What makes you research?

[bbrandonsmom]

I'm curious, what makes some people think to question vaccines and others to just accept them-no questions asked?
I never thought about it much until I had ds1, then started wondering what was up w/ them-why so many, reactions, etc.
But I know moms who just go w/ the flow and never question it. A friend of mine is going for her babies 4m vax and I mentioned that's when we stopped because I realized something wasn't right w/ them, the extreme screaming, the ingrediants in vaxs etc. She replied that everyone raises thier kids different.
She also mentioned that she knows the tetnus burns (and why her ds was screaming so much last time) because she has to get one every 6yrs or something since she works in agriculture and the cdc recommends it. And that whooping cough was coming back in adults, so she was going to go get that as well for herself. I said we don't get anything.
Her repeated answer was that it was recommended. So, is it an authority thing that some of us just go along with? Like-well the dr said so, so we will do it? How we were raised? What we know or see other families doing?
How do you respond to people who just go w/ the flow w/ what the cdc says to do? Do you mention some facts about outbreaks/vaxs/health, or just let it go? Or say something like "if you ever want to know more, I can forward you some info?"

[JamieCatheryn]

I think when they came out with the chicken pox vaccine and marketed and required it in order to save time off school and work it opened my eyes to the pointlessness of them all. Also, the fact that everyone who got a flu shot got sick. And hearing rumors about links to autism made me look further into reactions.

[just_lily]

When I was pregnant I was on bedrest so had lots of time on my hands. I researched everything - breastfeeding, cosleeping, cloth diapers, organics, birth, etc. But I was planning on getting my kid vaxed because of course I wanted her to be healthy, and I was sure that anyone who didn't vax was a wackjob hippy.

But then I felt like I needed to challenge this thinking. Why was I so willing to research diapers, but not vaccines? So I started doing some reading thinking I was only going to confirm my decision to vaccinate. Boy was I surprised. Fortunately I was still pregnant, so my baby has never received a vaccine.

My SIL is currently pregnant, and they are doing their own research because they know about our choices and decided to look into things for themselves. So I think knowing someone who makes different choices gets the ball rolling.

I have had people who vax tell me that they just do what their doctor tells them because they aren't smart enough to read studies on their own.

Vaccination is a huge, overwhelming decision to make. I think some people just go along because they don't want to take the responsibility for themselves. It is easier to just have someone else do it. Of course I don't mean people who research and decide to vax, but people who don't look into it at all.

[MyBoysBlue]

I just went with the flow with my first son. He screamed and all after the vaxs and still I didn't question. We did plan to skip CP vax for him but they tricked my DH into accepting it for DS after I had refused at the previous appointment. Really vaxes were something I didn't question. What made me start questioning was the extreamly arrogent GP that I was seeing for my second pregnancy. He was so rude and didn't like being questioned so I had to research for myself and that is how I found MDC. I right away did a big U-turn in my outlook. I went from planning a hospital birth to a UC and No Vax. No Circ is the norm in our circles so we didn't even research the topic either.

[Fyrestorm]

For me it was my distrust of anything medical.

I was abused by a Dr. when I was a child. I also have a disease that went un/misdiagnosed for 25 years. If a doctor were to tell me the sky was blue, I would question it. I check and double check and triple check everything I hear from the medical community. That included vaccines.

[katelove]

I think a lot of people do genuinely believe that their doctor has their best interest at heart, has read all the research and would never suggest anything potentially harmful. And, of course, it is much easier to have someone else doing the thinking for you too.

Vaccination thread come up now and again on another (non-parenting) forum I frequent and there are always many replies along the lines of "I'm sure my Dr wouldn't suggest anything harmful."

