Vaccines for New Baby?

Updated on January 13, 2011
S.T. asks from Denver, CO
17 answers

I have a 7 week old and we're taking him in to his 2-month appointment soon and I'm so confused about the vaccinations. I've heard extremes of both sides: get everything, get nothing, and everything in between. Which are the "must-haves"? and what can wait until he's older? should we get them all individually? the doctor said they do 5 or 6 at once now if you want. I do not want to over-vaccinate our son, I'm so worried about it!

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L.J.

answers from Colorado Springs on

i used to get our baby vaccinated. until i actually started reading about vaccines, what they put in them and what the results actually are.
here are some websites for you to look at.
we dont get out baby vaccinated anymore. and we dont vaccinate our pets either. its very dangerous, and for most of the vaccines, they dont even have proof that they are effective.
http://www.relfe.com/vaccine.html
http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james.htm

edit: as for the people saying that babies are dying and getting these awful diseases because of the parents that didnt vaccinate. completely NOT true. disease happens. and it happens whether you are vaccinated or not. in one of those articles i gave you it shows a measles outbreak in a 100% VACCINATED SCHOOL. there are other ways to keep your child healthy besides vaccines. even though children are vaccinated, they CAN still get the disease they were supposedly protected against. DO your reasearch. dont just go along with the crowd because our society tells you you are a bad parent if you dont do this, or that you are putting other children at risk, because its not true.
i believe that vaccines are merely a big money maker for the pharmaceuticals. did you also know that they did a study on that swine flu vaccine? H1N1 vaccine linked to 700 percent increase in miscarriages!!!!!!!!! So many women got it while they were pregnant and most miscarried shortly after receiving it! (http://www.naturalnews.com/030657_vaccines_miscarriages.html) just imagine giving that to a child....

5 moms found this helpful
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T.J.

answers from Seattle on

We get nothing but tetanus. Since we have a girl we will possibly do rubella as a teenager. I got my best information from a book called the sanctity of human blood (www.thedoctorwithin.com), they talk about likelihood of all the diseases, treatment, etc. There are some nasty ingredients in vaccines and I definitely think it's wrong to give more than two at any time. Dr sears vaccine book has good information on spacing them out in an alternative schedule. The majority of whooping cough cases are people that were fully vaccinated against it, my kids were directly exposed and got only a fever and runny nose for a day or two. Probiotics, chiropractic adjustments, healthy diet, and exposure to everyday normal germs are things my kids get/do and the other super healthy kids I know! in my state there are personal, religious, and medical exemption forms for school if your kids are partially or non-vaccinated. All states but two have waivers!! I think hep a/b are unnecessary for babies, and gardasil and chickenpox are completely unnecessary personally.

4 moms found this helpful
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J.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

I always thought vaccines were good, all 3 of mine got theirs but I am concerned about the vaccine injury a baby can get. I don't believe the MMR causes Autism but it can cause an injury which resembles Autism.

My hubby and I are talking about adopting a baby and I would space the vaccines out.

3 moms found this helpful

B.L.

answers from Missoula on

Please please go to Dr. Tenpenny's page on facebook and become a fan of hers. Post this on their page. You will get all the info you need. Don't vaccinate until you feel 100% sure about your decision. You can NEVER unvaccinate. Vaccines are very dangerous. The benefits do not outweigh the risk. In my opinion, there are no benefits. All you end up with is life long illnesses caused by the vaccines. Your baby will be much healthier if you don't overload his/her system with toxins. And, if he/she does get one of the diseases, he/she will have a much easier time getting over it. Please see Dr. Tenpenny!

3 moms found this helpful

D.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Vaccination are vital things that baby's need. I am a nurse and have seen what happens to baby's who are not vaccinated. Many disease have been wiped out due to vaccination. Now that some parents are vaccinating their children some diseases are returning, like pertussis which are killing babies. How would you feel if your in hospital and your baby is very sick and suffering and you could have avoided it by just vaccinating him. The chicken pox vaccinate is not offered till 1 years old and so my twins didn't get it. At 9 months old they both got chicken pox and both have scars all over their body and they were sick. I would have loved for them to have gotten the vaccine instead of getting the disease. My daughter has a large scar on her face from the chicken pox. That is something to think about.

2 moms found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

I have gotten my boys all their vaccines, but never more than 2 at a time, or one mixed shot such as the MMR. It is important to get most of the vaccines. People not getting them has lead to a reappearance of many diseases that were all but unheard of a few year ago, such as whooping cough, measles, and polio. I encourage you to not only research the vaccines, but also the diseases they prevent.

