that it was hard for me to sign the consent form when severe illness and death were listed as possible side effects, no matter how rare. Ultimately I decided to vaccinate according to the regular schedule because I felt that I would never be able to forgive myself if my child became seriously ill or died from a disease that could have been prevented; however, my child is not autistic and perhaps I would feel differently if he had been diagnosed with this disorder. I would encourage you to do your own research from reputable sources. Good luck!

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There is a really good book which discussed the pros and cons of each vaccine as well as the options on the actual vaccine choices from different manufactures and it has been a godsend for us! It is from the Sear family library - Vacination Book by Dr Bob Sears. One thing of note - if you don't start Rotatvirus at 2 months - your baby will be too old to take it. The book also has a well thought out schedule that spreads out the vaccinations. Good luck!

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K.,
I also did the BIG debate to vaccine or to not vaccinate, but then I had a heart to heart with my pediatrician. I have 5 children and ALL have been vaccinated. Not one thing has ever even affected them. This is a personal choice you will need to make, but I want to share with you why I chose to vaccinate:
1) Your life gets complicated if your children are not vaccinated with school, daycare, going to certain places that require vaccination to be done. It is a constant battle I did not want to have to fight FOREVER.
2) Could you live with the fact that your child may die from a disease you could have prevented, but once they got the disease the doctors could do nothing about and you have to sit and watch your child die?

This was a gamble I was willing to take......I would rather get them vaccinated and know there is little chance of any side effect, rather than take the chance of them contracting a disease that could or might have been prevented and die. No brainer for me! Talk to your pediatrician. The most that ever happened with my children after a vaccination was a sore arm, leg or butt. Nothing Motrin won't cure! :) Contracting a disease you could not recover from wouldn't be cured by Motrin for a couple of days.

Just my 2 cents........I am sure some would argue with me and that is okay! I, too, seriously considered the no vaccination route.

M.

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Of course it's a personal decision but I am
a big believer in vaccines. If you look at the amount of children that are not being vaccinated (either due to choice or neglect) it's about 25-33% of children (at least I think those are the Texas numbers).
Now consider that some of those diseases that we had really put a stop to are making big comebacks (measles, whooping cough in the last couple of years for example). Those numbers are likely to grow b/c the numbers of people refusing vaccinations are increasing d/t fears about autism. And a lot of 3rd world illnesses are making their way across the border as well that we haven't seen in decades. The truth is though that the vast majority of children have no adverse reactions to the vaccines, even if you do believe that autism is caused by vaccinations.
You might consider spreading them out, or waiting until your child is older, especially if the baby is not going to be at a daycare center or around a lot of other strange kids. Just get the shots before the start of kindergarten (my step-daughter's mother did that)

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I suggest getting the immunizations. Your child will have to have them to go to school for one thing. Scientists have not proven that the shots cause autism. In fact, the article that was published about that has been highly discredited. It is much safer to have the vaccines that protect against very serious illnesses/diseases. You do not want your child to get polio, hepatitis, etc... Allow the shots. It's in your chld's best interest. Both of my children are up to date with their vaccines. My sister in law works with autistic children daily and she allows her own child to have vaccines.

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I have immunized all four of my children. I would highly suggest you do the same for the health of your child.

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Hi K.,

The subject of immunizing has been a great concern for me too. I have read that some of the vaccines contain a mercury by product which can build up and cause Autism. I know a family who has a child who suffers from this. On the other hand the immunization people say that the by product has been removed from most of the shots(still in the flu shot though).
I've had my three boys vaccinated, but I don't like to do it. I see how it hurts the little ones and I feel so bad. however, getting them vaccinated can help them not to suffer the disease or at least not as severely. My mother and father inlaw didn't have there children immunized because their pediatrician said it really wasn't necessary until the children were of school aged. They also home school so they have less of a chance of communicating diseases. I am just as stumped now as I was with my first kid. I don't know if anything I wrote will help, but good luck with your decision.

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I suggest you get "The Vaccine Book" by Robert Sears. It gives good, balanced information on the benefits and risks.

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I too had problems with the immunization stuff too. i ended up waiting for my daughters shots till she was a yr old. I had specific reasons for it though. mostly b/c my older brother almost died after he got his shots when he was about 6 months. if u prefer u can wait till ur child is a yr unless he/she is in daycare of coarse. i hope this might help u decide. good luck

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What should be kept in mind when deciding to immunize your child or not is that everything you read or hear is only an opinion. Each individual shot may have minute differences (nothing is exact) and each child may have individual reactions. No two people are exactly the same. The best advice I can give is to pray about what you should do. You'll get your answer and have peace about what you choose.

