Oh great...now what do I do?

[hollyvangogh]

So...just had my baby Monday (. The public health nurse came to visit today to see how we're doing. She mentioned vaccines, and knowing I'm from the US told me that Canadian vaxes are not the same as the ones in the states (different combos, different brands, etc. or something?). I had begun doing my research and trying to make a vaccine decision while pregnant, but it was all in reference to the vaccines the US uses. Now I don't know what to do and my little Lucy-girl is due for her first shots in two months.:

Part of me is just too tired (life with a newborn I guess) to want to even bother doing the research/making a decision and keeps saying "just get 'em done and stop worrying about it." :

Advice, links, info, help, encouragement???:

[MyBoysBlue]

I didn't research the vax I researched what the Vax was for. That doesn't change. If you research the illnesses then you can decide whether or not this is something you think you need to vax against, then way the pro's and cons of the vaccine itself.

They may be different brands but the schedules are not all that different. No more than they the differ from province to province. What province are you in? Only 3 provinces even require and exemption be filed for school.

added:
When my DS 2 was born I was still undecided. So I decided it couldn't hurt to wait and take the time to research. He was getting my breastmilk so he wasn't to susceptible. At first i decided I would wait until he was 1 and then I would start on a slow schedule.

I don't remember what I read that convinced me to wait until he was two but it was something to do with the blood brain barrier not being full formed until then. Maybe someone has a link to info on that.

This gave me lots of time to research and come to my ultimate decision.

[hollyvangogh]

Originally Posted by MyBoysBlue

What province are you in? Only 3 provinces even require and exemption be filed for school.

Alberta. The nurse said vaccines are not required. But I guess I'm still trying to battle out in my mind who's right and who's wrong. Are they needed? Do they even do what they are supposed to? Are they dangerous? There's so much argument. And it's overwhelming sometimes, kwim?

[MyBoysBlue]

I'm in Central Rural AB, Red Deer'ish. Anyway. My advice is just take it slow. There is no problem delaying. At DS's Well Baby visit at a year the doc asked if he was up to date I just said we were delaying until 2. He looked at me funny and then wrote it down but said nothing. Alberta is one of the provinces that doesn't mandate vaxes so there is no exemption to file. The Public Health Nurses will keep calling to make appointments for you to bring in the baby for shots. You just have to tell them to take your name off the call list.

I read this today:

http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/...cine-schedule/

It really shows how crazy the vaccination schedule is.

Here is Alberta's schedule:
http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-...-schedule.html

[Marnica]

congratulations on your LO.

Yes it is confusing and overwhelming, but an extremely important issue. IMO I think just saying get them and don't worry about it is not the way to go. The best desicion is one where you feel that you have educated yourself and can feel comfortable in your choice based on your knowledge. I think the general rule of thumb in the vax/not vaxing arena is don't do anything until you have throughly researched....if that takes 2 years so be it. I know too many mothers who wished they would have taken the time and researched and not "just gotten them". You can always get a vaccine at any time, however once it's injected there is no going back.

As for the brands they use in Canada I can't imagine that they are that different than the ones here in the uS in terms of ingredients etc....they may differ slightly, have different names and be manufactured by different drug companies but the concerns about them, what's in them, their safety, their efficacy etcc....would be the same!!

[MyBoysBlue]

Here is a Canadian Site

Vaccination Risk Awareness Network

http://www.vran.org/

[just_lily]

Congratulations! I am in Alberta too, and when the nurse came to my house and went on about the vaccine clinics I just said "uh huh". Not worth getting into it with her at the time. My babe is five months old, and I have yet to get a call from Public Health about bringing her in.

The best advice is just to breathe, and relax. There is no rush to make a decision. There is a lot of information to absorb, and five days post-partum is probably not the best time to do it. Even if you do decide to fully vax, no harm will be done if you delay it by a couple of months while you make a decision. I strongly believe that one of the reasons there are so many vaxes during the first few months is because parents are so exhausted to question anything.

So if I were you, I would make the immediate decision not to do any vaxes until you get a chance to research further.... and then forget about the whole thing, and just worry about adjusting to life with a new baby. The last thing you need right now is something else to stress about.

