Vaccinations

I recommend doing your research. A good book is Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How To Make Safe, Sensible Decisions About the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives by Aviva Jill Romm. The information is presented in an unbiased manner, giving just the facts (most of which the doctors don't know all of. I discovered there is a lot of myth and misinformation surrounding vaccinations). Mothering magazine has done extensive articles on vaccination safety. http://mothering.com/

Personally, my husband and I decided not to vaccinate. We feel that the risks outweigh potential benefits. Some of the main concerns we have with vaccinations are: lack of safety testing for given combinations of vaccines; additives to the vaccines (mercury, aluminum); unnatural method of introduction/exposure to the diseases; actual efficacy of vaccines; and bombarding immature immune systems.

There are many people who will argue very strongly for what they believe. The best thing you can do is to educate yourself so that you feel confident in your decisions.

Best wishes to you and your family, and congratulations on the new baby girls!

3 moms found this helpful

Dear J.,
In response to your vaccination question. No, they are not safe. Doctors don't even know about the unsafeness of vaccines. The pharmacy companies give the Dr. the information and most of it is false because pharmacies are in the business of selling a product. It's all about marketing.
Please learn from my experience. My son was due for his 18month vaccines but he had an ear infection and 102 tempature. I kept his schedules apt. to see what was wrong with him. My doctor insisted that he get vaccinated at the same time. He was sick and I begged the Dr. to wait a few weeks until he was well before giving the vaccine. He refused and said the vaccine was perfectly safe. He even gave me a huge information package about how safe vaccines were. (after I got home, I read the 20 pages of info on the vaccine, on the back in fine print, it said it was put out by the pharmacy.) As a result, my son got a fever of 105 for 3 days and broke out in the measles. Three months later he started to have seizures. When we returned to the same Dr. at 22month my son was diagnoised with autism. He has lost all speech, no longer could make eye contact, and was unable to answer any question like before. (where are your eye?) The same Dr. came into the room and handed me a brochure about autism. (not put out by the pharmacy)
Please, even if the vaccine is mercury free, it has been replace by other heavy metal. Make sure your child is total free of any sickness(this includes diaper rashes or ear infections) and only give one vaccine at a time. Insurance companies may not pay for the seperated vaccines but it's worth the risk.
My father is a physican and was total uninformed about vaccinations. He also only read what the pharmacutical companies gave him. (My friend is a writer for the pharmacy companies and has been asked to lie many times when writting about a product.) They just leave out anything that may harm you.

Please be careful!
S.

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They have done a lot of rigorous testing on the relationship between autism and vaccinations and they have never been able to find a link. The evidence that shows there is a link is all anecdotal (meaning that only individual cases are examined, not the population), and much of it is very convincing. But, all rigorous scientific studies (and there have been many) have not been able to show a link. This means that if the MMR vaccine can really cause autism, the chances of it doing so are very, very small. Your child is probably more likely to catch measles, mumps, and rubella.

However, vaccines are not without risks. The flip side that I think many parents forget is that there are also great risks when you don't get your kid vaccinated. It is true that your child will likely not encounter many of the diseases they are vaccinated for in this country. However, many of the diseases are still quite common in the US and quite deadly like Hepatitis A and B, meningitis, rotovirus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Many of the vaccines are far more effective if they are given in infancy (like the Hepatitis B vaccine) than if they are given when a child is older. If you do careful research you can compare the rates of having your child react dangerously to a vaccine and their chance of contracting one of the above diseases. However, there are risks with vaccines and you can do things to reduce the risks as mentioned in an earlier comment.

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The biggest difficulty in making the decision, in my experience, is separating the fact from the propaganda. And the anti-vax camp is as likely to use propaganda as the pro-vax camp.

It has been very, very well-studied though: there is no correlation between autism and vaccinations... in fact, if anything it's the opposite: the most likely population to have *not* vaccinated is the autistic population. That doesn't mean not vaccinating causes autism (which is ridiculous), but it certainly clearly indicates that whatever causes it, vaccinations are not on the list.

The only rational way to make the decision, in my opinion, is to decide if the risks associated with the diseases (which, in growing numbers, continue to kill and maim) outweigh the risks associated with vaccinations. That information is not hard to come by, but this is a brief overview:

Risks of measles: remains the leading cause of childhood deafness, risk of reaction to the antibiotics and developing an allergy, small risk of encephalitis (brain swelling) which is the primary cause of death from measles.
Risk of chicken pox: much more pronounced in the adult population (about one death per 1000 adult cases), lifelong risk of shingles once contracted, scarring, and permanent nerve damage
Risk of rubella: the disease was once deadly, but now is easily treated when it is diagnosed, the real risk is unknowingly carrying it with only cold-like symptoms, making it possible to readily pass it to pregnant women who (regardless of their own immunity to the disease) give birth to mentally-retarded deaf and blind babies who are diagnosed with x-rays - their bones look like woodworm: this, along with the next one, is one of the most likely vax to cause adverse reactions and the most likely to be left out by people trying to avoid vax reactions:
Risk of pertussis (whooping cough): apart from the 3-9 month recouperation period during which many children stop growing or actually lose weight (cough for an hour at a time and barfing all day gets in the way of normal growth), babies under 6 months of age (whose siblings or parents bring it into the home) have a 1 in 3 risk of death, and babies under 2 have a greater than 2 in 3 risk of death, regardless of their vax history. Most adults who contract it think they have a 'bad cough.'
Risk of polio: remote, but contractable both domestically and abroad, the risks of polio remain the same: paralysis, partial paralysis, death (at a rate of about 30%) and post-polio syndrome
Risk of mumps: the primary risk is to the adult male population, unvaccinated, low-immunity or a too-mild case from childhood to protect him: men who contract mumps get testicular mumps which remains one of the leading causes of sterility in men.
Risks of HIB: this causes meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spine), which is fatal at all ages in about 25% of cases, and carries a risk of paralysis and brain damage
Risks of tetanus: same as always - paralysis (lock-jaw is the first symptom) and death. Once infected, it still cannot be cured. While the tetanus bacterium is prevalent on farms, it is also available in very large cities.

