Vaccines - Saint Petersburg, FL

Hi L.,

I have also struggled with the vaccine question and have handled it differently with each of my children for different reasons. I believe in vaccinating, although I don't believe in vaccinating prior to the age of one unless there is a compelling reason. However many, many people do not believe in vaccinating at all. This is such a personal decision, I can only tell you what I did. With my first I chose not to vaccinate until after she turned one. When I began her vaccinations, I did so on a modified schedule:

She had no more than 2 shots with a total of 3 components at each visit. My pediatricians didn't want to spread it out as much, but they will if you persist. My reasoning behind giving no more than 2 shots/3 components was that if there were a problem, then it would be easier to identify what vaccine caused a reaction. The only drawback is that it means a few more visits to the Doctor. If your child is not in daycare this will work for you. Any licensed daycare provider will REQUIRE your child to be current (according to the states schedule)in order to attend, unless you obtain a medical or religious exemption.

My last baby has had medical problems so I chose to vaccinate her on the standard schedule. Mostly because she is in an out of the hospital and has the potential to be exposed to many more diseases/viruses.

Hello, I am unsure whether you have discussed the thimorsal issue with vaccines. It is used as a perservative. I have read many books and articles on this and I believe this is something to consider. The affects of this ingredient reaches children at all ages. If you can get the vaccine w/o the thimorsal, I believe it's safe. It is also safe to wait, if your chances of exposing your baby is minimal.

You can review notes online at Dr.Berger's website @ wholistic Pediatrics in Tampa, Fl or just search on his name. Also, I find a book by Dr. Kenneth Bock, Healing the New Childhood Epidemics informative and medically balanced.

This is the 1st of many paralizing parenthood desicions. Blessings to you!

Hi L.,

Tina's right. There are numerous articles if you google. Also take a look at http://www.mercola.com/article/vaccines/neurological_dama...
Just ONE of the interesting points in this article is that when I was a child, doctors did not even BEGIN vaccinations until you were school age.

The young girl I spoke of that had the brain damage from the vaccine was 5 years old at the time. I think the blood brian barrier is good as far as statistics go but I don't care how low the statistic is, it's different when your child is THAT statistic.

Think about it, there are very few of these diseases that we vaccinate against that are active in this country. FACT: More kids die from vaccines than from measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis, etc. than from the actual disease. Google that one.....

God bless you, L..

M.

The blood-brain barrier is not developed until age 2 years. I have a number of books and DVDs on vaccines that I make available to my childbirth students and others who are interested. I'm in east Bradenton if you'd like to contact me about borrowing these.

I highly recommend going to the talk presented by the Holistic Moms Network at Whole Foods in Sarasota on March 4th at 7pm. It's called How and Why to Raise a Vaccine-Free Child. With the ever increasing concern on the efficacy and safety of vaccinations, more and more parents are choosing to delay shots, vaccinate selectively, or not to vaccinate at all. This meeting will cover Florida law as it pertains to exemptions and patient rights, how to maintain an optimum immune system, what to do if your child does get a disease, and more. Guest speakers are Dr Stephen Lee and Erica McPhee, who will give us her account of her son's recovery from apparent vaccine-induced autism using homeopathy.

If you have any questions about this or other meetings of the Holistic Moms Network, please contact me at ____@____.com

Good luck with your decision and remember to listen to your own instinct.

Here's my take on the whole vaccination thing(since I too went through all of the research when my on was born trying to make the best decision at what to do regarding vaccinations).
There is so much information out there that contradicts other information-- so whatever decision(s) you make, there will always be some research out there that will cause you to doubt your decision, at least one parent that will be horrified (or at least raise their eyebrow) and just as many or more that wholeheartedly agree with you.
We found a pediatrician (actually a practice) that we trusted and went with their recommendations--which was to go through with their scheduled vaccinations. I talked to my pediatrician first and asked him my many question and voiced all of my concerns and end the end felt better about my decision. Since you're doing all of your own research, I'm sure you've heard all the arguments in both directions regarding vaccinations. This will be one of the first of many parenting decisions you have to make that there is controversy over--but in the end, you find that whatever decision you did make, it all turned out fine.
Definitely talk to your pediatrician though and find out what they recommend and why and voice your concerns and ask questions about what you are worried about. Ask them what they think about waiting. In fact, talk to more than one if you can--I just feel that when it come to medicine those trained should be the ones really giving the advice, if that makes sense.
But like I said, don't worry about it too much and go with what you will feel most comfortable with, and then watch out and get ready because someone will always be there to doubt you! LOL

Hi L.

I would really look into vaccines and what they have in them before allowing my infant to receive them. Plus, they usually give them lots of them on one day! We have a chart that explains what drugs are given and potential effects that it has to your infant. You have the right to delay these shots and find out why your infant really needs these first. The doctors give a lot of pressure and usually will tell you that you have to have these; they are ignorant of the fact or choose to ignore that you have the right to not have these shots for your infant because of your religion, {there is a form at the health dept that you obtain and sign} and you have no problem admitting your child, if you want to, to the public school system.

I am a RN and chose not to have my son innoculated for certain ones and certainly chose to delay, he was 2 mos. early and they still wanted him to take all the shots on time for a 9month baby delivery. They were very firm and had 3 people come in to convince me that I was a terrible mother and unconscientious citizen for not doing as they wanted.

I was amazed! It made me look more into these shots! I suggest you do the same, you are welcome to view our chart and talk to those who gave it to me. There are definately 2 schools of thought and these shots can have devastating effects on your infants life or it may not affect your infant.

D.

You should vaccinate your child because The diseases these vaccinations protect your baby from are very serious. Babies may become very ill and even die if they develop the diseases that can be prevented by these shots. I would follow the advice of your pediatrician.

Hi L.,

Try this Google search

childhood vaccines and blood barriers

There are literally thousands of articles. While it's really good to be informed, it's not good to scare the heck out of yourself reading everything on the internet. You will always find hundreds of articles that support every opinion. Start by asking your doctor what his take is on vaccines and why. Do research based on his comments too.

I have a boy coming and I feel your concern. I believe what we're going to do is hold off on (at least) the MMR vaccine for now but my research is not complete either.

Look through Mamasource for vaccine related questions. There is a woman out there that gave me some great information but I can't seem to find it in my inbox. I'll forward when I have more of a chance to look.

T.

My son was partially vaccinated up to 18 mos and then nothing since. It is definitely a very personal decision and you shouldn't let anyone persuade you. Just go with what you feel in your spirit. I have no faith in mainstream medicine as I truly feel most of it does more harm than good and so much of the medicines are pushed because of the pharmaceutical companies. I have chosen to take the road of alternative/homeopathic medicine as I have had some of my son's issues in the past misdiagnosed many a time. My son had a few problems that were cured homeopathically whereas the pediatricians were pretty much scratching their heads. But, that is my decision. Do all the research that you can and then make your own decision.

We waited until after 6 months for multiple reasons. There are many sites with great info as well as books out there. Also, if you (or anyone else) is into living more naturally and attachment parenting, there's a great support group in the area:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orlandopeacefulparents

it is my understanding from my 3 kids that the flu shot should not be given until they are at least 6 months of age.

I took my kids in to have their shots whenever the doctors said too. The reason we have these shots is because someone invented them to protect our children from horriable sickness that children died from in the past. My children have even been protected from Chicken pox and my daughter will be "ONE LESS" too. Don't start to second guess the shot issiue.
Sincerely,
K. Willard
Mom & Professional Beauty Consultant
www.marykay.com/kaywillard