If I speak I will sound crazy to these people

[MamatoPeach]

So I am at work today, at a childrens hospital, Im a Peds RN working on an infant unit. I am having a very hard time because I feel like these kids get sucked into the western medicine trap. Too many meds and vaccinations pushed onto young parents.

Anyways. I have a little 5mo old who is failure to thrive and the Doctor was explaining the story to me with a puzzled look because she has no idea why he wont grow. So of course they are going to stick him for a few days for labs, run tons of expensive tests, and torture the little guy to find nothing. They never find anything.

If only I could say "Its the vaccinations!!!"

Of course, they would say, no vaccinations are good for babies.

Please someone change the physician's education to include all aspects of treatment. I feel like a pharma rep comes in to teach about meds and vaccinations. Making them the magic bullet to cure all, because when they dont work the Dr's have no idea what else to try.

[FernG]

I'm so sorry. My DH deals with the same problems as a PICU nurse. He focuses on being an agent of small changes. He's had so many opportunities to teach colleges how to properly insert catheters an intact penis. He's educated lots of the staff about breastmilk. A tech wanted to use formula for a premi the other day. Mom was pumping but the dr left orders for formula in case mom couldn't pump enough. Mom had pumped enough, but the tech thought that the breastmilk looked weird. My husband explained the foremilk/hindemilk and then asked the tech to smell the breastmilk and smell the formula and choose the one that smelled the best. He's worked to get infants of off human milk fortifier. He encourages the staff to hold the kids instead of increasing the drugs. He always points out how much better the kids do when their parents are holding them. The problems are overwhelming, but making just 1 tiny change for 1 baby/child really makes a difference. Thanks for your hard work.

[Ophelia]

Are these failure to thrive babies FF, BF, or both? I do wonder if a lot of that is diet, IE either they are not doing well on the formula, or if they are BF, they are reacting to something that the mother is eating.

Celiac can cause failure to thrive, and I can see where other food allergies or sensitivities may do the same. Yes, could be the vaccines too of course.

[plunky]

Originally Posted by MamatoPeach

.

Please someone change the physician's education to include all aspects of treatment. I feel like a pharma rep comes in to teach about meds and vaccinations. Making them the magic bullet to cure all, because when they dont work the Dr's have no idea what else to try.

Just like vaccinations aren't a cure-all, they're also not a boogieman that can be used to explain every baby's failure to thrive. If that were true, we could just send doctors to MDC instead of medical school.

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by plunky

Just like vaccinations aren't a cure-all, they're also not a boogieman that can be used to explain every baby's failure to thrive. If that were true, we could just send doctors to MDC instead of medical school.

Maybe they should do both :

[MamatoPeach]

Originally Posted by plunky

Just like vaccinations aren't a cure-all, they're also not a boogieman that can be used to explain every baby's failure to thrive. If that were true, we could just send doctors to MDC instead of medical school.

Wouldnt it be nice for them to have a well rounded education in all forms of treatment.

Thanks for reminding me that diet could be a big factor also!

[MamatoPeach]

Originally Posted by FernG

I'm so sorry. My DH deals with the same problems as a PICU nurse. He focuses on being an agent of small changes. He's had so many opportunities to teach colleges how to properly insert catheters an intact penis. He's educated lots of the staff about breastmilk. A tech wanted to use formula for a premi the other day. Mom was pumping but the dr left orders for formula in case mom couldn't pump enough. Mom had pumped enough, but the tech thought that the breastmilk looked weird. My husband explained the foremilk/hindemilk and then asked the tech to smell the breastmilk and smell the formula and choose the one that smelled the best. He's worked to get infants of off human milk fortifier. He encourages the staff to hold the kids instead of increasing the drugs. He always points out how much better the kids do when their parents are holding them. The problems are overwhelming, but making just 1 tiny change for 1 baby/child really makes a difference. Thanks for your hard work.

Thank you for your reply. That is exactly what i needed to hear. :

[bandgeek]

Originally Posted by FernG

I'm so sorry. My DH deals with the same problems as a PICU nurse. He focuses on being an agent of small changes. He's had so many opportunities to teach colleges how to properly insert catheters an intact penis. He's educated lots of the staff about breastmilk. A tech wanted to use formula for a premi the other day. Mom was pumping but the dr left orders for formula in case mom couldn't pump enough. Mom had pumped enough, but the tech thought that the breastmilk looked weird. My husband explained the foremilk/hindemilk and then asked the tech to smell the breastmilk and smell the formula and choose the one that smelled the best. He's worked to get infants of off human milk fortifier. He encourages the staff to hold the kids instead of increasing the drugs. He always points out how much better the kids do when their parents are holding them. The problems are overwhelming, but making just 1 tiny change for 1 baby/child really makes a difference. Thanks for your hard work.

Awww, I wish he'd been DD's nurse in the NICU! They gave her formula without my permission, then pushed the fortifier, she never got held since she wasn't bottle-fed (they consider it unnecessary if the child is tube-fed). I couldn't be there 24/7 and I can't tell you how many times I walked in on them doing something against my wishes or downright harmful. She didn't get any vax's though!

[PinkinPA]

Just like vaccinations aren't a cure-all, they're also not a boogieman

Only you can't really say that when the manufacturers won't do the boogeyman test and the gov't allows them special treatment to get away with what they get away with.

