For most of my pregnancy I couldn't figure out what to do about vaccinations. So I read and researched and found a lot of information out there. And with so many people blogging and you tubing, the internet seems to just add more confusion than clarity to the topic.
So what's the concern?
For one there's the issue of Autism. I mean who doesn't want to protect their healthy child from the evil hands of pharma, right? Well turns out the study that linked Autism and vaccines was a ploy by former surgeon and medical researcher Andrew Wakefield, the Lancet pulled the study in January 2011. There are also articles including "Deadly Immunity" written by Robert Kennedy Jr., who is admired for his environmental work, also pulled by Salon.com for inaccuracies in the piece. Rolling Stones Magazine, which published the article in 2005 has not retracted the story. There's also a journalistic piece presented by Frontline called the Vaccine War, (April 2010), it's really good, do take some time to watch it. (There's so much more out there, but this is what I thought would be helpful)
When the time came to meet with our pediatrician, we expressed our concerns and confusions around vaccines. Amazingly he was not judgmental and shared a plethora of information in layman's terms and didn't hesitate when we interjected with questions. A few important points he shared were about "herd immunity" a new term for us, and told us about Dr. Sears' vaccine schedule. He didn't suggest we go one way or another, which was reassuring but still left us wondering. We've asked many friends and family members who have had children in the last few years and the responses are very black and white. I guess there's no guessing once you've decided, its either you do or don't, what's the alternative right? Well another question we posed to our pediatrician was if we needed to vaccinate all recommended vaccines. He told us what each vaccine prevents but again left the choice up to us. For example, after the baby is born two shots administered with parental consent are vitamin k and Hepatits B . After our appointment, hubby and I have decided that when the time comes we will only opt for vitamin k.
We also learned that California and a handful of other states do not mandate vaccines, which is nice to not have the state policing its citizens. But the concern is where to draw the line. What if no one gets vaccinated and we face outbreaks in epidemic proportions, do the citizens then take responsibility for not vaccinating?
The baby is due in less than 5 days and I have not received my Tdap or flu vaccine and may not get it since I plan on breastfeeding. But I have asked the family to at least get the tdap and thankfully all have complied but am I being hypocritical? I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm scared of the unknown and exposing my child to a potential risk to protect the greater good, am I willing to take that risk? My husband and I will most likely vaccinate but will scrutinize the vaccine schedules and thoroughly vet the shots with our pediatrician. I think it's also very important to learn not only what each vaccine represents but what preservatives are in the vaccines. For example, it is California Law to limit the amount of Thimerosal in vaccines administered to children under 3 years of age. We also learned that from our doctor, which was contrary to some information we found on the web.
Vaccines are a personal and very contentious issue, but with so much information out there it is our responsibility as parents to educate ourselves, promote fact-based information and ask the tough questions of our medical community. It's not easy so I wish you the best of luck.
Love lots,
MommySF
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