So many of the fears people have comes from the fraudulent work of Mr. Wakefield (he is no longer a doctor, he had his license pulled). He lied to make it look like the MMR was linked to Autism so he could make money off his single shot measles vaccine he had just patented. Look him up so you can learn the truth behind the myths.

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S.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I hear you but I've gotten everything on schedule except for the MMR which I'm scared about. Recently there was a whooping cough outbreak in CA and several infants died because they weren't vaccinated (some were even too young to be vaccinated against it I think). So its better to get the vaccines IMO. Your infant is really prone to a lot out there given his fragile immune system and you want to protect him as best as you can. Just go by the CDC recommended schedule -- is it really 5 or 6 at one time? I thought it was more like 3 or 4...

2 moms found this helpful
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L.M.

answers from Denver on

This is such a difficult decision for many families. After my nephew was diagnosed with autism after his 18 month vaccinations, I have decided not to immunize my two boys (4 and 2). I know that no one exactly knows the cause of autism, but my nephew was a normal, happy, affectionate, and talking boy. One week later.....no speech, holding his head and screaming. He is now 10 and even after many years of therapy and diets, he still will only speak if made to. He will probably never live on his own and my sister said the autism center will no longer take him after 10. She is wondering how she is going to afford long term care for him. If it is environmental or genetic then my boys are still at risk since my nephew is my identical twin sisters little boy. I have thought about doing the shots spread out and just recently read an interview with Dr. Sears. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/interviews/sear...
I think vaccines have done a lot of good, but it is possible they may be harmful. We have seen recalls on them. I found it interesting that this article mentions that reactions to vaccines are rare....but then gives two examples of children whose reaction was autism. One of which who won a lawsuit! Autism is now 1/150 kids. This is not rare.
Both of my boys survived the chicken pox this summer. Our Dr said that even kids that were vaccinated were getting it. My boys do go to daycare. I only had to sign a form that I have declined vaccinations for personal reasons. It is the same for schools. I think there are only a few states with manditory vaccinations for school. Good luck with your decision. All the best to you and your little one!

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L.C.

answers from Raleigh on

our baby is going on thursday for the 2 months appt. i have talked to the doc and did my research. They r supposed to get 8 vaccinations. Doctor said that wooping cough and menengitis she would reccomend as a must, other ones are optional. My husband almost died when he was 12 months old from menengitis and his best friend's brother did die from it at 9 months, so I want that vaccine, many babies just died from wooping cough all over US, so I want that one too. Unfortunatly since our kids r on Medicaid, menengitis and wooping cough comes with 3 other vaccines in ONE shot, they can not separate it. So we will be getting that shot and skipping other 3 till later.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi S.,

You have to do what you feel is right for you and your baby. Sometimes that is just your gut reaction. A good response after you have made your decision is to simply say "I made those decisions with the advise of our pediatrician" and usually they will not press you for what you actually did.

A couple questions for you to think about......
*Is your son in daycare? home daycare (exposure to less kids) or center daycare (exposure to more kids) or are you a sahm (exposure only to general pub on outings)?
*Is your son an only child or siblings (who bring home ickies)?
*Any other medical factors that would give him a compromised immune system?
*Has anyone in your family had an allergic reaction to any vaccine
*Is anyone in your family allergic to metals?

Those factors make a difference.

For me:
I have a daughter who had to go back to daycare at 8 weeks. I chose a center daycare (personal preference) and she is an only child. She did not have any medical issues at all and I chose to give her everything on the standardized schedule for my state - including combo vaccines and more than one.

We had NO issues then (or now and she's 10) and I would do it again if I had another in the same circumstances.

The only thing I would just remind you is that YOU have to be diligent about what shots he has/hasn't had if you start to deviate because once you get away from what a person normally does the incidence of mistakes CAN be greater. So always look at the vials when they bring them into the room.

People get very upset about the ingredients is in the vaccine. I have a friend who does NO vaccines, but her 6 year old drinks regular milk, eats red meat and she just got her 1st perm (so very inconsistent messages).

You have to sort of look at the overall picture - Do you feel that vaccines will make your child safer? By NOT vaccinating your baby do you feel you are exposing other kids to illnesses that could have been prevented - and does that matter to you? YOU have to answer those questions and not let anyone guilt you into behaving based on their answers.