Once you are settled and have some time to do some reading, a great place to start is The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. I managed to get it at my local library (but I had to inter-library loan it), but I have also seen it at Chapters in Calgary. It is very straight forward, and he details each of the vaccine brands available in North America. He even discusses Pentacel (the DTaP-IPV-Hib combo) that at the time was only being used in Canada. You can always call your Public Health office and find out the exact brand names they use.

"Oh, Canada has different vaccines" is a common refrain for some reason. This was at least somewhat relevant when Canada had stopped using thimerosol (mercury), and the US still had it in some vaccines. But since the US has stopped using it as well, the point is moot.

Oh... and don't trust the Public Health nurses to provide unbiased information. I have heard a number of people say "I talked to the nurse and they said they are all SOOOO important." Of course they are going to say that. It is their JOB. If they said anything else they would be FIRED. And unless they do independent research on their own time, all the information they are provided with is "Vaccines are very safe!!!" so they don't know any better either. I am quite convinced that I am currently better educated on both vaccines and VPD than either the Pub Health nurses, or my family doctor.

[alegna]

Just wait and research until you're comfortable.

-Angela

[Gitti]

In Japan they decided to delay all vaccines until a child is 2 yrs. old. Their SIDS rate became almost non-existent. Unfortunately big pharma lobby was too strong and it was reversed...

all I want to point out to you with this is that a child is in absolutely no danger to wait for vaccines for 2 years. Especially if you are nursing, since you pass on some immunity and building immunity to whatever the baby is exposed to at the moment.

Don't vaccinated unless you feel there is a vaccine your baby absolutely needs. I have not found any yet in 12 years. So we are a non-vaxing family.

You can always vaccinate your child, but if there is a vaccine reaction, you can never ever take that back. Take your time and do some reading. Most likely you'll see there is no real need for vaccines. It is basically a big money making game.

Here is a video that you should (please) watch all the way through -

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...uCQ&q=vaccines


And I don't know that the vaccines in Canada are all that much different? They are certainly made by the same manufacturer. I doubt that very much. Europe has the same manufacturers. The schedule is just quite more relaxed.

[Sheal]

Originally Posted by MyBoysBlue

Here is a Canadian Site

Vaccination Risk Awareness Network

http://www.vran.org/

Originally Posted by alegna

Just wait and research until you're comfortable.

-Angela

I concur with both these posts (actually, all of them). There's no difference that I can see in brand names for ingredients and I've looked at both the "American brands" and "Canadian brands" (like there's even a brand really, it's all the same Pharma co's that make them).

[hollyvangogh]

Thanks Mamas! I feel much better.

Love the "wait and research it later" advice. It's nice to have a reminder that there's no rush. I guess being a new mom and hormonal I just flipped a little when I had someone pushing them, kwim?

And thank you for all the links!!!

[Gitti]

Oh and most important -

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Congratulations on your newborn

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[MountainMamaGC]

Please wait until you are 100% sure. If I knew then what I knew now my dd would have never got her 2 month shots. You cant take it back once you do it. The nurses where I live put a lot of pressure on you to do it. They lied and said that they were required for school and that I was the first one in my town to not do it. I have found other mother that dont and they are not required for school.

Congrats on the baby!

[Sheal]

Originally Posted by Gitti

In Japan they decided to delay all vaccines until a child is 2 yrs. old. Their SIDS rate became almost non-existent. Unfortunately big pharma lobby was too strong and it was reversed...

all I want to point out to you with this is that a child is in absolutely no danger to wait for vaccines for 2 years. Especially if you are nursing, since you pass on some immunity and building immunity to whatever the baby is exposed to at the moment.

Don't vaccinated unless you feel there is a vaccine your baby absolutely needs. I have not found any yet in 12 years. So we are a non-vaxing family.

You can always vaccinate your child, but if there is a vaccine reaction, you can never ever take that back. Take your time and do some reading. Most likely you'll see there is no real need for vaccines. It is basically a big money making game.