Our society seems to still regard Drs as infallable. I cannot count the number of times I have had this EXACT conversation with a pt in ED

Me: Do you take any regular medications?
Pt: Yes
Me: What medication do you take?
Pt: I don't know what it's called Dear. It's a little white pill.
Me: Ok, well what are you taking it for?
Pt: Oh my doctor told me to take it.
Me: You're taking a medication and you don't know why?
Pt: No dear, my doctor told me I should take it.
Me: I think you're very brave to put that much faith in your doctor.
Pt: [odd look]

[chaoticzenmom]

It was with my 2nd child. The dr. came in and said it was time for her hep b shot. when I asked what that was, she didn't say what it was, she just said "No problem, we can wait on that."LOL I got the impression that she didn't want to do it. Then, at our appointments, anytime I questioned a vaccine, she would say "We can wait on that." Until that point, I thought vaccines weren't an option and I could really tell that she didn't want to do them. When my son was due to get one and started to get upset, she said "How about we wait until next year for that, ok?" to him.

As this was going on, I was getting used to being in a "crunchier" area of the States and learning a lot from new friends. I found a few friends who were seeing a naturapath and decided to give her a try. She changed everything!

I wish I knew about vaccines with my first and I always admire those who know all this stuff with their first child. It wasn't really until my 3rd that I did the research.

[Marnica]

An acquaintances baby died 14 hrs after her DTaP..it was called SIDS. She thought it was from the vaccine, I thought she was a fruitcake. I began researching to prove to my friend that she WAS a fruitcake. My oh my was I wrong.

At the same time I also began becoming disillusioned with alloptahic medicine and had turned to alternative stuff with great results....

It all came together and started to make sense for me....

As a result I also tend to stay away from allopathic medicine except in emergency type situations

[broodymama]

When I was pregnant with DS, I deliberately avoided this section of MDC. : Just trying to bury my head in the sand.

Then when I was visiting my grandmother in my 3rd trimester, she said "look into all those shots they give babies these days, honey, I just don't think they're safe". Apparently my cousin, 24 years younger than me, had a very severe reaction and significant regressions after a vaccine and never really fully recovered. I didn't start looking into it, but the thought was planted.

The night before DS' two month appointment, I just had this incredibly bad feeling about getting him the shots. I don't know why, but it just felt wrong down to the core of my being. I mentioned that to DH and he said "well, just don't get them". I skipped them, got kicked out of that ped's office, went home and started my research.

I'm so glad my grandmother mentioned that to me, though I don't think she expected me to not vax at all.

[Asiago]

Having pets opened my eyes to researching vaccination. I attended veterinary lectures, talked with my veterinarian, ordered veterinary books and a DVM mag subscription, and read all that I could in order to understand vaccines more so. It gave a me a really excellent foundation to understanding how vaccines work, how they are manufactured, the risks/benefits, the marketing, and so on.

Now being pregnant, I am thankful that I have this foundation. I cannot imagine just having 40 weeks to research all about childhood vaccines and starting afresh. Though it is completely different in terms of the diseases, and other aspects, the basics are the same as veterinary vaccines. Although, truly it seems veterinary vaccines are better tested, they actually divide them into 'core' (universally reccomended) and non-core vaccines. I feel that it is quite wrong that human vaccines are not divided into core and non-core. Also veterinarians are encouraged to tailor each animal's vaccination protocol to the individual, it's immune status, it's lifestyle and other factors, versus a one size fits all approach. It just seems to be that it's a better run system of vaccines and vaccination overall.

Even overvaccination and reactions are commonly discussed, it's not this attitude as in human vax that 'reactions are very rare'. Reactions are openly discussed in veterinary literature and it's a common topic. I feel in human medicine there is this big curtain between the public and medical personnel. One gets one side of the story the other gets another. As if the public needs to be shielded from the truth and not to overly worry us with too much info "that we may not comprehend". It often seems very condescending the literature put out for parents and just adults in general.

What is also interesting is that my husband and I interviewed seven (hand picked after a lot of research) pediatricians in order to choose one that will be our baby's doctor.
There was such a difference in the knowledge and outlook on vaccines from one to the other. It was amazing how much they differed.