[anewmama]

Originally Posted by MamatoPeach

If only I could say "Its the vaccinations!!!"

With all due respect, how do you KNOW it's vaccinations? My daughter was breastfed, no vaccinations and was almost failure to thrive. She was not in NICU. She had to get supplemented with formula for a couple of weeks to catch up when she went from %45 to 5% in weight.

[Scattershoot]

Thanks MamatoPeach for being there for the children. I know what it is like to be in a profession that sees the world one way, mainly as a result of where all the money comes from, yet personally chooses to challenge that with an open mind even though it is extremely unpopular to do so. I bet you feel like you are alone on an island sometimes. Well I say thank God for people like you, because if it weren't for you nothing would ever change. Good luck and plant little seeds in others, especially the parents because they aren't as single-minded in belief, when you get the chance.

[MamatoPeach]

Originally Posted by anewmama

With all due respect, how do you KNOW it's vaccinations? My daughter was breastfed, no vaccinations and was almost failure to thrive. She was not in NICU. She had to get supplemented with formula for a couple of weeks to catch up when she went from %45 to 5% in weight.

You are completly right, it could be environment, diet, or the baby's metabolism.

I just get a gut feeling with so many babies that the vaccinations cause their problems.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by MamatoPeach

I just get a gut feeling with so many babies that the vaccinations cause their problems.

In many cases it most likely is!

Thanks for being there. I am sure you are doing a great job.

I worked in a hospital years ago and there were 2 nurses who did things differently. One was a supervisor. I really admired her. I can't say anything else though.

When dd had her baby one nurse warned her about the night nurse who was very much into the hep b vax. We were so grateful because sure enough that night she insisted that she needed to take the baby to the nursery for something. dd went with her.

(If you are reading - thanks again!)

I am sure you'll find little ways to make a difference here and there.

Thanks for being open minded.

[claddaghmom]

Gosh I know how you feel. I had a mom tell me how her little girl was just dx with high levels of lead. She said, " I don't know how she got so much lead. Our house is new, the school is tested, I check all her toys." I just stared at her till she said "what?" But I couldn't bring myself to say it.

I mean. Duh. Even if you're mainstream. Duh.

[Ziggysmama]

Why are you a nurse if you don't trust western medicine?

[MamatoPeach]

Originally Posted by Ziggysmama

Why are you a nurse if you don't trust western medicine?

I think it has its place in the emergency room and ICU for reviving pts. I am a nurse because that is what I went to school for and its how I make a living. I just wish the doctors I work with would take vaccinations, diet, and alternative medicine into thought when treating the babies I am working with.

Thanks to those who wrote a 'pick me up post'. I was really sick of my job yesterday. Thanks for reminding me that I am there to plant a seed and make what ever difference I can in each mom and dad. Through encouraging breastfeeding, educating them that its their choice to vaccinate, or giving them alternative side-effect free treatments to try.

Gotta love mothering.com :

[Mavournin]

Originally Posted by MamatoPeach

You are completly right, it could be environment, diet, or the baby's metabolism.

I just get a gut feeling with so many babies that the vaccinations cause their problems.

Or it could just be that they are sick. My non-vaccinated 22 mo old, who lives in the same house and fed the same food as his older siblings who have no medical problems, is classified as "failure to thrive". As it turns out he has several medical conditions and special needs. If that baby is in the NICU, I'm betting he does too.
Look, I'm a little woo about vaccines, but they aren't the cause of every problem we have.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by Ziggysmama

Why are you a nurse if you don't trust western medicine?

Medicine is not the only field to be leery of. Many people are in similar situations and don't know it or don't want to know it.

Two things: 1. when we are young we are easy to mold and manipulate 2. higher education always has an agenda

(That is the reason why they recruit young people to become soldiers.)

Then life keeps us busy and we have to earn a living.

I read one time that as we mature we start to see how OTHERS are brain washed, and how the fields of others' are mismanaged or corrupted, but most of us will continue to stick up for whatever field we, ourselves are in.

Every so often information that could enlighten us comes our way, but most people just shut their eyes and ears and continue in their rut.

Thank heavens some people, when confronted with new information, have the wisdom to think outside the box and beyond what was drilled into them.

imo those are the people who can make a real difference.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by Mavournin

Look, I'm a little woo about vaccines, but they aren't the cause of every problem we have.

But, without a doubt, they do change the body they are injected into.

[Scattershoot]

Originally Posted by Ziggysmama

Why are you a nurse if you don't trust western medicine?

This is a common response when someone challenges an aspect of a belief system. The OP is concerned about vaccination and it's potential role in harming babies. It's a very valid concern because even the medical community admits that vaccines can maim and kill children, they just regard it as "rare." The "rare" part is definitely highly suspect, but that is an entirely different discussion. If a nurse questions vaccination, that by no means makes her distrust all of Western medicine.

It's like when someone questions the government in some capacity, some people will say, "So you think the government is corrupt" or "Do you think it is all some big conspiracy theory?"

There is a movement, pushed by the media and medical community, to make those who question vaccination out to be people who completely distrust Western medicine, as if we want to go back to the Stone Ages. Modern medicine has helped innumerable people in instances of trauma. Many lives have been saved. Nurses providing encouragement for breastfeeding or some advice on healthy eating habits can go a long way for new parents. What a lot of people now question is the invasiveness of "preventative" treatments on healthy children and the role of known toxins in compromised individuals.