Where to start?

[erin23kate]

We're expecting our first in March.

I never had a second thought about vaccinating (I was, DH was etc) until I decided to question everything about my healthcare and my baby's... found out about the HepB shot at birth and started to question things. I had no idea how many more vaccines are required now than when I was a kid, and I'm really questioning the entire process.

I know that I will at least selectively vaccinate.... but this is all very new to me.

Where do I start? I want to make informed, intelligent choices and don't want to have to have blind faith in my child's doctor's opinion. By the same token, "The Internet" is full of misinformation, rumors, and conflicting information.

Can anyone recommend a place to start for researching vaccination?

Thank you.

[tessa_s212]

First thing, get researching. Everyone on a forum can tell you what THEY do, but you have to decide for yourself.

I'm stil in the process of educating myself. I started a little late, and now that my DS is 2 months, I'm still not sure about vaccines.

Order The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. Everyone anti-vaccs that I've ever talked to says it is GREAT. It details every disease, symptoms of the disease, how severe it is, the vaccines, ingredients, side effects, etc.

[erin23kate]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

Order The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. Everyone anti-vaccs that I've ever talked to says it is GREAT. It details every disease, symptoms of the disease, how severe it is, the vaccines, ingredients, side effects, etc.

That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Any other recommended reading?

[nicolebeth]

How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor--Robert S. Mendelsohn (this is our go-to book when DS refuses medication at 102.5 fever, and it goes up more)

Vaccinations (not whole title)--Aviva Jill Romm, though I actually prefer her other book-Naturally Healthy Babies and Children. If you can actually get some of the ingredients she mentions, there are good natural remedies for a variety of illnesses. I pull it out when someone has a bad cough or when we have flu in the house.

I liked Sears's book, too. And, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations--Stephanie Cave (she also discusses alternative schedules; like Sears, she is not anti-vaccine. She is pro informed decision-making).

[nataliachick7]

Dr sears book IS TERRIBLE. It is completely biased, and full of misinformation. It is poorly written, and there is lost of fear mongering.
A great book is like pp said, by Aviva Jill romm. Also, another GREAT book, backed up with FACTS is Neil z Millers vaccine book, make sure you get the second edition. These books arent that expensive, and trust me, they are worth every penny. You will thank yourself for ordering them once you learn all the info.

[nichole]

Originally Posted by nicolebeth

How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor--Robert S. Mendelsohn (this is our go-to book when DS refuses medication at 102.5 fever, and it goes up more)


And, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations--Stephanie Cave (she also discusses alternative schedules; like Sears, she is not anti-vaccine. She is pro informed decision-making).

my two favorites for getting started

[xmasbaby7]

Good for you! Start reading.

I don't like the Dr. Sears book at all. his talks in person at LLL meetings are so much better than the content of the book.

I would recommend the book by Romm: Vaccinations, A Thoughtful Parent's Guide.

I like it best because it talks as much about the diseases and their treatments as it does the vaccines and schedules. The best way to make a truly informed choice is to do enough research to work through your fear.

Many people new to this board and most parents have decided that the vaccines are scary or that the diseases are scary.

When you feel like you have really educated yourself, it is an awesome feeling to make your decision and feel satisfied with it deep down in your gut. I think this takes a few years.

I am a passionate advocate for no vaccines for any child the first two years of life, and it gives the parent an ample time to research and begin to understand a child's health and any specific vulnerabilities.

It also lets a parent usually see that their own child fights off illness differently than their peers, assessing the full strength of an unhampered immune system. This is what led me from being a delayed and selective vaxer to a non vaxer.

Take your time and read, read, read. After you read a good book, break up the schedule and study each disease at a time, and see what resources you have available to you should your child contract them, but also look at published data to see how many children in your area or state come down with each disease to see if any are real risks for your family.

The bacterial and viral infections I felt we were most vulnerable to were: Rotavirus, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Chicken Pox, and Whooping Cough.

I would far prefer traditional treatment of these illness should they happen than vaccinating her against them.

[tessa_s212]

Originally Posted by nataliachick7

Dr sears book IS TERRIBLE. It is completely biased, and full of misinformation. It is poorly written, and there is lost of fear mongering.
A great book is like pp said, by Aviva Jill romm. Also, another GREAT book, backed up with FACTS is Neil z Millers vaccine book, make sure you get the second edition. These books arent that expensive, and trust me, they are worth every penny. You will thank yourself for ordering them once you learn all the info.