[AnalogWife]

I never questioned them. I had a very "mainstream" pregnancy and one day on the Fertility Friend boards I saw this "crazy" poster with a "Say no to Vax" blinkie and my immediate thoughts were "Girl crazy. Nuts. I don't get it." Then I started to drift into the Natural Birth threads and those led me to Breastfeeding threads and CD, etc... I still had no idea why some of these people were saying 'no' to vax, but it was in the back of my mind to find out. And then once the nurse talked me into a Hep B vaccine for DS, I was disgusted with myself as that jab went in, for something that I KNEW ds didn't need, that was the last straw, I was responsible for this little creature and he deserved my attention to detail, there wasn't room to screw around.

[bbrandonsmom]

Wow you guys
I guess what I'm not getting is how anyone reads about the potential risks of vaccines, but keeps doing them? I don't understand the "blind eye" type of thing, especially when it comes to our children, or our own health. I know a lot of people just want to have that faith in the system, but when you read or hear about medical proffesionals themselves refusing vaccines, or not giving them to thier children, wouldn't you start to question it? Do you guys have any friends/family that do know about it, but still vax and why?

[MyLilPwny]

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

I'm curious, what makes some people think to question vaccines and others to just accept them-no questions asked?

I was fortunate to discover natural/holistic health and healing research materials online when I was on my quest to cure my chronic severe acne (which I cured 100% through internal cleansing) and Kevin Trudeau's "Natural Cures" book. From many different holistic sources, I learned that vaccines are harmful, ineffective, damage your health, and vaccines are definitely not a holistic approach to medicine. I discovered Dr. Tim O'Shea's web site www.thedoctorwithin.com early on and soon after www.westonaprice.org (the foundation has several links to anti-vaccine sites), so the wealth of information that I had discovered in the natural/holistic health and healing field was my primary background for vaccines, first and foremost, long before I ever became pregnant. That is why I knew that I would not be using Allopathic medicine at all (unless for cases of emergencies) so I knew to do a home birth with my baby, no drugs, no vaccines, etc. and I'm very happy and 100% confident with my decisions.

[AnalogWife]

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

Wow you guys
Do you guys have any friends/family that do know about it, but still vax and why?

My friend's first child is exactly one year older than mine, we compare a lot of notes. She tells me that vaxes were a concern for her, that she initially declined the HepB at the hospital, but when she brought her concerns to the pedi, the pedi erased all her fears. When DS was a year old I was sitting with her and her DSIL/DBIL who are physicians, we were discussing vaxing and the fact that I don't do it, and the docs said that they were all into the vax program, that they'd Gardasil their DD when the time came, etc...my friend pointed to them and said "See. I listen to them. They're doctors." I don't know why my friend was initially concerned about vaxes, I presume it might be because of message board chatter on the boards she frequents, but for her a doctor's word trumps anyone else's research. She also really likes her pedi, and her pedi told her that she wouldn't see her kids if she didn't follow the vax schedule (HELL-O!)

My Dsil is a nurse and did A LOT of work with babies, she was a little perturbed to learn that I was veering away from vaxes. When she asked why I regretted letting DS get the HepB vax, I told her that I didn't feel DS was at risk for getting HepB, she was sitting next to her piano and told me that he could get it from someone else's piano keys. I mentioned this here on MDC before and got some laughs, posters wondered what she thought DS was going to DO with those piano keys. But on the more serious side, as much as I love my DSIL and that she absolutely LOOOOOOVES my DS, I'm a little annoyed that she was so willing to spread bad medical information. It makes me further distrustful of the medical establishment. The physician relatives that my friend trusted over laypersons research...their biggest argument was "REALLY SMART PEOPLE developed vaccines!" I'll never, ever get over that.

Who teaches med/nursing schools??? Merck???