Vaccination risks are real. Some people seem to be allergic to them, vaccinations can go bad and can wreak havoc on little bodies. It is not difficult to find the risks associated with vaccinations, their opponents are vocal -- although they have a hard time admitting the raw numbers for people to look at them clearly: how many people are vaccinated compared to how many people experience adverse reactions.

Risk assessment is a big deal in parenting, and the choice really is yours. Remember, though, that the very most likely thing to kill anyone under 21 is a car accident. Buckle up!

2 moms found this helpful

I've worried a lot about vaccinations too, they say it can cause Autism and ADD or ADHD. With my son I decided to go ahead and vaccinate because it's almost impossible to get your child in day care or school. I was given the advice for my daughter that there's more risk not to vaccinate so I went ahead and gave my daughter her first vaccinations. Then I got my last mothering magazine and an article states that instead of mercury in the vaccination they're putting aluminum. The suggested dose of aluminum for an infant is 25mg at a time and the very first vaccination they give your baby on their first day contains 250mg!! They don't know the side effects that it could have. something to do w/ Bones? But now I'm upset that I even vacinated my daughter because I had waited and she got her first born and her second set of shots in one sitting. Who knows how many mg of aluminum is in there? There's a book out that I was told to read... "the truth about vaccinations" My friend is going to lend it to me once she's done reading it herself.

2 moms found this helpful

Hi J.,

I know it is a scary thing to think that a shot could cause your child to have autism. I am in graduate school, and have learned that although there is no known cause for Autism, there is not substantial evidence that autism is caused by the MMR vaccination. (I just studied this so I have my notes in front of me!) Here are some facts: *Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability, it is a spectrum disorder (meaning that it can be very mild to very severe), Autism is consistently MORE prevalent in boys than in girls, it has no racial, ethnic, social or economic boundaries (www.autism-society.org).

Here are some Theories of Causes of Autism: *There is no known single cause for autism, *It is generally accepted that autism is caused by abnormalities in the brain structure or function, *Research is being conducted in the area of heredity and genetics, *While there appears to be a familial link, no one gene has been identified, *Researchers are investigating the possibility of unstable clusters of genes that interfere with brain development thus resulting in autism, *They are also investigating problems during pregnancy/delivery, *...environmental factors, including toxic (hazardous) substances are being investigated, *Some people do believe that there is a link between MMR vaccines & autism (not proven, but...)

Here are some websites to look at:

www.autism-society.org
www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm
www.autism.org/contents.html
www.autismspeaks.org

here's an awesome song written and performed by "Five for Fighting"

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/40...

Every time someone watches that video - 40 cents is donated to research in autism!

I will mention this very disturbing bit of information:

AUTISM RECEIVES LESS THAN 5% OF THE RESEARCH FUNDING THAN OTHER CHILDHOOD DISEASES THAT ARE MUCH LESS PREVALENT!!!

Autism is the fastest growing serious developmental disability.

Watch that video EVERYONE - let's help in anyway we can!!!

Blessings to you and anyone else worried about this disorder. I also wish parents who have a child with autism to remember that early detection and intervention is the key to children having the best life possible. Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech Therapists and my personal favorite (soon to be) MUSIC THERAPISTS, along with neurologists etc. who are there to help people with autism to develop the skills needed to succeed to the best of his or her abilities.

I hope I didn't bore you...good luck! BLESSINGS...N.

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I'm probably in the minority, but after researching this subject I personally feel that there is more than enough evidence that vaccines actually do more harm than good in a high number of cases. If you want to read more on the subject, including documented evidence, check out these MySpace pages:

http://www.myspace.com/goldtrader

http://www.myspace.com/vaccineresources

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.view...

http://www.myspace.com/investigateb4youvaccinate

There is a lot of very good information on all those pages, as well as links to other sites so you can read the facts and documentation for yourself.

Congratulation on the birth of your twins, and whatever you decide to do about vaccination, what's most important is that you make an INFORMED decision!

S.

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This is truly a personal choice and I encourage you to do some research and make and INFORMED CHOICE.

We recently had an international speaker on psychoneuroimmunology and vaccine issues come to speak in our town, and there are a few things I will add here for you to think about. Please PM me if you would like more information.

1. Vaccines do work, but they do NOT create life-long immunity. They create an antibody response...meaning that they bypass the body's first two natural responses and go straight to the blood stream. That is why we have booster shots...cuz the only way to get true immunity is by encountering the virus itself and allowing the body to fight it off naturally.

2. The CDC's main objective is to keep these diseases from becoming 'outbreaks'...and vaccines do accomplish this...however, at the expense of the health of our children. (unfortunately, it is like war...some soldiers are lost - for the good of the security of the nation) You need to ask yourself if you want your child to be one of those 'lost soldiers' (autism, food allergies, chronic conditions, or death)

3. When our children's bodies are overwhelmed with antibody responses from vaccines, these 'antigen markers' have nowhere to go ...so they attach to organs and if their bodies are not detoxed...voila - autoimmune diseases result because our immune system wants to get rid of these antigens no matter where they are - attached to organs or floating around.

