Vaccinations

[Susan]

Hi,

An issue that has been on my mind a lot the past year or so is vaccinations. With my daughter Marisol (3 1/2) we followed the normal schedule of vaccinations.

While I was pregnant with my son I was thinking more and more about what to do this time around. Maybe it is partly because I have been reading so much about unschooling and am really questioning just about anything and everything now!

Anyways, I am still really torn about this whole topic. My son is 6 months old now and has only had a couple of shots (when he was about 2 weeks, and then again at 2 months when I was still feeling wishy washy.) I read a lot in October in November and was ready to decline his vaccinations at his 4 month appointment. I really felt most at peace when I decided to at least put them off for now.

I am still in my "research" mode and would love to hear other people's thoughts and resources that have helped them to decide about whether to vaccinate or not. I really want to get to a place where I feel as good as possible about whatever we decide to do, and not to feel as if we are deciding based on fear.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Susan May

[Joyce Fetteroll]

One idea that might help you feel less rushed is that doctors try to get the vaccinations in as early as possible before the kids disappear into the "too healthy to be bothered with doctor visits" black hole ;-) Kids don't "need" the vaccinations that early. You have time. Years, really.

[Chris in Iowa]

When my kids were little, I read anti-vaccination materials and decided against vaccinating them. I weighed the likelihood that they'd be exposed to the various diseases with their living environment (modern plumbing, healthcare, breastfed, non-day care etc) and chose to delay all vaccs. reassessing as they grew older. The one thing I didn't do, that I regret now, was study up on some of the more common communicable diseases that most of our society do get vaccs for. When my kids were 12 and 6 they both came down with Pertussis but we didn't know what was wrong with them for a long time. They were very sick with coughing for six weeks.

I took them to the doctor almost weekly. They saw multiple physicians, had x-rays, were put on antibiotics and steroids but none of the doctors we saw could diagnose them properly until we took our oldest to a specialist, a pediatric pulmonologist, and while there or younger child exhibited the classic whoop of a cough. Mystery solved.

I was very frustrated with myself for not being more informed about the diseases that are routinely vaccinated against. My kids were fine in the long run and will probably have a life-long immunity to Pertussis that the vaccines do not offer -- but we exposed a lot of people unknowingly and my kids suffered a long time unnecessarily. Our county health department was involved as was our local school district because my older child had been participating in the school band. It was a little embarrassing to me. So, my advice is to educate yourself about your choices.

My kids have now received some (but not all) of the recommended vaccinations but before they did, I studied up on each of the diseases and their vaccs. My now 18 year old son decided to have a couple more vaccinations recently. I shared what I knew with him and he made the choice. Unschooled kids needn't wait until they're 18 to make these kinds of decisions for themselves but it just hadn't come up until then, for my son.

[Teresa]

When I was looking into this, I compiled a short list of the most oft-recommended books on anti-/delayed vaxing. The two bolded ones I found particularly helpful:

How To Raise A Healthy Child ... In spite Of Your Doctor , Robert S. Mendelsohn
Raising a Vaccine Free Child, Wendy Lydall
Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parents' Guide , Aviva Jill Romm
The Vaccine Book , Robert W. Sears
What Every Parent Should Know About Childhood Immunization , Jamie Murphy
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations , Stephanie Cave

For myself, I had to do my research, then step back and make a decision that felt right. I was getting caught up in the unknows, the numbers, the rogue elements. Spending too much time in the "what ifs" place was making me exhausted and scared.

So, we went no vax. My kids might contract a disease, but they weren't going to be hurt by vaccines.

And you know what? My 2 y.o. got pertussis. We rode it out for maybe four or five months. But I took good care of his body, and I took him to the doctor a couple of times to check up on things (though my intuition was telling me things were just running their course).

And as Chris said, now he has an immunity that the vaccine's percentages can't touch.

Odd as it may sound, it helped me to think of quantum physics. If you accept that the universe is splitting into a bazillion possible scenarios at the point of any single decision, then you are free to make a decision knowing you can't possibly see all ends. You make the best decision you can honoring your intuition, your calmest voice of reason, and the best information you have available.

[eintob]

I was close friends with an anti-vaxxer when I had my first son but refused to take her seriously. I didn't trust my parenting instincts back then and began vaccinating him according to his doctor's recommendations. At his 18-month shots he had a strong reaction to one of his shots and his behavior changed dramatically. After reading the books Teresa mentions, I decided to stop all further vaccines with him. His doctor agreed that some kids are sensitive to some vaccines and was willing to delay as long as I wanted. He's 17 now and hasn't been vaccinated since. I don't know that there is solid evidence to confirm my suspicions that it damaged him but the dramatic change he had gives me sympathy towards those that believe it causes autism and it's related disorders.