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"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell is a great book written by a doctor. It is a wonderful resource for facts and other info to consider so that you can make the best and most informed decision for you and your family. It was helpful for me b/c it doesn't say any one way is right or wrong, it just helps you get informed so you can decide for yourself what you want to do.

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Everyone wants to do what is most natual, but what is natural is a high infant mortality. People, and babies, DIED before immunizations were invented and distributed to people. Sure, one person is safe from rare side effects if they don't take the immunizations, but that only works if everyone else takes the immunization. In order for EVERYONE to be protected as much as possible, everyone needs to take them.

I'm very doubtful that immunizations cause ADHD or Lupis, and other things people say. I think in previous eras, peopel DIED, and we didn't know why; kids got beaten because they had ADHD and no one knew how to deal with them. Immunizations help keep us from dying, and the medical industry keeps finding more and more ways to fix what's wrong make us healthier.

I'm very grateful to live in the era I do. I would have died as a child if medicine wasn't as far as it was then, and now, I'm certian I woudl not have two living children after my birthings were I even alive to be sad about it.

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K., great responses...on both sides.
It is only you and your husband who can decide to do them or not. I can only share my situation. We decided not to give shots to our children after spending many hours reading and talking to moms and doctors. My son now is almost 3 years old and at the 3 year check up he will get a couple done. My daughter is 10 weeks old and has no shots either.
My son is super healthy I can count the times he's had fever. He goes to school twice a day and all we had to do was register him with the State of Texas and then they send a for you fill out and they send back some other paper that you take to school and thats it, very simple.
Im thinking with my daughter to start at 12 months.
At the hospital they will ask you if you want your baby to get the hepititis vaccine, you will have to sing it and select "yes" or "no". We selected NO for both of our children, we did not see how our kids could possible get HP if they were going to be at home with me mostly for the first 3 months.
Read read read!!! and inform yourself as much as you can, if you believe in prayer, pray about it and fast. This is a very important topic, you dont know how your kids will react with or without the vaccines. I know that in our case my children might have had negative reaction to them, I just do, and Im glad we did not do it. We have traveled overseas with my older son and he has not been seek once!!! Of course to a place clean!!!
Good luck, and again if you are a believer inform your self and then pray about it, I know GOD will give you the answer.
Good luck

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Check out the Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. Very informative and unbiased. I think every mom shoud have a copy of this book!

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I asked my pediatrician what his opinion was, he & his wife are both pediatricians & have a 2 yr old ... they gave the immunizations. I have also decided to keep my daughters up to date. We have so many people who do not, I want to keep my child protected. He also explained to me & gave me literature, that research has found that autism is caused by a genetic issue. Good luck!

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Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT go to the internet to research this question.

Go to your doctor, doctors that have spent years in medical school and who currently treat children. They have seen every clinical trial and study and have spent years studying this topic. ONLY get your info from them not from celebrities or people who "claim to know" the facts.

Any doctor I have met, and I met plenty after working in the medical field for 13 years, they indeed vaccinate their OWN children. There is NO way they would do this if they thought for a second it would harm their kids. No way.

Because of uneducated celebrities and other people who claim to have the facts, people are questioning or failing to vaccinate their children therefore you are seeing outbreaks of diseases that previously no longer existed and thus, putting our children at risk.
Bottom line, the benefits outweigh the risks.

It's a very scary topic. My nephew has autism and his mother is convinced it is linked to the MMR. I did my homework and after heavy evaluation, I vaccinated both my daughters. I have no problem different schedules, I am not a doctor but the amount of vaccines gets heavier all the time, seems a bit much.

PLease don't go to this website or the internet for advice on this topic. Talk to doctors, maybe several and get your opinion from experts in the field who have years and years of pediatric education and experience.

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They are saying go Green with the vaccieens. Because they are putting mercury and antifreeze that may or may not trigger autizum. There are places that you can get green vaccs from. Here is what I found and perhaps it will help you. http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm Also you still need to give hhim or her the meds because polio and other things need to be prevented. Jenny McCarthy has written some books that another momma told me she found helpful. Good luck and I think its great your being aware. Congrats on your baby. Sorry for the horrid spelling I just woke up!

