Is my BF baby more susceptible to disease after 6 months????

[prettymomma]

I have been researching if I should or shouldn't vaccinate for a long time and have decided at this point to wait with the possiblity of being selective in the future on a few. My now 5 month old is exclusively breast-fed and I also work from home, so no day-care. I do understand the merits of vaccinating, but also feel there are risks in doing so - and I feel like we are in a pretty good position to not need to at this point in time. So, my question for you is this - I have a very good friend who is also an RN and was giving me some grief about not vaccinating. I assured her I have done the research and probably know a lot more about it than many people in the medical field and she let me know that my breast-fed baby only receives anti-bodies until he is 6 months old and after that he is not protected against diseases unless I vaccinate. Hmmm - so I have looked into that specific idea, and know that an infant does stop receiving antibodies directly into their bloodstream at about that time because they are producing their own anti-bodies. My real question is this -and I am having a hard time finding answers. Are they then more suceptible to disease for a while? How long? Is her threat valid in any way? I was under the impression that baby receives immunity benefits from BF always? I would love any info you have on this matter! Also, I know that stats on disease contraction probablility over-all but has anyone seen how stats change with breast fed babies as opposed to general population? And ONE MORE thing? Do you know if/where/who "they" are doing research on non-vaccinated kids aka following to see if they are less likely to develop long-term / chronic side-effects? THANKS!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by prettymomma

So, my question for you is this - I have a very good friend who is also an RN and was giving me some grief about not vaccinating. I assured her I have done the research and probably know a lot more about it than many people in the medical field and she let me know that my breast-fed baby only receives anti-bodies until he is 6 months old and after that he is not protected against diseases unless I vaccinate. Hmmm - so I have looked into that specific idea, and know that an infant does stop receiving antibodies directly into their bloodstream at about that time because they are producing their own anti-bodies. My real question is this -and I am having a hard time finding answers. Are they then more suceptible to disease for a while? How long? Is her threat valid in any way? I was under the impression that baby receives immunity benefits from BF always?

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mi...nefactors.html

In human milk, there is a complex system of antimicrobial factors... most of the factors are produced throughout lactation... Antibodies are present in human milk throughout lactation...
source: Nutrition During Lactation (1991, Institute of Medicine, p. 134-37)

Some of the immune factors in breastmilk have been shown to increase in concentration as the baby gets older and nurses less, so older babies still receive lots of immune factors.

She may be trying to explain passive immunity, which is immunity "inherited" from the mother before birth, for particular diseases the mother has had naturally (not through vaccination) and "boosted" by breastfeeding; that does wear off during the first year of life when child is better able to fight these diseases on their own (not because nature knew that thousands of years into the future vaccines would be invented).

Also, many, if not most, doctors/nurses expect that babies will be weaned by 6 months old; if the baby is weaned at six months, then she will not have that protection. If she continues to breastfeed she will continue to receive immune boosting benefits from breastmilk.



As far as vaccination is concerned, we do not vaccinate and we do not shelter our children (3,5) from the world in fear of disease.


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

[nia82]

Your baby receives antibodies much longer. It is true that certain disease-antibodies apparently wane or not there at all, example: you never had measles and only were vaccinated. I have read over and over that you won't transfer any measles antibodies to your baby.
Whenever you catch a cold, you will fight it and produce antibodies right away. You confer those into your breastmilk to your baby. When I caught the oh-so-bad swine flu, I had it for 5 days, DS was mildly feverish for a few hours followed by the slightest cough I have ever heard.
Your breastmilk will always be full of IgA/G/M and more, I hope others can point out research papers here.
6 months is so arbitrary, like my MD sister said 3 months, cause that's why she started vaccinating at 3 months. The medical community unfortunately knows little to nothing about breastmilk. They rather prescribe some drug.

[Marnica]

Emmeline is right, I think your friend is thinking of passive immunity. This has nothing to do with the positive benefits of extended breastfeeding.

Here are some research papers specifically about the benefits of breastfeeding and HIB

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/re...urcetype=HWCIT

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/re...urcetype=HWCIT

[seasiren]

Thanks you for listing all these resources Emmaline. I have a 2 1/2 month old and have been questioning the vaccine issue deeply. I am still looking for answers to all your listed questions, any chance you can send me a note on a good resource that describes the diseases. I don't trust the clinic I go to for that info.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by seasiren

Thanks you for listing all these resources Emmaline. I have a 2 1/2 month old and have been questioning the vaccine issue deeply. I am still looking for answers to all your listed questions, any chance you can send me a note on a good resource that describes the diseases. I don't trust the clinic I go to for that info.

Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent's Guide is a good book for that. I think you should watch Dr. Tenpenny's video first though.

[prettymomma]

seasiren - I have read The Vaccine Book By Dr. Sears and I really like it and recommend it to everyone. It is very non-biased and will tell you about every vaccine individually - side effects proven and not, ingredients, controversy etc. and stats of every disease it prevents - how bad is it, how likely to contract etc. And, he also offer alternatives to the recommended vaccine schedule and talks about all the reasons people choose not to vaccinate. It really is a great resource with a ton of info. you'll get through it in about 2 hours and go back and read it again and again. Even though he is pro-vaccination, he provided enough info and stats to make me feel comfortable not vaccinating. I may do Hep B anda few select vacs in the future, but for now I am letting my 5 month old develop a strong, healthy immune system! Good luck!

[prettymomma]

[QUOTE=Emmeline II;14962188]http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mi...nefactors.htmlShe may be trying to explain passive immunity, which is immunity "inherited" from the mother before birth, for particular diseases the mother has had naturally (not through vaccination) and "boosted" by breastfeeding; that does wear off during the first year of life when child is better able to fight these diseases on their own (not because nature knew that thousands of years into the future vaccines would be invented).

Thanks for all this info! I greatly appreciate the support. This really is the best site with the best readers!