4. Things to do to build the immune system naturally to help alleviate the damage done by vaccinating include: vaginal birth, breastfeeding, allow child to get through illnesses without drugs (use homeopathy, chiropractic, essential oils, etc.) to build their immune systems, allow them to play in the dirt, do not give antibiotics, take fish oil, probiotics, no sugar in diet, organic foods, etc...

5. Research each shot and the reasoning behind getting it -if you feel strongly about getting a specific shot, know the reasoning behind it and what negative reactions could result. some are not even appropriate and can easily be declined. Ex: Chickenpox - reason for shot is convenience..so parents don't have to stay home from work 10 days
Hepatitus - if you aren't a drug user/needles or don't have std or don't plan on having sex with a prostitute - you don't need it.
All I am saying is - make an INFORMED CHOICE!

check out www.909shot.com

message me if you would like.
:)
C.

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Get vaccinated.

I have an autistic nephew, and my sister will swear to you up and down that it was the vaccination that did it. There is simply no evidence to support this.

The correlation is that the vaccinations occur at about the same time that autism begins to become apparent. It's kinda like the people back in the day who thought that wheat turned into mice... I mean, there was a bunch of wheat there yesterday, and now there's less - but there's mice! The wheat must have turned into mice! WOW!

Talk to your pediatrician for more reassurance, but everything that I have read supports the notion that it's coincidental.

Now, there's no denying that autism diagnoses are on the rise... and there's something that must be happening to cause this... but is it some other environmental cause (hello, smoking, maybe? the plastic world we live in? too much TV? plain old genetics?) or are the doctors just picking up on it more often? The jury is still out...

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There has been extensive research done on what was once thought thimerosal (mercury additive) was the cause of autism. It is proven over and over that this is not the case. Thimerosal was taken out of vaccinations in 1999, the flu shot has a trace of it but you can always request thimerosal free shots when getting the flu shot. (I do). I just read an article about researchers finding that mercury from immunizations in the past and mercury in fish are exiting the body 10 times faster than they originally thought. Proving the autism theory wrong again!!! Working in a school district with students with disabilities and having young children of my own always made me a little on edge about immunizations specifically thinking autism. But after educating myself by attending workshops on autism and reading I strongly believe immunizations are very safe and not getting them is putting a child at risk of serious disease. Just my personal opinion!!

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Hi J.,
Get The Vaccination Book by Dr. Sears--he goes through them all and what's in each so you can decide. (He also gives an alternative schedule) I have a 3 month old. After reading the book, we chose not to get Hep B or Hep A (she can get it as an adult), Rotavirus, Varicella or MMR (the one linked to autism). Because a lot of the vaccines have aluminum in them (which has been linked to neurological disorders) we have also chosen to get them more spread out. You can do whatever you want--they are your children. Don't feel bullied. In Wisconsin at least, they allow a philosophical waiver of vaccines when it comes time to register for school.
Good luck!

2 moms found this helpful

Vaccinations are a must-have. There is no clear research linking vaccinations to autism, but there is certainly an obvious link between NOT getting vaccinated and death/serious debilitation. Also, some children - because of allergies, etc. - cannot be vaccinated. Parents who simply choose not to vaccinate their children put those children who cannot be vaccinated at increased risk of fatal or debilitating illness. If you have not discussed this with your doctor, you should.

Also, I see that some people have chosen to not vaccinate and encourage others not to, either. They say that the bad outweighs the good when it comes to these shots. I imagine they would feel differently if everyone took their advice and mass epidemics became the norm again. Even in the extremely rare case where a child may have lingering pain from a shot, that's a heck of a lot better than getting polio.

Shots hurt and it's hard for me so I always bring my husband. He holds her and as soon as the shots are over, he gives her to me. Maybe it's silly, but I don't want her to think that I'm hurting her. So, she knows that as soon as she's back with me, she's safe and I'm not going to hurt her. Probably some people will think that's silly, but that's how I get over the emotionally hard part of knowing she's going to cry because it's going to hurt. Also, we got our family flu shots together so that my husband and I could show her that we get flu shots, too, and there's a little "ouch", but it's ok.

Good luck! It's hard...but parenting is all about doing what's best for our children even when it's hard. Doing that is not going to get easier as they get older.

1 mom found this helpful

Gosh, I think those mothers (and fathers) of children with autism have to be listened to. Too many are saying they think it is more than a coincidence that the autism started shortly after the vaccination shots. If this is the case then I consider myself lucky because my twin boys weren't affected by the shots. At the time there wasn't much media attention to a possible correlation between the two. I'd definately seek answers and see if there is an alternate route to getting all the vaccinations done at one time before getting your girls vaccinated.

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My advice is to sit down and get information from the doctor. A lot of websites claim to be official and sound such, but they really aren't. Get the pros and cons of the vaccinations from the doc. My personal feelings are you should vaccinate. It doesn't necessarily mean that your child will not get the disease, but it will make it a lot less severe, and help prevent outbreaks in the community. The problem with not vaccinating is the more people who choose not to put the community at a greater risk of keeping these particular diseases alive in the community you live in. If people continue to not vaccintate, these diseases will make a come back in our world.