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If you're worries about Autism.. know that it is mostly genetic. (I say this, because that is what most people fear, you may correct me if you like but the majority of autism is genetic (I have spent a lot of time with autistic children). Why numbers go up is because NOW we know what to look for when diagnosing autism.. there are many forms.. some more obvious than others. But there is NO PROOF that vaccines are the cause of it.

Secondly.. think about all the diseases that are making a comeback because people are afraid to vaccinate their children. Things that haven't been seen in YEARS... some of these diseases are absolutely horrible.

Did you get vaccinated when you were little? I know I did.. in fact it was REQUIRED in order to go to school. I'd say that most of us turned out just fine and think about how things like vaccines had to be much worse in the past than they are now because we didn't know all we do today or have stricter regulations in place.

The choice is yours but I suggest you do a lot of research, talk to your doctor (maybe they can spread the vaccines out over time instead of several at once), and as mentioned before don't just rely on one source for research (ie internet) A lot of what you'll find is people who are scared and trying to scare others and that isn't going to help you.

-EDIT- I was "KINDLY informed" that it is a "free country" and schools can't require you to vaccinate. I went ahead and looked this up and it seems that it is POSSIBLE to get a waiver to avoid vaccinations and send your child to public school. In my day we vaccinated (it does say "it was required").. oh and I'm only 23. I don't know but the thought of some unvaccinated child in a school risking other children scares me. But hey, "it's a free country" you have the possibility.

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I was EXACTLY like you, and being a biology major I was really scared. They teach you so many things about our bodies and medications. The BEST book I ever got was by DR. SEARS called the vaccine book. This book goes through Pros/Cons of each vaccine and even an alternate vaccine schedule if you still feel uneasy. The book NEVER says you should do this or that, it just gives you facts and you weigh your own options. I know everyone is freaked about the connection of the MMR shot and autism. This book even goes through that. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to all Mom's who want to really look into what their child is given. It even tells you the ingredients of each of the brands, cause there is not only ONE brand. Hope this helps!

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hi K.,
Both my children have had vaccinations but knowing what I know now, I would not have had multiple shots at one visit.
At the moment, you don't have to have vaccinations for school but~ New Jersey is trying to mandate that all children who attend daycare or school must have the flu shot and vaccinations. Check out www.njvaccinationchoice.org for more info. They also have links to other sites. In my opinion, some vaccines are needed, others are not (the chickenpox for example is not life threatening and my oldest ~who did not have the vaccination~ had an awful case of it. A friend had her son vaccinated and he still came down with chickenpox and also had a terrible case of it)
Regarding Gardasil.. my daughter and I talked about it and decided not to have her vaccinated. Good thing as it has now come out that many girls who have had the vaccination have had side effects that were unknown. I am always leery of anything new since it's the general public who are the last test group. Check out http://pediatrics.aappublications.org
Thimerisol is the mercury additive used in vaccines. Ask for vaccines without this preservative if you choose to vaccinate. It's hard to know exactly what to do but you do have to go with your instincts and your heart.

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K.,

My children are 14, 9, and 2 and they have ALL had their shots, except for the chicken pox and I will not allow my 2yr old to have it until she has to go to school. All 3 of my children are perfectly fine and have had no problem related to immunizations. Some people say that you do not have to have them to attend school, but you may want to check with the district you live in and the daycare you have chosen to send your child. I know that the daycare my little one goes to the state will write her up if they are not updated and she could get into further trouble if it continues. It is all up to you though, do what you feel is best, just check out all sides before you decide on anything!!

Good Luck and God Bless!!

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IMO its not worth it. i actually read a book on it along time ago that lead me to my informed decision against them, but dont remember what it was called. there is a really great place you can go to get alot of infor from informed and practicing moms. go to cafemom. set up an account. once your in, search under groups for vaccinations and youll find tons fo group so moms who are for and against. good luck

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Hi K., this obviously is a personal choice with risks associated with either choice. You ultimately have to decide what you feel is best for your child but you also have to live with that choice should something unfortunate occur. All you can do is research the information available to you. Talk to your pediatrician. If you haven't selected one yet, now is a great time to do so. I chose to vaccinate both of my children (2 and 5) because the fact is, most childhood diseases have been virtually wiped out since most children are now being vaccinated. My children have not had any adverse side effects (not even a fever or feeling lethargic as sometimes happens). I also asked my pediatrician to advise me as if this were her own child (her daughter was the same age as mine) and her advice was to vaccinate. However, there are always risks and there will always be some children who experience side effects (which sometimes includes death). Some of these risks (including death) are also experienced by children who are not vaccinated when they come down with illnesses that could have been prevented by vaccinations. Again, you have to make the decision you feel most comfortable with based on the information available. Goodluck and God Bless.

