Choosing not to vaccinate???

[Macca79]

DS had his 2 mth vaccination last week and I have to say since then his reaction to the needles and the research I have since done have me wondering if we will continue to have his vaccinations done.

DS had a strong reaction to the shots with a temp for 3 days, vomiting, diarrhea, lots of screaming, lack of appetite, problems settling and few more. They lasted from 24 to 72 hours. Since then life has been all over the place. He has developed a really high pitched scream since them which he uses throughout the day. He stresses if we are out of his sight, hates being held now accept if he is really tired. Has had a constant problem with nasal congestion since then. We though it was a cold at first but there has been little improvement despite using Baby Balm, steam, a humidifier and Fess for kids. We give him warm baths and massage to help him settle but this does not really worked the way it did before his shots. We are at a loss our happy, calm bright eyed eyed boy has been an unsettled terror and it all began the arvo of the day he had his shots. It just feels too much to be a coincidence.

Since then I have also read a lot about what exactly goes into vaccines and the less the perfect guarantee rate they really have. Im a bit nervous about it all.

I am really interested in hearing from others who have had reactions to vaccinations and those who have chosen not to vaccinate. Please do not respond with criticism or negative feedback I am just trying to make an informed choice for my son plus my step brother is a senior pathologist studying medicine so I am well aware of the argument for vaccinating.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Hey Macca -
If you have a look at the social groups there is one for parents who have decided not to vaccinate - you might find some useful info to begin with there.

ETA: Here's the link. https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...php?groupid=13

[LimeSlice]

Hey Macca!
I am sorry to hear that DS is nosuch a happy chappy at the moment! We decided not to vaccinate...Now my mother, godmother and aunt are all nurses, and have been for forty years, I and my siblings were all vaccinated, and I understand the argument for vaccination.
I should also probably let you know that we consider this is be a fluid decision. IE We review it periodically as the need arises. (We are doing this now infact, as she is almost 7 months old)

so here is why we have decided against it, so far.

1. As a NB, a child has basically no immune system So We just did not see the logic of trying to 'generate' an immune system so early. I BF, we dont use daycare, and we nor anyone she contacts, considered in teh risk groups for any of the illnesses.
2. We researched giving her a VitK and Hep B injection at borth and after discovering the actual igredients of most of the vaccines, we considered them to be dangerous in themselves.
3. Carlotte does nt attend daycare, is not exposed to any high risk situations, such as farms, hospitals, foreingers, etc.
4. And finally the reactions and statistics of both the ineffectiveness and the other rate of illness of vaccinated children - on average, they suffer colds, ear infections etc more often then unvaccinated kids. This also includes the increased risk of contracting other illnesses such as MS, Autism, the actual illenss being vaccinated against, childhood leukemia (as is the case with Vit K). as DD has an already increased risk of MS, we opted out of the Hep B injection.

Now as I said, I think it is important to do your homework...get as much information as you can from as many sources as you can. If ou find an ingredient that you are not familiar with, find out exactly what it is and why it is there.
If Charlotte were travelling to India, for example, or was exposed to migrant Indians, I would consider the Polio vaccine, as polio is still prevelant.
If she were in and out of hospitals, I would vaccinate her also, due to the risk of infection. Hep vaccinations would be given if she were in day care...

Until she is older we just dont see the need for it. However, we will never vaccinate agianst things like flu or chicken pox. The vaccinations are still so untested, and so unnecessary in our opinion.


So I think that the key is to do your homework. Ask questions, from Doctors, Naturopaths - and dont trust that the doctor always knows best - find the information yourself. Weigh up the potential risks of the illnesses if they were contracted, and also the probability of contracting them at all.

Oh, and good luck! lol You will face oposition even for questioning.

[Schmickers]

We have elected to not to immunise our children according to the schedule.

We will flat-out not give the MMR to them - it gets so much bad press, and even some researchers are accepting that there is some sort of link bertween the MMR and autistic-like conditions that affects a small percentage of children.

Some of the others you only need to give one of, rather than three, if you wait tunil they are older, and some of them you can get by without giving at all - for instance, the HIB vaccine is only offered up until the age of 2 because after 2 children can mount a sufficiently strong natural immune response to it.

I tihnk it depends on your circumstances - if your children are at home with you and you can control who they mix with, their risks of catching vaccine-preventable diseases while they are small are limited and the I think risks associated with vaccines are greater. If, on the other hand, they need to be in childcare and out of your supervision for extended periods of time, then perhaps the risk of vaccines is acceptable.

[Macca79]

Thanks for the advice. I chatted with a CHN today when DS had his 2 month check up and boy did she go off when I mentioned not vaccinating. Even when I said that I was just trying to make an informed choice and that DH and I had not reached any final decisions she said I was naive and then went and booked us in for his 4 month jabs on the 29 th of July, talk about presumptuous.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Don't go back to her!
What a silly cow!

[aussienic]

While I am all for vaccinations.. I can understand your reluctance to go ahead with the 4 month ones

My DD had a mild reaction to her 2 month needles as well.. Well I think the Rotavirus vacc is the one that caused the trouble. She screamed on and off for a week. Her tummy was hurting.. After a discussion with the Dr and CHN we decided to go ahead with the 4 month ones and she was fine..

