Thursday, July 10, 2008

Our vaccine conundrum: the outcome

With help from the work of the fabulous Dr. Sears, we have decided not to vaccinate Suzi anymore. Although Dr. Sears is level-headed and impartial, and personally recommends some of the vaccines on an alternate schedule to limit aluminum exposure, when I realized what was going into my daughter's body with each shot I was horrified.

Please note: Our decision was based on several things. Suzi is not in daycare and I am still breastfeeding her, which offers her extra protection from illnesses. We also have a family history of cancer. I feel the long-term risk of giving her new vaccines researchers know little about outweighs the benefit of one of them potentially preventing an illness she already has a minute chance of contracting. This is a personal decision each family should make, and I'm not saying everyone should decline vaccination. I do, however, believe each parent should research the vaccines--how and of what they are made, possible risks and benefits--before deciding.


Three things I bet your pediatrician didn't tell you:

1) There's formaldehyde in at least four of the vaccines regularly given to infants. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is an ingredient in embalming fluid. They say vaccines contain only a tiny amount, but babies are tiny people.

2) The FDA knowingly allows vaccines to be made and administered with amounts of aluminum far greater than what is known to be safe. This can be especially dangerous if your child is given more than one vaccine containing aluminum in the same day, as children on the usual vaccine schedule are.

3) The chicken pox vaccine is made using DNA taken from the tissue of an aborted fetus. That alone is all the religious exemption I need!


If you decide to refuse vaccination or even alter the schedule, you may be booted out of the pediatrician's office. Luckily, we found a doctor who accepts our decision. Dr. Bailey-Dorton is cool, smart, and admirably supportive of breastfeeding. If you think I am, as our former doctor suggested, a "loony-toon," go to the CDC's website. It states: "The amount of chemical additives found in vaccines is very small and may not be enough to cause a serious allergic response." Really, CDC? It may not? How reassuring.

Here's some interesting reading:
The discussion of the varicella vaccine on Upstate Moms
I highly recommend The Vaccine Book (I got it from the library)

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! WWWWWOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!! I definitely didn't know all that. If God ever grants me the gift of children, I will definitely be very careful and informed before I give vaccines. Thanks Jenny. Know I'm going to tell my sister!

Chat with Kathleen said...

Amazing research.
You are so right in that it is an individual parent's decision as to what they should do about vaccines for their child. I would defintely do as you suggested and read and talk to, perhaps your doctor, sounds like he is open-minded and not out for the money as most doctors are today.
Back in the 70's we seem to just do as the doctor said and never questioned their decisions.
Today you need to
research-research -research, as well as get 2nd and 3rd opinions. Doctors are humans and not perfect.
Great informative post.

Rissa said...

This is good! We decided, after Jack was 4 months old, that we didn't feel comfortable with vaccinations anymore. We were pretty uneducated still, but it just didn't feel right.
As I began to do research here and there, I was horrified by some of the facts I uncovered. At this point, we are undecided as to whether or not we will give any select shots - after Jack is 2. My grandfather had polio when he was young and my entire family is worried about that because today, there are several cases of polio popping up throughout the US. I just don't know. I would really rather avoid everything altogether. We'll have to see how my husband feels, though.
Anyway, I'm so glad some people (not enough, but it's a start!) are taking initiative to find out about the CRAP being injected into their children's bodies!!
Thanks for the informative post!

Pen In Cheek said...

ultimtaely, you've got to go with your gut...mamas have great gut instincts!

Kristin said...

Thanks for the great post. I'm expecting my fourth child in the fall and we just made the decision to no longer vaccinate our children! Big step!

I've been doing a few posts on this topic on my own blog. Stop by and see me!

http://from-my-life.blogspot.com/2008/07/treatment-for-sickness.html

http://from-my-life.blogspot.com/2008/05/in-doctors-we-trust-part-i.html

Kristin said...

In response to Rissa, I wanted to say that I've read that every case of polio in the US has been in a VACCINATED person!

Melissa said...

Good for you! I have two children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and we wish we would have known the facts a lot earlier.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jenny--It's Elizabeth, Betsy's daughter. I honestly had never thought twice about vaccinations, and didn't think anyone else had until I read your blog and started hearing more and more about it. While watching the news last night, I thought about you. I am definitely going to look into this more and think of this story (and others) when I become a parent. Here's the link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4296175.shtml

Anonymous said...

Sorry! The whole link didn't post:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4296175.shtml

Anonymous said...

OK, it still isn't working. If you want to look it up, it was on CBS Evening News on Friday, July 25th.