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the only real medical report I've read is the one done on the link of autism to the preservative "thermisil" (sp?) that used to be put in MMR vaccinations. there was significant evidence to that link so as of 2004, MMR vaccines are no longer made with that ingredient. if you get the MMR vaccination for your child, you should make sure it is made AFTER 2004. just ask the dr. to see the package!
Dr. Sears just wrote a book that sounds very informative, here is a link:
http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/12_childhood_vac...
I'm personally all for an alternative vaccine schedule. A lot of vaccines can be put off so the baby isn't so bombarded by them in their first 2 years of life, and then before they start school, they can catch up a little, but at that point don't need as many doses. (for example, my 4 year old missed a polio vaccine and was "supposed" to have 5 by now, but since she's older now, she's only required by the school to have 4 total.
Just remember, even if you choose to eliminate just once vaccine, you have the right to sign a wavier so your child doesn't have to have them for school!
One problem I see with not getting the MMR vaccine is that it is a live-virus vaccine, meaning the child actually "gets" measles, mumps, rubella and is contagious for I think 2 weeks. So if your child is NOT vaccinated, how would you know what child in public, at school, at church, etc. has had that vaccine in the last 2 weeks? You'd never know, and your un-vaccinated child could actually get one of those diseases. There's a reason they came up with a vaccine for them, they aren't like just getting the flu, your child could end up in the hospital or worse.

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I recommend that you read "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears. It's the most objective, factual, complete yet concise book I've found on the topic. He discussed each of the vaccines, describes the disease they're supposed to prevent, and the pros and cons of giving each vaccine. He also provides an alternate vaccine schedule if you're concerned about some of the ingredients in the vaccine (ie. aluminum).

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yes they r worth the risk....we have has an outbreak of certain diseases that r more life threatening that the vacines...and in most of those cases the fatalities happened in children that were not vaccinated. why would you chance losing your child to one of these relentless illnesses on the very very off chance there is something wrong with the vaccine. manufactures have gone though great lengths to test and make sure that they r ok.

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Dear K.,

I think you are so wise to look into this matter. My kids are all in their twenties. When they were the age to immunize, we just did it without thinking about it. But if I had kids now, I'm not sure how I would handle it!

Here are some things I would do:
1) Do no immunize if there is any chance at all that the child is sick. Wait.
2) I think I'd wait until the child is 4 to get them started. I would find a pediatrician who does not use immunizations with mercury or thimersol (sp?). Someone on Mamasource mentioned Dr. Lydia Norton. I wrote it down for my daughter to use when she and her three little ones move here from Canada.

I pray that God will give you and your husband wisdom.

Hi K.,

I am sure you are going to get A LOT of response from this question as there are people who REALLY believe in vaccines and those who don't. When I was pregnant, I read everything! I found a magazine called Mothering that is strongly against vaccines. I chose not to immunize my daughter when I read the REAL story about vaccines. It was hard to risk it after seeing the statistics of vaccines tied to autism. You HAVE to educate yourself! Remember that most things in our world today are soley driven by money...and that is mostly what vaccines are all about THESE days. I do believe there was a time in our history when vaccines were of much use in prevention; however that time has passed.
Good luck to you and I hope you can find a lot of literature about truth and not just take doctor's words for it.
p.s. when you child starts school, all you need to submit is a waiver of vaccine form and they are all set...THIS IS YOUR RIGHT and any school or daycare CAN NOT...I REPEAT CAN NOT take this right away from you BY LAW! Either for reasons or religion or for reasons of conscience. Our country can not force you to put something into yours or your child's body...remember that. Become informed. Here is the website for future use if you choose to not vaccinate:
http://www.vaccineinfo.net/exemptions/index.shtml

You know how to be a mother by nature, trust that. It can be a little struggle, but it is worth the effort knowing you are protecting your child from unnecessary poisons in his/her system.

My best,
M.

Read Vaccine Safety Manual. I stopped vaccines for my three children and have no regrets! They are all extremely healthy.