I want Suzi to be one less

One less little girl to suffer the side effects of a largely untested and unnecessary vaccine.

I have had a bee in my bonnet over Gardasil since its debut. Why on earth would I want to have my daughter vaccinated for a few types of one disease, a teensy fraction of the horrors one can contract while having unprotected sex?

Merck itself admits: "GARDASIL may not fully protect everyone, and does not prevent all types of cervical cancer... GARDASIL will not protect against diseases caused by other HPV types or against diseases not caused by HPV."

To be exact, Gardasil does not protect against 30% of the types of HPV which cause cervical cancer. Armed with this knowledge, who would still want to get the vaccine and have unprotected sex with questionable partners? I am unable to find exact stats, but I would personally feel much safer using a condom. When used correctly, condoms are fairly reliable protection--although they still leave a woman partially susceptible, because HPV can be spread to and from peripheral areas which are left uncovered.

Then there are the other things for which you are at risk: gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, and herpes, to name a few. And don't forget about pregnancy. I know some of you are wondering what kind of an idiot would think this vaccine could serve as birth control. The answer is not an idiot, but a teenager. (These are some of the same kids who don't believe oral sex qualifies as sex.) My mother-in-law told me about a friend whose daughter had been told by one of her peers about the virtues of the vaccine--which in her warped perception included birth control. I hope this girl was an exception; however, perceived protection against pregnancy is not the only false sense of security encouraged by the vaccine.

As if all this weren't enough, this shot is hurting girls. They don't go over this in the saccharine-sweet commercial in which the mother-daughter pairs discuss their reasons for vaccinating while painting one another's toenails. One 18-year-old, Amanda, was a varsity athlete until she received her first dose. She developed pain at her injection site, which traveled to the rest of her body. She is now chronically ill and must take morphine just to get through the pain. There are others, although to be fair, it is not clear in all the cases that Gardasil caused the illness. The mere shadow of a chance is enough for me.

I cannot fathom taking my daughter to get a shot which will leave her 30% susceptible to cancer-causing HPV and will put her at risks the likes of which we may not even know yet. Furthermore, I think vaccinating a girl sends the message that we, as a society and as parents, expect her to be promiscuous. If we didn't, why would we vaccinate her at all? When I was a teenager my mother explained to me that she didn't want me to have sex before marriage, but if I thought I might I should come tell her so she could help me take necessary precautions. To me, there is a huge difference between that and vaccinating all our girls for an STD when some are barely old enough to know what sex is. My mom's approach sent the message that she didn't expect that kind of behavior from me in the first place.

So what are we trying to do here? Are they going to continue to develop vaccines until they have every imaginable STD covered (if not eradicated), at which point we all might as well go at it like rabbits? Have we become feminists to the point we believe a girl should be able to have as much sex as she wants without any fear of repercussions? On a spiritual level, that Brave New World vision doesn't work for me. Sex isn't something teenagers should be having for a myriad of reasons, and all the research in the world can't create a vaccine to protect them from the emotional damage it can cause.

I am so glad that Jordan and I were able to give one another the gift of knowing without a doubt that our relationship would never be plagued with an STD (not to mention the emotional baggage that may have come from previous partners). It means even more to me now as a mother, because several venereal diseases can cause harm to a baby during pregnancy and childbirth. I wish every woman could have the peace of mind I have, but they aren't going to find it in a syringe.

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

The CDC's list of what's in the vaccines and why

I highly recommend The Vaccine Book (I got it from the library)

Green Our Vaccines

A day of learning and changes

We had babywearing group today. Suzi was the littlest and kept chewing on everyone else's toys. Still working on a tooth, I think. Julie gave me a copy of Mothering magazine, which I love. I've read most of it already and will definitely be subscribing. In one issue they discuss cloth diapering, vaccines, and several other issues I've been curious about. The coolest part is all the ads are for useful things like cloth diapers and babywearing items--many of which I haven't heard of before and would consider buying.

Later Jordan and I took Suzi to meet Dr. Bailey-Dorton, our new family doctor. We are thrilled to have found her, thanks to Carey. She and Dr. Cayelli, who will be Suzi's doctor, accept unvaccinated children and are supportive of parents making their own decisions for their kids. Suzi will be getting the three most urgent vaccinations, but one at a time. We will be waiting on varicella in particular, as I'm not convinced this vaccination will last into adulthood and I don't want her getting shingles later. It's so nice to have a doctor, and right around the corner, who isn't going to give us any crap about it.

We are having sleeping issues, and I've suggested cosleeping to Jordan. I would have done it already, but here were my problems:

1) I can't really sleep with Suzi for fear of rolling over on her/smothering her
2) I can't roll over when she's in bed with us because it'll wake her up
3) She's crawling; won't she fall out of bed?
4) How are we supposed to get any, you know, alone time?
5) I have no idea what I'd need to purchase or set up to make this happen. Is it expensive? Will we have to completely rearrange our bedroom?

If you have the answers to these questions, please let me know. She had been sleeping in her crib without complaint, but recently she's been throwing a huge fit. She is truly upset and I can't let her cry like that.

Speaking of changes, we are painting our walls this color:

What do you think? We like it and I think it'll totally change the atmosphere of our blank-walled house.

Last but not least, my smart Jordy got an A in his computer science class!!! I am so happy for him. It won't be long before he graduates, but I won't jinx it by giving a projected date.