What first made you seriously doubt (the mainstream view of) vaccines?

[emma1325]

For me, it was hearing conflicting information on whether or not vaccines contained mercury. Some sources said vaccines contained mercury; others claimed they did not.

To make matters worse, I interviewed 4 different pediatricians within the same group, and all of them told me something very different regarding mercury in vaccines. One laughed and said mercury in vaccines is a myth...that there's never been mercury in vaccines. Another said there was mercury in vaccines, and recommended that we research all vaccine ingredients. Another said there used to be mercury in vaccines, but it had since all been removed from every vaccine. Yet another said the amount of mercury contained in vaccines was minute and harmless.

There was no truth found through interviewing these doctors, except that doctors operate on assumptions and opinions, just like everyone else.

After these interviews, I decided to delay vaccinations until I knew MUCH more. (We're still delaying, and it's been 4 years. )

What about you? Was there one piece of information that perked up your ears and got you really thinking about vaccine safety...ultimately leading to your not vaccinating or delay/selectively vaccinating?

[Fyrestorm]

The CP vaccine...I mean really? Are you kidding me?

[BarefootGirl]

Finding out that the hepatitis vaccine is routinely recommended for day-old babies.... seriously?

[rabrog]

I watched a friend's 2yo the day he got his MMR (this was in '02) and he was just curled up asleep on the couch, looked feverish and sluggish and both she and I just knew something wasn't right. He was diagnosed with autism about a year later. They had to move their whole family (them and two kids) to get the services he needs.

I started researching and read what I could find until I got pregnant in June '03. Then I just told DH I wasn't vaxing our kids and if he disagreed I'd be leaving with the child. He left it up to me and is now fully on board.

Jenn

[Crazybean]

For me, it was my pregnancy and my protectiveness of my child from the start. I like to be well informed about ANYTHING- even the gripe water and rice cereal that was recommended for his colic. Anyway, what really set me off into research was my husbands medical history. His step mother gave us his entire medical record so he could have it for reference or whatever he wanted. Anyway, I started reading through things and got to entires from the doctor when he got his vaccines. Every single entry after a shot was given was his health declining and behavior changing. He also seemed to regress developmentally per the doctor's own words.
I asked to see my brother in laws records as well and many of the same "effects" happened too at the same times so who knows.. I won't be testing on mine.

[AllyRae]

Seeing doctors and nurses flat out lie to me in order to inoculate my child. At my son's birth, I told them no hep B. I said I refused it. They gave it to him anyhow and then said "oh, we never heard you say that". I didn't know enough then to bring in a paper saying not to vax him.

A few months later, he had the dtap and had such a severe reaction to it, that reaction is listed on the CDC's list of reasons to not give the vax again. However, his pediatrician at the time lied flat out about the vaccines she prescribed, said she wasn't going to give it to him, the nurse came in, gave him the vaxes, and as I left, she told me the doctor prescribed the dtap and she GAVE it to him. Not only was my son diagnosed with autism less than a year later, but I found out that the particular practice gave tropical vacations to pediatricians that had "perfect vaccination rate" (aka: 100% of their patients were vaxed with all vaxes).

Once I found out that doctors are not only BRIBED to give vaccines, but will lie and have their staff lie in order to give them, I walked away from the traditional view (and that UAV doctor's practice).

[MyLilPwny]

The very first time I ever heard or read about someone saying to refuse all vaccines, that they are detrimental to health is when I read Kevin Trudeau's "Natural Cures" book in 2005, which helped me a lot particularly because his information on internal cleansing actually did cure my acne & oily skin 100% and I agree with a lot of what his book says and I think he's definitely right about vaccines. I pursued researching more into holistic health and healing and it is a common teaching in holistic health that vaccines damage health and do not contribute anything towards health or prevention of disease whatsoever. So, I did a lot of research and knew before I was ever pregnant that I wouldn't be vaccinating. Holistic health is about nourishing the body and creating balance within the body. Vaccines only inject poison which does not belong in the body, thus creating imbalance and disruption.

[mi_amor]

Once I held my baby, I couldn't imagine giving him so many needles when he was so tiny. My friend mentioned how her DS had a reaction after his first set of vaccines and how her doctor told her not to give him anymore. This made me question their safety.