Good Luck with your decision

[Lulu]

Macca, you do need to be prepared for frustration when it comes to most medical people (def NOT all) when it comes to this. Even if you just want to discuss it and ask a few questions. There seems to be so many people that just Think Vacc and are not prepared to research it at all.
I have been questioned a few times by Dr's etc, they have been very insistent that I am wrong not to, but refuse (or have no answers) to discuss my concerns. I have brought up many VALID POINTS but have been dismissed. Even when I say "but xxxx worried me for this reason etc, I have NEVER been given a decent hearing. This forced me to find the answers on my own and I'm glad I did. In fact I ended up putting different articles (from medical journals etc) into a folder to throw at people when they started on me.

[Trish]

Macca, how bloody rude of your CHN. I would have asked her who's baby she was talking about. As this is YOUR baby it's also your decision. Don't let her bully you into a decision you are not comfortable with.

I think when you decide to step outside of the square everyone has an opinion, and generally it's not the one you want. I have decided not to vaccinate Abbey. She had her 2 month needles, none at birth though and from the extra research Ihave done I have made an informed decision. I won't say that my DP is overly supportive with it either. But he is one to just go along with the norm. As far as Dr's are concerned. In saying that, he didn't really support my HB's either but I had them

Good luck in your decision making. No one can tell you what is right or wrong for your child. It's YOUR decision to make.

[meow]

I fully support your decision eitherway- we read heapsand almost didn't vac at all but have decided to do some. Anyway, I just wanted to say the reaction sounds like the rotavirus vaccine which we're personally not doing so the option is there to do some but not all.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

When we had the 2 months rotavirus, we visited my mum the same day and it made the twins sick.
That's started making me think twice about it.

[Mumma2three]

Interestingly I was at a seminar on allergies last night, and I am shocked and saddened at what some vaccines can do. I wish I'd known before vaccinating my girls. DD2 has severe allergies AND she still is reacting (she is 2 and a half) to her vaccine's. What happens in some children is that they can carry the "Echo" of the vaccine for their life. So with my kids, they are carrying thiers and that maybe a contributing factor to their sensitivities. I am just bloomin grateful that they didn't get autism as Im feeling they were at a high risk of reactions (but not necessarily autism). Im just SHOCKED that it is not talked about more. I will most DEFINITELY be waiting at least until our next baby is 2 before immunising (apparently in Japan they wait until after 2 and have the lowest mortality rate in infants in the world).
I do believe vaccine's have been very important in erradicating disease, but it seems to me that the amount of vaccine's seems to increase each year and it just seems TOO much for a childs precious little body.
I will definitely be doing alot of research before any vaccine's happen in the future. xo

[Macca79]

Well after more research it is looking more and more likely that DH and I will wait until bub is around 2 for vaccs. I have read nothing that makes me feel happy about injecting my sons little body with such a range of potentially dangerous chemicals. I have meet a lot of resistance including from my own dear mum. I have been called naive, stupid and uninformed. I'm just amazed that our society expects us to just shut up and blindly accept vaccinations because 'they are good'. I spent 3 days comparing different formulas to find one I was happy with so why would I not research about vaccines????? I feel the risk they pose in some cases is bigger then the risk of actually contracting some of the diseases.

[BellyBelly]

10 Reasons Parents Choose Not To Vaccinate

[Lolli]

Hi,
I totally understand your feelings. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. I've read the info on vaccinations, the ingrediants and effects (thanks agin for the links Trish). But what it comes down to me for me is that I work in a children's hospital- my exposure, and therefore his exposure, to contagious childhood illnesses, is pretty huge compared to what a lot of people have.
Best of luck making your desicion. I think it's fantastic that you are making an informed choice rather then just doing what the 'experts' think is best.

[BellyBelly]

But you know what the funny thing is - the parents of children who choose to vaccinate are the ones who create all the hoo haa when their children catch these things that are going around and blame the parents of those who don't vaccinate - but hang on - your child is apparently 'vaccinated'?! So who do we really blame? Vaccinations are not foolproof.

[lilima]

It was not that my mum made a choice not to vaccinate, but my sisters and I were not fully vaccinated as I had a severe reaction to MMR, and ongoing probs with Eczma as a concequence. athe only downside to this was that I caught measles while in primary school and gave it to my young sister. She ended up very sick as she was still an infant.

Regardless of anyone's opinion, your health nurse did not treat you with respect for your decisions. Even if she doesn't agree, she should not be opinionated on it. I think that you should find a MCHN that is a bit more open minded to others POV. I changed MCHN as I felt like mine was always telling me I was doing everything wrong.

In the end the decision is YOURS. You should not feel forced.

[ShootingStar]

It is a personal choice.
But i must say, DS had the same reaction to his 2 month needles also. We just gave him some panadol before each of his next needles and he was totally fine, never had a reaction at all.
If you choose to continue with them, maybe that might help.