[APBTlover]

I started questioning vax heavily about 2-3 years ago. For me, there were 2 factors:
1) Chicken pox vax. I just couldn't understand why it was "required." Really? Everyone in my school had it, and I had TRIED to contract it. I never had a clinically diagnosed infection, however, so I got the vax for myself before college. So in researching any conceivable reason WHY it would be so pushed as a childhood vax, I also ran across very discomforting numbers (to me) about how effective the vax was even if one did get it. That kind of cracked the door, if you know what I mean.
2) My family dog died of cancer. Before his death, while researching ways to comfortably prolong his life, I came across all this info about vaccinosis, vaccine-induced cancers, etc, in dogs. As Asiago pointed out, vax-related issues are much more openly discussed in veterinary medicine. I thought, "why are those of us who go around on 2 legs immune to these problems?" The most logical answer is... we aren't. So I finally got brave enough to venture over to this board on MDC and start sifting through the piles of information...

[carriebft]

Originally Posted by bbrandonsmom

Wow you guys
I guess what I'm not getting is how anyone reads about the potential risks of vaccines, but keeps doing them? I don't understand the "blind eye" type of thing, especially when it comes to our children, or our own health. I know a lot of people just want to have that faith in the system, but when you read or hear about medical proffesionals themselves refusing vaccines, or not giving them to thier children, wouldn't you start to question it? Do you guys have any friends/family that do know about it, but still vax and why?

I am researched and I do some vaccines. I know others who do as well. How is it possible? I believe the situation hinges on the fact that each family is different, each situation is different, and everyone's risk/benefit analysis is different.

Two perfectly logical people can read the same information on vaccines and come to two different conclusions because of their differing situations, values, experiences, etc.

[SuburbanHippie]

I had 2 vaxed kids before I "woke up." My 3rd child was 18 months and got one shot and we walked down the hallway towards the lobby. The nurse chased us yelling "Wait! Wait! Come back!" I stopped and turned around and she said "I need you to come back. There was a problem with the vaccine." The blood rushed from my face as she led as back to the room. We sat there for 5 minutes and I just sobbed. It felt like 5 years. All the "what ifs" were running through my mind. Finally, she came back in and said "okay, well we messed up. She was supposed to get this one also." HECK NO! We high tailed it out of there and I started researching. We haven't vaxed any of the kids since.

I've been absorbed in the anti-vaccine movement since that day. I research vaccines for a hobby I guess you could say. I left a mainstream parenting board for MDC recently because I just couldn't handle how everyone just blindly trusts their allopathic doctors. It just blows my mind.

[just_lily]

I know a few people who *think* they have done a lot of research, but that consisted of asking their doctor (who said to vax) or the public health nurses (the people who spend like 90% of their time giving vaxes). Not exactly non-biased, and to be frank their knowledge is usually not very in-depth.

I know one person IRL who took the time to do some serious analysis. Her first was selective/delayed, and her second hasn't had any vax.

I don't know anyone anywhere who has done a lot of research and done the standard schedule as recommended.

[BeckyBird]

A few years ago, I saw a Montel Williams show about children who had the MMR vax, and then developed autism. I cried, it was so sad. So I started to question the whole vax system--after all, I had a son who had been fully vaxxed, and I thank God every day that he came out alright. I was very upset with myself for going with the "flow" and listening to the doctors. It dawned on me that my son might have become a completely different person if he had a reaction to his shots. I might not have ever heard him say "I love you", and the thought still kills me today.

Every person has the responsibility to research vaccines for themselves. Doctors, pharmacy companies, CDC, FDA, etc....these are not religions! Yet people believe every word they say as if they were gods. There is a whole other side to the pharmaceutical story, and some people refuse to believe anything else but what they are told. I wish more people would read up on the other side of issues, and then decide where they stand.

[PlayaMama]

i read a few books with my son and ended up designing my own schedule from the cdc website with suggested intervals.

i read a TON of scientific articles when pregnant with my dd and she is currently unvaxed. i will be starting her vaxes probably around 3 or 4 or when we move to a more populated area.

i will be vaxing her with mmr, dtap, and possibly polio depending on where we wind up. i will be skipping the heps, chicken pox, and any of the suggested ones for younger children. i do think the regular schedule and timing of the vaxes is a bit much but i also think there is a benefit to some of the vaccines.