Why is this? All the anti-vaccine people I know LOVE this book. ???? He's the person that writes for attachment parenting isn't he? I thought this anti-vaccine, AP crowd loved Dr. Sears?

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

Why is this? All the anti-vaccine people I know LOVE this book. ???? He's the person that writes for attachment parenting isn't he? I thought this anti-vaccine, AP crowd loved Dr. Sears?

It is often recommended because it is written by a respected doctor and some people won't even consider anything that doesn't come from a doctor. But he still recommends ALL vaccines on the schedule, just on an alternate schedule.

[nataliachick7]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

Why is this? All the anti-vaccine people I know LOVE this book. ???? He's the person that writes for attachment parenting isn't he? I thought this anti-vaccine, AP crowd loved Dr. Sears?

I cant stand him. He is very pro vaccine, and gives false information at that. I dont care if youre pro vaccine, at least give correct information. Have you read his book? Terrible read. I dont know anyone that is completely anti vaccine that likes his book.

I also second the Robert S Mendelsohn book, i just got it from borders for like 8 bucks.

[Cristiaz]

No to Dr. Sears! He uses fear mongering and writes as if parents are idiots. This book doesn't inform but try to form the opinion for the parent with biased info.

I suggest two great books:

The Truth About Childrens Health by Robert Bernardini, M.S.

and

The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination is Not Immunization by Tim O'Shea. There are 13 editions to this book due to the amount of vaxes that are created non stop so make sure to get the newest copy to get up to date info on ALL vaccines.

[MyLilPwny]

Vaccination Liberation - read the "Science" section
http://www.vaclib.org/

National Vaccine Information Center - see the "Resources" and "Diseases and Vaccines" section
http://www.nvic.org/

Saying No To Vaccines by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny is a good book to balance the other side of the vaccine debate.

I also like The Truth About Childrens Health by Robert Bernardini, M.S; The Sanctity of Human Blood: Vaccination I$ Not Immunization by Dr. Tim O'Shea; How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor by Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn; and even though Dr. Stephanie Cave's book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations is essentially a "pro-vaccine" book because Dr. Cave believes they work and gives vaccines in her practice, at least the book attempts to give a "fair" representation of the bad side of vaccines, but still doesn't cover everything. That is why its important to read sources written by authors who are against all vaccines and who do not believe vaccines were responsible for the significant decline in diseases.

I have Dr. Sears The Vaccine Book and the only reason I haven't physically destroyed it is because I like to reference the all the preposterous comments and claims the book makes and then I disprove them. Like this one:

Whenever I meet a parent who doesn't vaccinate (or only partially vaccinates) her child, I like to pick her brain a little to see how she thinks. I've written down many responses over the years, and I've recorded the thoughtful and logical ones in this section of each chapter. I've purposely left out any of the really, shall we say, "interesting" ideas. Although the inclusion of such interesting comments would be sure to entertain and amuse you--like the one about germs not really causing infections; they're just a normal and harmless part of our everyday existence, so the shots aren't needed to prevent them--some of them might just confuse the heck out of you, and this book is all about unconfusion.)

Microorganisms are “environment-specific.” That is why some people develop disease and others do not when both are exposed, its why some people have more severe symptoms than others, and its why some survive and some don’t. But don’t expect Dr. Sears to cover that. That concept it too “unthoughtful”, too “illogical”, and too “confusing” for his readers.

[Deborah]

If you have a little time, I'd recommend getting books from the public library instead of buying them. After you have a look at a book you'll know if you want to own it or not. If your library doesn't have all the books you want to review, you can request them through interlibrary loan. Ask a librarian how it works, if there are any fees and how long it takes.

I do a lot of interlibrary loan borrowing for my patrons and most of the books come within 2 or 3 days after the request goes in, so it needn't be a terribly slow process. We ask for donations for postage, but it is still cheaper than buying used books online and you aren't stuck with books you hate.