With my younger two kids, I took the attitude that sensitivities might exist and chose to delay and be selective. I continue to investigate and offer information and let my children make informed decisions of their own. My dd9 still refuses to get any. My ds7 recently chose to get the DTP primarily for the tetanus component, as his dad has a property with tons of cactus that he frequently steps in, which is a major source of the bacteria. He is considering getting others.

Their pediatrician is supportive of my approach because she knows that I'm very well-informed, they are home educated (and not being exposed to as much as schooled kids), and very healthy and living in healthy conditions. She told me that since they are older now they don't even need half the shots at all anymore anyways.

But if you live in an area like mine, where we are close to the Mexican border, and your family may be exposed to things from over the border via the people you work with, non-vaxxing may not work so well for you.

[kassandra/sabelmouse]

it's the doctors who should be embarassed for not knowing.

Chris in Iowa said:

When my kids were little, I read anti-vaccination materials and decided against vaccinating them. I weighed the likelihood that they'd be exposed to the various diseases with their living environment (modern plumbing, healthcare, breastfed, non-day care etc) and chose to delay all vaccs. reassessing as they grew older. The one thing I didn't do, that I regret now, was study up on some of the more common communicable diseases that most of our society do get vaccs for. When my kids were 12 and 6 they both came down with Pertussis but we didn't know what was wrong with them for a long time. They were very sick with coughing for six weeks.

I took them to the doctor almost weekly. They saw multiple physicians, had x-rays, were put on antibiotics and steroids but none of the doctors we saw could diagnose them properly until we took our oldest to a specialist, a pediatric pulmonologist, and while there or younger child exhibited the classic whoop of a cough. Mystery solved.

I was very frustrated with myself for not being more informed about the diseases that are routinely vaccinated against. My kids were fine in the long run and will probably have a life-long immunity to Pertussis that the vaccines do not offer -- but we exposed a lot of people unknowingly and my kids suffered a long time unnecessarily. Our county health department was involved as was our local school district because my older child had been participating in the school band. It was a little embarrassing to me. So, my advice is to educate yourself about your choices.

My kids have now received some (but not all) of the recommended vaccinations but before they did, I studied up on each of the diseases and their vaccs. My now 18 year old son decided to have a couple more vaccinations recently. I shared what I knew with him and he made the choice. Unschooled kids needn't wait until they're 18 to make these kinds of decisions for themselves but it just hadn't come up until then, for my son.

[kassandra/sabelmouse]

my children were vaccinated against polio diphteria and tetanus but much later than usual, around a year old.
nothing else, certainly no mmr or whooping cough.
i worry a bit about measles. i wish they had had it but then again if they had been vaccinated they could still get it as adults as the vaccination does not last.
i put more effort into good diet ectr.
my basic reasoning was rather the risk of the disease than the vaccine though it's kind of hard to hold up against the barrage of vaccinate all the time.
and now chickenpox has been upgraded to dangerous. it makes me wonder where all those deadly cases were when i grew up.
it is a hard decision. it would be so much easier to go with the flow and do what everyone else does.

[Kelley Sheppard]

My son seemed to react to every vaccine. I was a young mother, 19, and was told reactions are normal and not to worry. He had a DPT vaccine around 18 months which literally turned him gray in color, he had a huge knot on his leg, was lethargic and my husband and I were really worried. It was then I began to research.
We had our daughter and chose not to vaccinate until 2 years old. The argument then was to vaccinate before 2 yo. because the young body didn't have the immunity to combat those serious infections. However, after 2 yo the event of any serious reaction decreased dramatically because of the immune systems ability to protect the body at that age.
I was on the WIC program then too, and I can't tell you how many times those nurses would try to scare me into vaccinating my daughter, and my son who stopped getting shots. It was awful. When I did start to vaccinate, the shots needed were less like 2 DPT's instead of 4. Recently both our children had to have the second chicken pox vaccine in order to go to public school (we pulled them out about 2 months after the shot to unschool having finally had enough of the school system). Our son who is 11 broke out in a painful rash on his bum and legs. I figured at 11 he would be fine, but I think my son is one of those kids who just needs good old mother nature to help his immune system.
My ideas on this now is if I were a parent of an infant or young child and a measles or mumps outbreak occurred in my city, and my child was likely to be exposed because of playmates or daycare, I might vaccinate. I believe intuition is critical. Mother's and Father's know what is best for their kids.

[C. D. Eagle]

The key is to be well informed. Don't blindly vaccinate because a doctor says too... and also don't just ignore vaccines without researching the information. Each vaccine is unique and you and your child can view the risks and benefits and make a decision.

[Meredith]

The Vaccine Guide by Randall Neustaedter gives short descriptions of disease symptoms along with information about the vaccines themselves. It also discusses the use of homeopathics in a positive manner.