I spent many nights reading about vaccines, their ingredients, and effectiveness and DH and I are happy DS hasn't been vax'd yet.

[fruitfulmomma]

I read A Shot in the Dark when I was pregnant with my oldest and the reactions of DTP described in there fit my husband's childhood illness to a t.

[~Demeter~]

When my 2 month old 3rd born son had a vax reaction and my doctor said it was normal. When I denied the CP vax for my second born son and it was still given to him anyway. I found out that he was given it 3 years after the fact. When I was offered the rotavirus vax and when I questioned what it was for, was told it was for diarrhea. I looked at my doctor incredulously... and said, they have a vaccine for diarrhea? Anyway.. it was a long, winding, questioning road that led me to fully question and look. My subsequent children will and have not been vaccinated. I can't believe I let it happen for so long and didn't listen to my inner gut for so many years.

[Funny Face]

Homebirth.

After I challenged my thinking regarding childbirth I pretty much started questioning anything the medical model recommended.

We ended up deciding on delayed/select vax and dd reacted to the very first one. NO ONE would recognize it or help treat us except for this vaccine injury specialist in another state. After that we were pretty much done with vaxing.

I've researched and researched and heard both sides and weighed information and my biggest reason for not vaxing is that I don't trust big pharm in the info they give out enough to even chance it.

[caned & able]

common sense

[sapientia]

good question.

I suppose I always knew not to. I very vividly remember getting the polio vaccine and losing the use of my legs soon after-I was two at the time. I was paralyzed only for a short time but I never will forget going to the doc, and not feeling right and hours later not even being able to stand. The doc's thought I'd never walk again and said it was a very 'rare' side effect. However, i did walk again but ever since then I have weird nerve pain in my legs so bad that I can't have them rubbed. (massage school was a trip)When I became pregnant with our first I was already way deep in the midwifery/natural healing bit and it all just followed suit.

i haven't vaccinated any of my children and I won't. period.

[bbrandonsmom]

Gut instinct and ds was having a reaction. Here's a link to a couple pages on why some don't vax.
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...hy+you+don+vax

[LilacMama]

Giving Hepatitis B vaccines to newborns and no one being able to tell me WHY we were doing it.

It made me decide to skip that one for my baby. But I WAS going to give her most of the vaccines after I researched them. I just wanted to pick and chose which ones I believed she needed.

After researching, I believe that she has needed only one series so far (she's 12 months old).

[Sileree]

I was fully vaccinated by the age of five but was afraid of needles so my Mom filed a religious exemption for boosters for middle and high school.

All of my friends got their Tdap boosters and shots of Hep B, etc. and I noticed how their health got progressively worse. I grew up with these girls. One friend got vasculitis from a Hep B shot and was hospitalized and almost died (a doctor confirmed it was a causal effect). Another developed allergies to pretty much everything. Yet another is sick constantly, she gets pneumonia and has to take antibiotics at least three times a year for illnesses.

I compared their declining health to mine (which remained robust) and it made me uneasy. Sure it could be a coincidence but it made me research vaccines once I joined MDC.

[kiara7]

~got a flu shot
~dxed with MS 6 month later
~got pregnant
~found MDC
~put two and two together

= no shots for my son

[ASusan]

I read David Kirby's Evidence of Harm when it came out (2005).

[GAjenn]

We were at the 6 month "well" visit and they wanted to give her 4 different vax and 2 of them were what I call cocktails. We went with the one they said was most important and I started reading that night. I have found that a lot of what I read now in Mothering is what I felt instinctively all along. BF, babywearing, delayed vax, bed sharing....I have lost my willingness to blindly trust the medical community.

[smeep]

I had a coworker who, upon finding out I was birthing in a freestanding birth center, excitedly said, "I had my kids in a birth center too, nursed them both and didn't vaccinate them!" ... I looked at her like she was nuts for not vaxing and then thought, well, she is an incredibly educated woman...why not look into it? So I did. And I couldn't be happier. DS has never had a single vax. Can't say if I would have looked into it or not had I not gotten that job and had that coworker. Vax's, in any way, never crossed my mind until that point.