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J., I just read that they think they will have proof that the vaccinations do NOT cause autisum this summer or maybe it said fall but it is definately this year.

That is good news. If they are already predicting it they must already know but need to get all their ducks in a row!

The kids run a fever after some of them and i think it is the one with measles in it that they run a fever 10-14 days later. If you do them on schedule so you don't have to have back shots added to the current ones that has to be easier on the little bodies.

People aren't getting the vacations like they used to and i also read where polio and a couple other diseases are going to start showing up again. You don't want any of that.

Best thing is to have the imm. done on schedule and use motrin before leaving for the doctors office and reading the side affects brochure they give you so if they get a fever in 10 days you will remember it and not think they have a virus or ear infections.

Good luck. You have to have your hands full with twins!!

Marciab

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Hi.. I know that this is a very personal and hot topic among parents but I think every opinion and choice for their child should be valued.. With that saying I will give you my informed opinion and my choice for my 2 children (2yo&6yo boys).

I have worked in the nutritional/alternative medicine field for over 10 yrs now. I have a lot of training and have read lots of different studies on about anything you could put into your body (pill,shots or food).

I decided NOT to get shots for either of my boys.. My reasoning is this...

A newborns immune system isnt activated till they are almost 6 months in age.. some arent even strong enough till closer to a year old.. How benefical would it be to inject a newborn with no active immune system with a small dose of a serious disease?

I dont agree with the government demanding I inject my child with something.. I'm not a scientist, how am I to know whats really in it.. I dont agree with the Dr's and school officials demanding me that its "against the law" not to be vaccinated. (which I have heard from DRs and other school directors, which is a total lie!)

I have read research (new in just the last few yrs) that states that they hurt/kill animals when testing these vaccines.

I have read research that stated that there is animal tissue in some of these vaccines and animal (before it died) weren't tested for certain diseases and cancers.. For example.. if there was an animal that had an early stage of cancer, was used to create a vaccine and its tissue was used in part of that vaccine, then was injected into a baby.. in essense there could more then likely be a cancer cell injected too.. They have linked it to child cancers and a higher cancer/disease rate in the last 10 yrs.

I know they havent proven that certain vaccines can cause autism but its also a relatively new disease and they dont really know a whole lot about it yet either.. but I have a friend that has 2 autistic children.. She regrets everyday getting her children vaccinated.. Her older one has it worse because she got most of her vaccines before age 4 but she still wishes she never had gotten them.. My advice is to talk to a parent of an autistic child.. See what they think and learn about their relationship with their child.. Most that are on the higher spectrum will never be able to have a normal conversation with their children.. will never be able to hear them say that they love them and will never be able to live on their own and lead normal lives.. and to me even if its a small chance.. I feel that its my responcibility to protect them and not take that chance.

Not vaccinating your children doesnt mean that they will get Polio, tetnus or ruebella.. There are ways to prevent them even w/o a vaccine.. Its called your immune system.. You hear about woman having "abnormal cells" during a pap.. most of the time they are cancerus cells but your immune system can fight it off if you are healthy and strong. I have seen people even fight cancer off just by building their immune systems up.. Eatting healthy and taking the right supplements can make the world of difference.

So I decided not to vaccine my kids.. If for some reason they start making healthier vaccines, tested more humanly w/o animals, or I was going to a small world country where the risk of getting one of these almost dead diseases was greater THEN I might think about injecting my children with a vaccine but until then.. I choose to build up their immune systems with the right food choices and supplements.

Good luck with your choice.. I know its a hard one for some, for me it was easy but I had all the training and research first. Keep us posted on your choice and message me if you have any questions with my responce.. Thanks!!

~L.

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I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old and we have always done the vaccinations. I believe they help more than not. Also there are myths out there that it causes autism and they have found that it doesn't have anything to do with the vaccines they believe it to be something that happens while your baby is still in the womb.

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I have four kids and they've all had all vaccinations with no problems and no regrets.

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You really need to research BOTH sides of the topic. It doesn't really matter what the rest of us chose to do with out children, in the end it is up to you to decide what is best for YOUR kids. There is tons of research out there.

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I have two children (almost 2 and 8 months) and I have gotten all their vaccinations so far. They are many childhood and adult illnesses that killed that are no very seldom seen due to vaccinations. I like to play it safe. Of all the children that have vaccinations, there are many more that are perfectly healthy than that have autism.

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Dear J.,

You are very wise to think of this right up front! I gave my older kids more vaccinations than I wish I had. Personally, I choose to give my kids some vaccines and not others. I do believe there is a correlation between autism and the mercury used as a preservative in vaccinations. I have heard that mercury is not used in Iowa. That might be worth looking into for you. Do what you think is best for your girls. Don't be pressured by your doctor or school district's "requirements."

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I think it's a controversial topic that will have moms throwing each other down in the aisles of supermarkets when it's brought up and they disagree! That said, I vaccinated my son. There's no proof that vaccines cause autism and to my knowledge they are no longer manufactured with mercury (which is what they suspected of causing autism). In fact there have been many studies recently stating that vaccines do NOT cause it. That said, I'm not sure that kids have to have ALL the vaccines available/suggested. Like, why do they need the chicken pox vaccine...just so they don't itch for 3 weeks...I remember how miserable I was as a kid when I had them, but are they life threatening? Do your research and get it from RELIABLE, REPUTABLE sources...not just heresay or info from boards like this.

