To vaccinate or not to vaccinate... that is the question.
For new parents, it is a huge decision. Do I let someone stick a virus cocktail into my brand new little baby or do I risk him getting a serious illness. This precious little life has been given to me and everything that happens to him is my responsibility.
I tend to lean a little towards being a little bit of a granola-y, tree hugger-y, stay away from toxins type of girl. My initial thought was not to vaccinate, but I always keep an open mind. I read a lot. Dr. Robert Young, author of the PH Miracle believes that vaccinations are highly toxic and ineffective. Some websites that can be helpful on both sides of the issue are http://www.thinktwice.com/ and http://www.cdc.com/.
My opinion is that only parents can really make this decision. It really upsets me that parents are usually pressured into this decision. They are scared into it and they never even think about it for themselves. Whatever you choose, should be what is right for you and you shouldn't be guilted into deciding for or against vaccinating. One of my midwives put it best when she said you are going to be the one that holds your baby in your arms should they be suffering from a vaccine side effect or suffering from meningitis. So I had to really think about this and decided that I would take my chances with these rare diseases and not vaccinate.
At each doctor's visit my doctor would re-visit the subject and suggest that we reconsider. At our 10 month visit we gave in and allowed him to get his Prevnar. We luckily had no side effects. I felt like I had sold out to the fear and really guilty so we didn't get anymore vaccinations.
Now a huge misconception is that your child will not be allowed in school without his vaccinations. This is not true. This is a free country and vaccinations are a consumer product and a pharmaceutical and we cannot be forced to consume it. Schools do require it but you can get a waiver. Some parents know that they don't have to get their kids vaccinated but have not idea how to get this waiver. It took me a few years to get it because I thought it was going to be really difficult. When I finally went to get it, it turned to be the easiest thing I had ever done. You can just call the department of health and ask them for the location nearest you. The wait in the lobby was about half an hour and the process once inside was about 5 minutes.
When my son was 2 years old, he got a laceration on his forehead. We took him to the hospital for stitches. The doctor suggested that we give him the DTAP vaccine in case of tetanus. I was pretty sure he had cut himself on something plastic and not rusty metal. I refused but my husband wasn't so sure. So after a very long discussion we proceeded with the vaccine.
Mother's intuition is a very powerful thing. Two weeks later my son had a rash on his face, when we took him to the doctor, she said the rash didn't worry her but some bruising on his legs and some red dots on his skin were of more concern. A blood test revealed that his platelet count was extremely low and falling. This condition is called ITP. We tested him every other day and his numbers kept doubling down. Our only option was to put him in the hospital over night for an infusion. Luckily right before he was infused we tested him one more time and his numbers had gone up just a bit, but enough that we could choose to take him home and wait and see. This was a roller coaster of emotions for us and I don't wish this on anyone. I kept asking all of the doctors if this could have anything to do with the vaccine and they all said no. So I read the insert for the Dtap which is available online www.immunize.org/packageinserts and there it was on page 33. ITP was a possible side effect. I also learned that vaccinations are contraindicated for people who have ever had an autoimmune disorder and that if your parents have had an autoimmune disorder you are also more susceptible. I just couldn't believe that one one ever asked.
To vaccinate was not right for us, but no one should tell you what you should choose. My hope is that parents will educate themselves every step of the way.