Here is a video that you should (please) watch all the way through -

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...uCQ&q=vaccines


And I don't know that the vaccines in Canada are all that much different? They are certainly made by the same manufacturer. I doubt that very much. Europe has the same manufacturers. The schedule is just quite more relaxed.

Thank you Gitti, Alan Yurko's story was so heart breaking. The part that got to me the most was when he was asked if he wanted more children...you could see the fear. Body language tells the truth all the time, as he said I don't know you could tell he was saying no, he was too afraid to have more children.

As a preemie mom, that little guy's preemie "look" just broke my heart. So innocent and so sweet. I hope he rests in peace and his parents continue to fight the good fight!

[KimPM]

Originally Posted by hollyvangogh

Now I don't know what to do and my little Lucy-girl is due for her first shots in two months.

It may be a fine detail, but technically they are not "her" shots. They are foreign matter that is injected into a person.

I think we should all stop referring to vaccines as "his" or "her" shots. They've got us all brainwashed into saying that.

[~girlsmum~]

My teen hasn't been vax'd for anything since the age of 2 and I got an education. She only has had the Havrix Hep A shot b/c she was travelling to Mexico where it is prevalent. My twins are 2 1/2 now and haven't been vax'd for anything and they are more than fine health wise. Not so much as an ear infection.

What a load of BS the Health Units continue to barrage new mothers with. I am very appreciative to previous generations, myself within that time frame where we got immunized and illnesses have gone extinct. I have an exemption form in 2 counties here in Ontario saying that my teen will not be vax'd for reason of conscience so she can attend school. No one bullied me into immunizing my twins and it's on record with their pediatrician that they are not to be vax'd, she had 2 sets of needles when they first saw her and I said she could put them away, I DON'T VAX anymore.

Feel free to wait until you make a personal decision that is right for your family.

And CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby!!

[Pandme]

I remember when I was holding my newborn. It was easy enough to decline the Hep B (my ped actually encouraged it) and my ped's office didn't start the rest of vaxxes until 2 months. THat two month appointment was just sitting there like a ticking time bomb, getting closer and closer. I distinctly remember bursting into tears over the fact that at 2 months, they would start playing roulette with my son.

It's been 2 years. No vaxxes, no problem. If asked, just say you are researching and delaying until you are comfortable. That may be never. It sure has been for me so far.

[Emmeline II]

There are a finite number of vax manufacturers; I doubt the vaxes are much different. You can get the product inserts from your Dr/nurse or vax/anti-vax organizations in Canada.

In any case, I will not vax whatever their composition.

1. Name of the disease
2. Description of the disease
3. Length of time from initial infection to end of all symptoms
4. Infectious period
5. Normal symptoms of the disease
6. Known serious consequences of the disease
7. Proportion of persons infected developing serious consequences
8. Transmission route of the disease
9. Prevalence of the disease
10. Treatments of the disease and efficacy of those treatments
11. Relevant research about the disease
12. Name of the vaccine
13. Company that makes the vaccine
14. Contents of the vaccine
14A. The significance of whether or not the vaccine is live
15. History of development of the vaccine
16. Known side-effects of the vaccine and rate of incidence of those side-effects
17. Possible side-effects not yet acknowledged by the vaccine maker
18. Relevant research into the vaccine
19. How effective is the vaccine at preventing the disease?
20.What is the vaccine meant to do? (Many vaccines are not meant to prevent infection or transmission).
21.Number of cases reported each year.
22.Number of deaths reported each year from the vaccine and natural disease.

Here are some sources to help you out:

Inside Vaccines

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_wk.html (download the current issue)
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...k-chapters.htm
http://vaers.hhs.gov/pdf/PackageInserts.pdf
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...40451107552&q=
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...87981735&hl=en
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin...ses&deaths.pdf

[In Exile]

OP, first off all, congrats on you baby! Take it easy, no need to to rush.


And secondly. You now what is FUNNY? When friends of ours moved to Germany they were all worried about "keeping" out the vaxes, are they going to be the same. Both Doctors reassured them, no prob, it's the same manufacturers, just different names. Some vaxes are not given routinely, but overall it's the same stuff.

So much about "the canadian vaxes are different from the US". They are the same things by the same 4 or 5 companies, that's it.