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I'm all for immunizations! There have of course been some problems, but they are pretty rare and the possible consequences of not getting them are far greater! As for the link to Autism, they thought that it was the mercury that was added to preserve them. They have taken that out years ago, yet Autism is increasing. I heard about a study that said that there is no link between the two. But it is ultimately your decision and you just need to do what you think is best for your children!

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Yes it is a very hot topic:) We are not vaccinating as of yet. As far as mercury goes it is in more shots than the media lets on. Just ask to see the ingredient lists at your clinic. Also, aluminum, formaldehyde, aborted fetal cells, and a host of other nasty things are in some of them. The best thing you can do is research for yourself and get your info from several different places. Also, you can check if your state has a Conscientious Objector law that protects your decision. Contrary to what many believe, vacs do not prevent 100% and most of the cases of these diseases actually come from the shots.
www.mercola.com has a great schedule for shots if you choose to go that route.
All in all, if you chose not to vaccinate, if you chose some or all, it is important to RESEARCH. Herd mentality bugs me especially if people judge others for our decisions. You are the best advocate your child can have! Great question!

1 mom found this helpful

Yes Yes! Get all their vaccinations! There is a WAY higher percentage chance of them falling ill to something you didn't get them vaccinated for than there is for having some reaction to the shots.

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These are my thoughts: If we didn't vaccinate ourselves and our children, then we would be suffering from diseases like Polio, smallpox, measles, mump, rubela, etc. The list goes on and on. Remember that the very young, old or chronically ill are more suseptible to illness and dying from it (ie, the flu). They have disproved the autism theory. If vaccines caused autism then every child would have it. Talk with your Dr. and voice your concerns. If you pediatrician is as awesome as ours, then he'll listen to you.

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We've vaccinated both of our children, knowing that there were risks involved whether we did or didn't. The risks for developing autism (or something similar) seemed small in comparison to the risks of measles or chicken pox (for example). It was the choice that we made for our family based on what we felt was best. Simply that. However, as we see more and more children who aren't immunized, we are also seeing some previously eradicated diseases returning. Has anyone wondered about whether the increase in things like autism comes from food dye and preservatives? Maybe we should start with trying to make our children's meals as healthy and unprocessed as possible. ?? You need to do what you believe is best for your family.

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There isn't enough evidence to warrant not giving your child the vaccinations. There is however an enormous amount of info on the risk of not getting vaccinated.

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There could be a correlation to autism, but it isn't proven and lots of other environmental issues seem like likely causes of autism too.
The best way to vaccinate is to separate the shots - they use thimerosal (mercury) as a preservative in the "cocktail" vaccines, but once they are separated, there isn't thimerosal in them. So it will cost you a bit more and you'll have to make more visits to the dr.'s office, but it will give your little one's body less of a load to process and give you some peace of mind perhaps. And some vaccines are definitely unnecessary and/or too new to know the effects of them Hib , for example and Hep B, aren't too necessary and the Hib was just recalled.

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the positive things out weigh the possiblities of side effects. vaccines were designed for a reason, because if our kids get these diseases that the vaccines are designed to prevent, they could be deadly. definitly get your kids and make sure its on time!! congrats and good luck

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I struggled with giving both of my kids the MMR vaccine because of the possible link to autism. Both of the kids' doctors (we lived in Lincoln when my daughter turned one) and my pharmacist husband reassured me that they're safe and the link to autism is not reliable. Both of my kids have had all of their vaccinations plus flu shots every year. Good luck with your decision.

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Hi, J.! I'm a nurse and believe wholeheartedly in vaccinating kids. There is no proven link between vaccinations and autism, and the risks of your precious little girls catching something that they are unvaccinated for is MUCH higher than the risks associated with vaccines. I'd encourage you to talk to your pediatritian about your concerns, and then get those girls protected! Congrats on your babies!

1 mom found this helpful

I am giving my daughter her vaccinations, but splitting them up so she only gets 2 at a time. I don't feel comfortable overloading her little system with 5 shots at once. You might want to pick up The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. It tells you the pros and cons of each vaccination. I think some vaccinations are important to make sure that certain diseases can be eradicated. The people who don't vaccinate at all keeping those diseases in the population, whereas if everyone got vaccinated against them, the disease would be gone and then we wouldn't have to vaccinate.
Dr. Sears tells you how to give your babies only 2 vaccinations at a time, and in combinations that cause the least possible danger/side effects.

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I always thought the correlations were more myth than fact and I had my kids get the shots so they wouldn't get and pass on something more dangerous. We had a large outbreak of whooping couph that could have been pervented if the kids had been imunized. Ultimately, the decision is yours. Good luck!!!

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Hi J.,
I have 5 kids (19 month old twin girls) and I have had everyone of my kids vaccinated. It's one of those things that you have to out way the good and the bad. If you don't have autism in your family then I wouldn't worry to much about it. But if you don't have your kids vaccinated they can get a lot worse. I have a friend who has a child with autism, I would take that everyday over the other other things that children are vaccinated against. You are walking down a hard road (with no sleep) with having twins. Talk it over with your doctor and tell them your concurns about it and see what they say. I feel much better knowing my children are protectd against stuff like polio, small pox, and all those. To me it's worth it.

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at my child birth class a pedatritian came in whose son has autism and he has done a lot of research in that area and this question was brought up- he said that there was no correlation.