[Deir]

I definitely recommend Aviva Jill Romm's book. Very informative. I have to say though that I just read Dr Sears's book and I didn't find it as bad as everyone is saying. Possibly because I have already done so much research. It wasn't my first book. Ironically, even though he is pro-vaccine, I found it to be convincing in the other direction. He is pretty honest about the lack of risk for most of the diseases. In fact it made me think- "why is he still pro vaccine?" Also he does at least leave the door open on the idea of MMR and autism and other things. My philosophy has moderated a little because of many things so his book didn't bother me so much.

[tessa_s212]

I thought he was anti-vacc, so when I was reading he was actually recommending them, I was confused. I think he still provides unbiased facts on diseases nad vacc though. I don't blame him for going out and saying that diseases aren't caused by germs or viruses. I didn't know some people actually believed something that whacky(he mentioned some people believing that in teh book). I just take his opinion as only that. .opinion. I weigh only the information he gives about diseases and vacc.

[MyLilPwny]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

I thought he was anti-vacc, so when I was reading he was actually recommending them, I was confused. I think he still provides unbiased facts on diseases nad vacc though. I don't blame him for going out and saying that diseases aren't caused by germs or viruses. I didn't know some people actually believed something that whacky(he mentioned some people believing that in teh book). I just take his opinion as only that. .opinion. I weigh only the information he gives about diseases and vacc.

Yeah, some people here on MDC, including myself do not believe in The Germ Theory. Sorry, but we're not "whacky" as you say. We've just done a lot of research in regards to immune system function, nutrition, holistic health, and what causes and prevents disease. Here is a thread that picks apart all the flaws and holes in Germ Theory:

Germ theory and how it pertains to Vaccines?
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=784572

[Cristiaz]

Originally Posted by ThereseReich

Yeah, some people here on MDC, including myself do not believe in The Germ Theory. Sorry, but we're not "whacky" as you say. We've just done a lot of research in regards to immune system function, nutrition, holistic health, and what causes and prevents disease. Here is a thread that picks apart all the flaws and holes in Germ Theory:

Germ theory and how it pertains to Vaccines?
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=784572

Consider me whacky as well...or should I say, consider me educated as well.

[BRmama]

To the OP I don't have much advice to give since I recommend all the books that were recommended and I'm still researching myself, but I look at it this way: When I was new on this subject someone posted on my thread saying that "you can always do the vaxes later but you can never undo them." So with that in mind I'm still questioning them and researching myself. Anyway just follow your gut on what you think is best for your lo and ask a lot of questions. GL researching.

[ema-adama]

Originally Posted by erin23kate

Where do I start? I want to make informed, intelligent choices and don't want to have to have blind faith in my child's doctor's opinion. By the same token, "The Internet" is full of misinformation, rumors, and conflicting information.

Can anyone recommend a place to start for researching vaccination?

Thank you.

This is a very large topic to start to delve into, and it can take you very interesting places as you ask more and more questions. It however can be very overwhelming in the beginning. You are lucky to be starting to look into this before you give birth.

I think the key to making the best decision for your family lies in asking the right questions and finding the information that best answers those questions.

EmmelineII has a list of questions here on MDC. If you can find them, they are a very good starting point to at least organise your research. They cover the diseases and the vaccines in depth.

About not trusting what you read on the internet. It helps to differentiate between opinion and information. The same goes for opinion/information you get in your doctors office. Look at the sources for the information/opinion, and try to find the evidence behind the claims/recommendations.

I personally like the Aviva Jill Romm book as she goes into the immune system and how it works (superficially, but accurately). She also covers the diseases themselves and the vaccines individually. She leaves you free to make the best choice for your family. It however is not very up to date, and she does not give you information on which vaccines are combined and which cannot be seperated.

The Sears book is one that I refer to when I want the ingredients lists for the different vaccines. I found the information he gave on the diseases not always accurate. He does a good job of opening the issue of aluminium in vaccines, although he goes on to recommend aluminium containing vaccines despite the lack of evidence for their safety.

And lastly, most information on the vaccines falls into two areas - evidence of their efficacy (how well do they work?) and evidence of their safety (are they safe in the short term and the long term?).

Good luck

[Emmeline II]

Here are some questions to answer for yourself in deciding about vax.

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:

Vaccines: The Risks, The Benefits, The Choices 1/18DVD, By Sherri J. TENPENNY



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

Health Sentinel Graphs

WHO GRAPH

Vaccine Injury Table

Beyond Conformity Resources Page
Do you have a quick-fire summary?

Inside Vaccines