no vax at 2 mos. appt and need new pedi?

[junipermoon]

I am uninformed about vaccines so decided to delay them completely until my husband and I did some research. At my 2 month old's well baby visit today I saw a sign posted in the exam room saying if you want to forego or significantly alter the recc'd vax schedule then they will be happy to help refer you to another practice!

The pedi said the rule is new and was put in place b/c so many people are refusing vaccines...he did let me schedule a 4 month appt. and didn't kick us out of the practice yet (yet!) b/c he said I'm breastfeeding and the baby is not in daycare so the risk is low. I told him in the meantime I will do some research and try to make decisions.

I am in awe. Seems like a hard line. There are only 2 pediatrics groups where we live and I'm told ours is the better one. Huh. Not sure what to do.

The good news I got from the dr.'s visit is that the baby is now 14 pounds 11 ounces and is 24 and a half inches long--up from 8 pounds and 20 and three quarters of an inch at birth! He's exclusively breastfed.

I am new here (registered today) and looking for some support/ideas for research re: the vax thing.

[Mrsboyko]

Well, you have come to the right place. Please, get yourself a coffee (or tea), sit back and read all you can. There is a lot of info here and some of it may be overwhelming at first, but you will do fine. Some books I suggest you pick up are the Dr. Sears "vaccine book" and "what your doc may not tell you about childhood vaccines" (I forget the authors)

As for your doc's policy, they are going to be loosing many patients with that line. I can not see it lasting long. Since you are not vaccinating (yet?) and baby is obviously gaining well, what are you trying to get out of a well baby visit? Many people skip them all together unless baby is sick or there are concerns. It is not illegal or bad in any way.

[Pariah]

Congrats on your new little one!

Check the "Finding Your Tribe" section for the state you live in. You may be able to get doctor recommendations there, so you can hopelly find someone who will accept your vax status and not pressure you to do anything you're not comfortable with. There's also a Yahoo group called AP_Doctor_Referal, and lots of parents there post looking for non-vax friendly doctors so that's another place to look. Good luck!

[JamieCatheryn]

I think it's excellent that they approach the issue in such a constructive and pleasant way. If they are strongly pro-vax, on schedule, all at once, kindly helping you find a pediatrician that's a better fit it a wonderful way to go about it, rather than the threats and lectures as you'll get at many pro-vax offices. Since you're looking into it carefully, I'd be willing to bet that you'll at least want a delayed and maybe selective schedule, perhaps ruling out all or most vaccines even, so I'd suggest take them up on their offer to help find another practice.

[laohaire]

Just a thought for consideration - you may wish to look at a family practitioner instead of a pediatrician.

If my baby had some special health problems, honestly I'd rather have a ped (specialist), but for a reasonably healthy baby, an FP is great. I've rarely heard of FP's who are hardline about vax. Ours is really easygoing about it, and I've heard many similar experiences from others with FPs.

Peds almost seem like specialists in giving vaccinations than in children's health overall, these days...

[Marnica]

Welcome to the board.....Take a deep breath and get ready to have your mind blown!! There is alot of information to sort through and it will take a great deal of time and effort so Take your time and continue to put off your decision until you feel sure about it. You can always vaccinate later, but can never take them out!

Here are a few websites to get you going

http://www.novaccine.com
http://www.vaclib.org/indexdoc.htm#legal
http://www.nmaseminars.com/AboutDrT.html
http://thinktwice.com/
http://www.chetday.com/vaccinationmyths.htm
http://insidevaccines.com/
http://www.vaccinenation.net/
http://www.knowvaccines.com/
http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/flu.html
http://vaccinationnews.com/
http://www.vaccinerights.com/
http://www.vierascheibner.com/

I also HIGHLY reccomend "Saying No To Vaccines: A Resource guide for all ages" by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. http://www.sayingnotovaccines.com. It is expensive but WELL worth the investment. I have read dozens of books on the subject and think it is one of the most comprehensive and well documented books out there and easy to read as well. I recently "got fired" from our ped office and am in the process of finding a docotr who is flexible. It isnt easy but it can be done. If all these offices keep firing people, (this issue is not going away), they will find themselves with no patients sooner or later.

[Emmeline II]

As a pp mentioned, you can go to a family practice doc so don't panic about the ped.

Read my siggy :.

[T&D2005]

I could have written this post a year and some odd months ago. The links at the top is where I started. Then I watched this video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40451107552&q=
and it was very informative and done by a doctor so anyone who wanted to bring that up couldn't argue it. Good luck in your research.

[spero]

This does seem to be a disturbing trend, recently. Last month we were fired from the practice we've used for 18+ years, and have since signed up with a family practitioner.

Originally Posted by laohaire

Peds almost seem like specialists in giving vaccinations than in children's health overall, these days...

Peds ARE specialists. They weren't really ever intended to be primary care providers and treat healthy children. They were, and still are, specifically trained to treat sick children.

Or so admits Dr. Robert Lindeman, a MA pediatrician (on his practice website).

[NYMOM07]

i just got kicked out of my practice in ny because i wont sign any more aap refusal forms i understand what you are going through

[spero]

Originally Posted by NYMOM07

i just got kicked out of my practice in ny because i wont sign any more aap refusal forms i understand what you are going through

Yep, that's my story too ... and I'm in NY as well.

This trend is going to be a boon for FPs!

[aniT]

This happened to me nearly 5 years ago. Except it was a form letter handed out at the 2 week visit and it basically said if you don't vax that is saying you don't trust us and you need to go find someone you do trust. I had been with that practice for 5 years prior to that.

They think I left because I moved though.

[justice'smom]

Originally Posted by laohaire

Just a thought for consideration - you may wish to look at a family practitioner instead of a pediatrician.

If my baby had some special health problems, honestly I'd rather have a ped (specialist), but for a reasonably healthy baby, an FP is great. I've rarely heard of FP's who are hardline about vax. Ours is really easygoing about it, and I've heard many similar experiences from others with FPs.

Peds almost seem like specialists in giving vaccinations than in children's health overall, these days...

I agree. We have a family doc and he is great. This last visit we went in for, I brought my forms stating that I would not be vaccinating. They already had us fill out forms, but their forms had all kinds of stuff about , " I realize by not vaccinating my child I am putting them and other children in danger" blah blah blah. I signed the stupid forms because at the time I didn't know what else to do. Anyway, my son is now two and some ladies on here sent me to a site where I could print off a better form. Long story short, when we went in last time the dr. actually thanked me for brining in the form. I was shocked. Good luck.

[anewmama]

I personally feel you also need to review all the pro-vaccine websites. Then, and only then, will you be able to find where the middle ground is for yourself personally. Embracing only the anti-vax websites as part of your research is doing yourself a disservice and only presenting one part of the picture.

Otherwise, all you have is doctors telling you to vax without giving you a whole lot of information and then all the anti-vax websites telling you they are all bad. This is not enough of a picture for you to form your own opinion. Unless you also have the time and inclination to really pour through actual scientific studies that are more neutral and opinion free.

Just my 2 cents (and I have not vaxed my daughter so I am not promoting vaccination)

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by junipermoon

The pedi said the rule is new and was put in place b/c so many people are refusing vaccines...

people are getting smarter, there is hope

[Yulia_R]

you don't have to use pediatrician. You can you GP or ND or even a caropractor.