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My personal opinion is that it is TOTALLY irresponsible of a parent NOT to vaccinate! Yes, I know some moms will be enraged at that statement, but it's my opinion, which Im entitled to. The link btwn vaccines and autism has been disproven for now. And I have seen the illnesses that unvaccinated children are getting...terrible...and then the parents run to the doc for the weeks and weeks of powerful drugs to combat the symptoms! Some of these illnesses cause deafness, blindness and even death. It is insanely controversial...but you asked for opinions, right? LOL

Anyway, it's your call, and I would absolutely call the ped. office and ask for the info. sheet as well as the insert that comes with EVERY vial of vaccine and research it yourself! You have to feel good about the choices you make for your kiddos!
~L.

**Edit**
I have to comment on how mind-bending it is that so many of you think your ped went to med school to harm your children! Some of you have such skewed information...you are MUCH scarier to me than a vaccine!!!! Should you do your homework...of course! But it's not about marketing, money, or a pharmaceutical plot to give every child autism...seriously! Lets put some common sense into the eqation!

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I started my parenting journey almost 6yrs ago not questioning the importance of vaccinations. I dutifully went to the pedi every couple of months for the requisite 2-4 shots consiting of anywhere from 3-6 different vaccines. He was fully vaccinated up to the 18-24month shot set.

My 2nd child came 3.5yrs ago and he too was fully vaccinated up until 1yr of age, when my older son got a really really bad case of chicken pox (which he was vaccinated against btw) That started my questioning. Three months later my then 1yr old started exhibiting signs and symptoms of autism. He's definitly autistic.
So I started to question the vax's and what they did. Most of the diseases we vax for are "normal" childhood diseases with very low mortality rates if treated properly, some of the diseases (like polio and diptheria) haven't been seen in the US for decades, so why are we still vaccinating?

For years the CDC has been saying that vaccines don't contain dangerous levels of mercury a nuero toxin, even faced with outside scientific evidence that showed differently. Recently the CDC released a statement basically saying "whoops we were wrong about the amount of mercury in vaccines" basically...the decimal point was in the wrong place.

When my daughter was born 10months ago I knew that Hep. B vax wasn't necessary (I'm not an IV drug user, and I'm in a monogomous relationship so there is no chance I am infected) I had read the evidence that said that the other common vaccines didn't fully protect until all doses were administered and by that time the risk of serious injury or death was pretty much nill. The only one that still scared me was Tetnus and Pertussis (whooping cough) so at 2months she got her first DTaP shot. She reacted mildly to it. I waited until she was 6months to try it again...she reacted more strongly to it, and had a knot the size of a quarter in her thigh for 3months. That sealed it for me. I will not vaccinate my children anymore. I will not put my children through ineffective, damaging, and painful injections so the rest of the country can think they are protected from diseases that most often crop up in communities with a over 90% vaccinated population (Mumps in the midwest a year or two ago.) Diseases run their course through communities and then are gone leaving the citizens with natural lifelong immunity with no need for boosters 5, 10, 15yrs down the road.

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I am a registered nurse & a mother and immunizations are very important. I absolutely think children should have them. This helps prevent the spread of disease, and also protects your child and other children from a communicable disease.

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I read Jenny McCarthy's book "Louder than words" and she recommends a book or guide that a Dr. wrote that's a guide to when to vaccinate, I was shocked when I heard rumors to NOT vaccinate, but she doesn’t said say that, she just says there may be more appropriate ages on when to vaccinate.
That some people are allergic to vaccines just as some people are allergic to nuts or bee stings (or what ever. And that Dr’s don’t even test for allergies to the vaccine before they slam them with it, the outcome of her son being allergic is trauma to the front part of his brain (to where when Dr's did MRI scans, they kept asking if he'd been in a bad accident to which he hadn’t, it was from the vaccine). and He developed Autism.

I love that book and recommend all moms to read it. It helped me so that if I have another child, I'll feel I have more of a choice.

GL.

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An article in the Deseret Morning News published today addresses this. It is titled "Researcher Says Autism is Unrelated to Vaccines." It reads: "Nancy J. Minshew is finally ready to take off the gloves.

After years of sitting back and hoping the science would speak for itself, the director of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Excellence in Autism Research has decided it's time for her to take a personal stand.

Autism is not caused by vaccinations, she says, and those who continue to push that theory are endangering the lives of children and misdirecting the nation's scarce resources for autism research."

I recommend reading that article. You can find it online on www.deseretnews.com. Personally, I am a fan of getting ALL vaccinations. And I don't recommend postponing it at all unless you plan to stay homebound until your child gets them. I have two girls. I had them vaccinated right on schedule. I was glad I did it while they were young and before they grew to be scared of shots. They had no side effects that my pediatrician did not tell me I might see, (possible fever for 24 hours) and even that was mild. With so much research FOR vaccinations and countless historical examples of what those diseases could do to you or your child, why would one hesitate?

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Hi J.,
I am a mom, grandma, an registered nurse. I just wanted to tell you that I do believe in vaccinations. Ihave seen a lot of unfavorable outcomes of patients who had gotten childhood diseases such as Chicken Pox and Mumps.
As far as Autism goes, they are beginning to lean away from from a link to vaccinations after conducting some studies.
I do see nothing wrong with spacing out the vaccinations though. I have worked with many parents who did this. The kids still received them all, but just not so many at one time. There are more vaccinations now than when my kids were little. My oldest(twin boy and girl) are 21 now and we didn't have the Chicken Pox vaccine among a few others.
I would still get my kids vaccinated and my grandson has gotten all his on schedule so far (he's 2). I think it is much safer to vaccinate than to rely on what we call Herd Immunity, which is relying on all others around you to be immune, therefore they don't give the illness to the person not protected.
The other thing to think about is that we are seeing more of these illnesses make a come back due many factors in today's society. Being immunized will provide protection from these new cases.
Many of the vaccines have changed their preservatives now also, so they are much safer. The preservatives are what they used to link complications to.
When I was a kid we did not have all the vaccines. I had Mumps twice, chicken pox twice, measels, and rubella. NowI worry if I will get shingles at some point because of my bout with Chicken Pox. The vaccine would have prevented that and my risk would be greatly decreased.
Talk to your doctor. You can also go online and check out the CDC statistics.
Congratulations on those twins! I remember those days quite well! My last 2 kids were 2 days short of a year a part and I must say my twins were easier. Take care!!
S. A, RN