One note: Usually the school will have a form you can fill out if you decide not to get all the vaccines so they can still go to public school. Private school, daycare, and camps are usually NOT as flexible so you may want to check what you are planning in case that makes a difference.

Good luck.
B.

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

Dr. Sears has a vaccine book that many speak highly of. I would check that out. I believe he discusses an alternate schedule but does not advocate not vaccinating.

I always wonder what these parents who don't vaccinate would do if something tragic happened to their child due to a preventable illness. Personally, I could never forgive myself if my infant died because I chose not to vaccinate for something *completely* preventable.

Look at the infants that are dying in several states because parents have stopped vaccinating against pertussis. Many of the infants were too young to be vaccinated which means another parent made the decision to forgo the vaccines and it cost the life of another's child. Tragically shameful. Look at the resurgence of measles. What if your unvaccinated kid has measles and infects a pregnant woman-a woman like me who didn't know she wasn't immune during my pregnancy? I was vaccinated before I left the hospital after delivering my son prematurely(due to an umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck) because how could I, in good conscious, go up to the NICU to see my son and potentially expose all those preemies to rubella should I have been exposed between visits with my son. It's not just about you or your child. It's about the health of your community and the public too. All things to consider in your decisions.

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E.B.

answers from New York on

My only advice to you is to give your baby only TWO shots per visit. One in each leg. That is it! Not only is this safer, but if your baby has a reaction (god forbid) it will be easier to narrow down what caused it and to receive treatment sooner.

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K.B.

answers from St. Louis on

your probably going to get a LOT of different answers on here as I know people are very opinionated about vaccines. My baby is not here yet, but I have formed a decision on what I want to do when he does get here in the next few weeks regarding his vaccines. Personally, I plan to give him all the vaccines. I think it is important for children to be vaccinated and since all the disproval of the research that I think caused many to stop vaccinating, plus the rise of several diseases since the decrease in vaccinations, I think it's important to have all of them. However, I am researching a modified schedule. So he'll still get them all, but not 5 or 6 at a time. I think that is too much at one time and if he does happen to have a reaction to one, it's going to be impossible for them to know which one he reacted to. I believe he will be fine with 1-2 at a time as long as I am breastfeeding him during his entire course of vaccination. However, ultimately, you have to research and make the decision yourself on how you want to go about it. I would suggest finding out if there are certain vaccines he'll eventually need (for school and stuff) or if there are any diseases that are more prevalent in your area to at least get those minimum done.

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C.A.

answers from San Francisco on

I would get them but get them individually. The doctor will tell you that it makes no difference but with my third child (she is sixteen months) I did this and she never cries when she gets her shots. It's over before she even notices.

I feel better knowing that on the very small chance there was a reaction, I would know what shot caused it.

I think you are better off getting the shots. The diseases these shots protect our little ones from, are really nasty. A few months ago there was an outbreak of Whooping Cough. Last time I checked seven to nine babies died.

Good luck!

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S.M.

answers from Denver on

Just so you know if you choose not to vaccinate or delay you may have problems with daycare or schools in the future because many require them. Make sure your state has paper work that allows them to go to daycare/school.

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K.S.

answers from Denver on

I know how scary this seems, especially with all of the hype- including some posts you got! When children get older, there are more 'optional' vaccines- hep A, gardisil, etc. The infant ones are pretty standard, and as others mentioned, you won't be able to get him into preschool and school without them. Really talk to your doc about your concerns. The most 'drastic' thing I would do is to ask about a delayed schedule, meaning they are more spread out than all at once. Ask your doc about this.

But really, truly, vaccines are fine. If they weren't, doctors and nurses would be the first to not give them to their own kids. But they do!

Just a side note, the doctor who did the study that suppoesdly linked autism to vaccines was just proven to be a fraud. He falsified that study. It was already a questionable study, but now he admitted some numbers were lies. That's what started most of this, and it is invalid.

Having said that, I do know how you must feel. I remember 10 long years ago vaccinating my baby. I stared at her for days just in case she had a reaction. I realize now of course she would be fine, but at the time, it was scary. Share your concerns with your doc, they should help put you at ease.

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A.C.

answers from Denver on

I would highly recommend the Dr. Sears Vaccine Book. He gives very unbiased information on all the vaccines, makes his recommendations and offers alternate schedules. It is not an anti vaccine book, nor does it just tell you to do the traditional schedule. It really informs you so that you can make your own decision. By, the way, I also live in CO and you are allowed to enroll your child in daycare or school without following the traditional vaccine schedule.

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