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Absolutely! Get all of the recommended vaccinations! Including flu shots in the winter! Save yourself and your children from horrible diseases and horrible flus! It's a small price to pay for amazing protection. Science is wonderful.

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Personally, I think every child should be immunized against anything and everything there is a vaccination for. My daughter almost died from Influenza A when she was 2 years old. The importance of having children immunized, in my opinion, is that it not only protects your child, but it protects other children as well, even if they are immunized. If all parents had their children immunized, some viruses and diseases would become fewer and fewer until they were not around much anymore.

Ask your pediatrician what she / he thinks. If this is the person who is responsible for your child's care and health, you should trust what they have to say. I know there are some "scary" correlations and effects of being immunized but I think the benefits definitely outweigh the possibilities.

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I feel with vaccinations that the benefits outweight the risks. They have apparently disproved that vaccinations are involved with autism, tho there are still debates about that. My kids have been kept up to date on their vaccinations and the only trouble I've ever had is a fever for a day or two afterward. One way to do it to help you feel at ease is to spread them out over time. Don't get all the shots at one visit. Make a few visits, a week or more apart and get one shot at a time. It's hard to watch your little one have to get 3 shots at one time. So if you just make 3 appointments, that might make things better. It makes it easier to tell, if your babies do have a reaction at all, which vaccine caused the reaction. I've worked in daycare for a number of years and never had a baby have an allergic reaction or one with autism occuring after shots. There have been epidemics breaking out in towns and cities across the US of diseases that kids should be vaccinated for, but the parents don't do it. Even kids who have been vaccinated are at risk of getting sick because some kids haven't been. So it's better to be vaccinated than to have your child get the measles. The only one I avoided was chicken pox because I would rather my kids actually get them. The vaccine doesn't offer a lifetime immunity. Actually having chicken pox does. Anyway, that's how I feel about them. Hope that helps you with your decision!

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I also have twins (14 months old today), congratulations! I was worried about vaccinations as well, but everything I read said that there is no direct link to immunizations and autism; the correlation is low from the sources I saw (mostly parenting magazines). I think it is definitely better to vaccinate your kids and reduce the risk of worse, or fatal, diseases.

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I believe that vaccinations are a personal choice and should stay your choice. That said I will explain the choices I made and why. My first child had her first vaccination the day she was born in the hospital, without my consent. I really wanted to wait until she was atlest 2 weeks, and I oppose the Hep B vaccine. She went through the normal routine of vaccinations. With each shot it was a lot of screaming and crying. Each time she would spike a fever of around 104 and would have swelling and bruising around the injection sight. It was hard, but I believed the doctors when they told me it was normal and safe. She has had all her recommended vaccines, except for the last MMR shot. (It is really just incase the vaccine did not take the first time it does not "boost" immunity)
When my second child came along, I did not want her to get several vaccinations but thought she should have some. I did not want her to get the MMR, not because of fear of autism, but the increased chance of her developing juvenile diabetes. (I don’t know if there is any scientific data on that, but the virus attacks the pancreas and I don’t know if the vaccine could do the same thing).
However, her first shots at her 2 month check up were a nightmare. Until that day my daughter had never screamed. She did with a blood curling scream that day. Through the whole ordeal she locked eyes with me and stared. Afterwards she would NOT make eye contact with me. Even when nursing she would not look at me. She had a fever of 102, I called the doctor and they said that was normal. When I returned to the doctor for her 4 month check up the doctor said everything was fine. But my daughter had changed. It took months for me to get my daughter to make eye contact. During that time she would “space out” and stare at the carpet or another object and not even react to a slammed door or other noises. Her doctor said her hearing was fine when I talked to him about it and brought her in.
At home I would watch her to make sure she wouldn’t sit and rock herself into a sweat. At 6 months she was not cooing like other babies do, and at 8 months she was not even trying to made sounds. I tried not to worry about it, but when other people started noticing, it was hard to ignore that there might be a problem.
Now she is 16 months old. Through a lot of consistent attention, she makes great eye contact and even has gone from being behind in communication skills to being more advanced then many children her age in communicating. I don’t know if the vaccinations cause autism. But I am convinced that the ordeal of getting vaccinations was too traumatic for my daughter. And that if she had been given the second series of vaccines, she would have slipped away into her own little world and she wouldn’t be calling me “mama” today.

I am a single mother of 2 girls, 5 1/2 years and 16 months.

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Hi J.,

My advice to you would be to research everything you can about vaccines. Learn about the dieases that you are trying to "protect" against, learn about what is in the actual vaccine solution and learn about the side effects. What you find may surprise you. I think that it is awesome that you are asking questions about vaccines rather than just going out there and injecting something, that you don't know much about, in to your new baby girls. I have a two year little boy that I would never vaccinate. Good luck with this one, it can be difficult.

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Yes, autism is scary, but think of the alternatives: your children could end up with polio, measles, mumps, hepatitis, rotavirus, etc. I'd rather run the risk of one disability than live knowing I didn't prevent my children from getting other terrible diseases. Can you imagine how you would feel if one of your babies died from measles or had to spend their life crippled in a wheelchair because of Polio, knowing you could have prevented it? People are saying, "don't vaccinate, your kids won't get those diseases anyway; we've eliminated them in our country." But the truth of the matter is: those diseases are coming back both because of people not vaccinating and because of people traveling into and out of (where they come into contact with non-vaccinated people) our country so frequently.
My opinion: get all the immunizations! I really debated on the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. After all, we all had chickenpox and turned out fine, right? But then it was brought to my attention that most of us were exposed to chickenpox at school. Most kids are vaccinated against it now, though, so there's less chance of kids contracting it at school. Getting chickenpox when you're young is usually no problem, but getting it as an adult can be life-threatening. I didn't want to chance my kids not getting it as school-agers and have to deal with it as adults, so I had them vaccinated.
All my opinion, but as you can tell, it's something I'm passionate about. Hope this gives you something to think about! Take care of those babies and good luck with your vaccination-decision making.
A.

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This is more of a myth than anything else. I feel that vaccinations provides me and my children the protection against diseases that at one time caused parents to lose the majority of their children before their 5th birthdays. The isn't a link to autism and vaccinations when you read through the scientific studies done by indepenant labs. This is the key whenever you read a study is to make sure you know who did the testing, how many test subjects were there, how was the testing completed, and how long did they test for. If it is a lab that has a direct link to a political organization (as an example) say that is where all of their funding came from. Than I wonder if the reading of the results might be skewed. You need at least a 1000 test subjects over a long period of years. Also graphs can be skewed so that information looks more convincing one way or another or played down. You need to see that actually percentages and make your decision that way.

I am on child 4 and would never consider not having my children vaccinated against the diseases that could rob them from me. You need to get every vaccination for your beautiful girls. As they get older explain that a vaccination is a little bit like having soldiers (policeman, superhero, etc) inside them to protect them against bad bacteria that would make them sick.

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My feeling is that the risks associated with immunizations are minimal in comparison to the horrible diseases they prevent. Since you have daughters, it is also important to think about their childbearing years as well. By not being immunized it poses a greater risk to their fetuses (okay, so that is way in the future, but let's look at the big picture!) Anyway, I worked in a doctors office and read the material so that could answer some of the questions parents had and I felt better about getting my own kids immunized.

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Please talk over your concerns with your babies' doctor. As a nurse and as a grandmother I encourage you to have your twins vaccinated UNLESS your doctor has good reason not to vaccinate. Dr. Jose Romero, an infectious disease specialist has stated that there are no studies that link vaccines with autism. Without vaccines, your babies are at risk for diseases like diptheria, pertussis, or polio. These dieases can kill. Most parents today have no memories of what these diseases can do because vaccines have been so effective. However, if too many people refuse to get their dhildren vaccinated, we could again see these horrible diseases rear their heads again. I hope what I have said has given food for thought. Again, I urge you to talk with your doctor about what is best for your precious twins. Liz

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I would not send my child into a pool without a life perserver, so why would I send my child into the world with out protection against some very serious diseases? It only takes one person with one to pass it along and then you have an epidemic, especially when a lot of people are know choosing to not immunize, and the number of illegals who enter our country on a regular bases (not a slam, just reality).

Katie touched on part of the issue. Doctors are know able to pin point autism better then ever, a child 10 years ago may have been thought to be slow, or mentally retarded, where today there is more reaserch on autism so doctrs are able to "label" it better. And get these children help sooner and faster.

It's a very personal choice, no matter which way you decide to go make sure you have all of the information, not just one sides.

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I've also heard autism linked to cable TV going into areas in the 80's. Who is to know what odd connections there might be...but there are some known things: Polio is terrible. Tetanus is an awful way to die. I choose to protect my children against known killers rather than worry about unsubstantiated worries.

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Vaccines are perfectly safe. You are putting your child at a greater risk by not giving him/her the vaccination. As to the so called link between Autism and the MMR vaccination it is completely false. The additive that was said to cause autism was taken out of most if not all vaccinations over 7 years ago. Since then the Autism rate has increased. So if you child is going to have Autism they are going to have it regardless if you have them vaccinated. Look at China's autism rate. They do not give MMR vaccinations and there Autism rate is much higher there then in the United States. There are so many things that can make your child deathly ill if you don't vaccinate them. Why do that to a child when there has been study after study that vaccines do NOT cause autism. As for the Pharmaceutical companies giving the physicians the educational information of course they would they are the ones who have done the studies and know the risks and benefits. They are monitored by many Federal Agencies to make sure they are reporting and following all they need too. Better to be safe than sorry. I would not like to sit by and watch my child end up with one of these illnesses when it would have been prevented. Listen to your Physician and discuss your concerns with them. They are the ones who when to medical school. Remember you can’t believe everything you read on the internet. Ask you dr. for physician run websites that give you factual information if you still would like to do more research.Good Luck!

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I respect everyone's choice and hope they respect mine. I used to just read what the press releases sent out that local newpapers, television and parenting magazines picked up then I met 2 different mothers with autistic children and I started to research the subject at a deeper level. I suggest with any vitally important decision you research (seriously research) all the info on both sides of the coin.

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