advice about not vaccinating

[happymom7]

Hello,
I have two children, ages 10 and 11. I choose not to vaccinate them. I am now in a position where they are without a health care practitioner. I feel uneasy with this, because I worry that they need to have yearly checkups. I am treated unkind by the pediatrician that took care of them when they were babies. They looked at me and clearly said if there is one thing they hate, it is a parent that chooses not to give their child any vaccines.

I was just wondering how other parents deal with yearly check-ups and health care practitioners if they chose not to vaccinate. My children are also unschoolers, so this doesn't make it any easier for me. Every time I take them to a health care practitioner, I first get harassed for not vaccinating. Then my kids get harassed and quizzed on their academic performance because we homeschool. Can anyone relate or offer me some advice? Thanks in advance!
Paula

[Marnica]

to MDC

Well After quitting our first practice, we have found a ped who is ok with us not vaxing. To be honest, however, we don't use her much because we get 99% of our care from an ND who is 100% supportive of our choice. DS is almost 2 and up to this point we have done WBV because I want to establish a relationship with this doc so that in the event we do need to see her for something, she is not a total stranger KWIM? BUT this woman is ok with us not vaxing. If I could not find someone that was ok with my choices, I would NOT being subjecting myself to yearly harrassments.

I think non vaxing parents deal with this unfortunate attitude in several ways.

1) There are parents here that don't get yearly check ups. If you think about it, unless your child is ill, there is no reason to go see a doctor.

2) Some feel they need to do the check up so they have searched and searched until they have found a doc who is ok with their choices. It may be difficult, but they are out there!

3) Some get check ups, but with alternative practitioners like an ND

[thtr4me]

Hve you looked into a family practitioner? That is what we have. Once doc for the whole family. I have found that family practioners in general seem a bit more open minded.

[Emmeline II]

You could check your tribal area. We don't have a ped; we go to a DO.

[A Mom's Love]

So sorry to hear you're going through this. I tend to side with not worrying about the check-ups if you feel your kids are healthy. If you are really wanting to have them done, though, I wouldn't worry about the lapse of time in between now and when you find a good doc. Also, depending on where you live, you may have to travel an hour or so to find a good doc. Good luck!!

[MountainMamaGC]

I have decided to pay to take my child to an ND once a year. They seem to be more proactive when it comes to health issues anyway, which is what I like. If I think we need a prescription I will just take her to a walk in clinic. Lucky for us, she has never needed to see a doctor for anything. She had an eye infection I treated with breast milk and no illness/fever has lasted longer than 3 days. She usually burns it off overnight so I am really lucky. The way I see it is nobody knows your child's health better than you. I dont need a WBV to tell me my child is doing awesome.

[happymom7]

thanks for the quick response!

I am sending a big thanks to all of you who responded so quickly! I find a lot of comfort in knowing that others understand my situation. I am going to try to find an ND or DC. I will also look into a family practitioner. Again, thanks so much!!!

[ammiga]

We go to a very natural minded DO, as needed. He doesn't even offer vaccines. If no issues come up, he likes to see kids once a year, but wouldn't drop us if we didn't bring in dd. Our whole family goes to him.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by thtr4me

Hve you looked into a family practitioner? That is what we have. Once doc for the whole family. I have found that family practioners in general seem a bit more open minded.

I'd love to see an ND but in the meantime we've seen a family practitioner. He was pro vax but didn't carry a stick about it, and respected our choice. From what I've read, that's a pretty typical experience with an FP.

An ND, I think, would probably actually applaud your choice. But they are harder to come by and not (or not usually) covered by insurance. Whether you choose an FP or an ND, though, I think you can make things a lot less stressful for yourself.

Our FP retired so I actually picked a ped again for DD for now... oddly enough he has not, in 1.5 years, even asked about vaccines despite the office being so blatantly pro-vaccine (posters on the wall, etc.). I keep waiting for the hammer to fall, lol.

[ursaminor]

Happymom7 - I just wanted to empathize on two points, one being I was an unschooled child and my parents made informed alternative decisions. I too had to deal with defending my intelligence and educational knowledge again & again (or at least more so than my conventionally school peers). I am now a no-vax mother and I have serious anxiety about bringing my 13 mo to his yearly check-up. We stopped doing WBV at 4 months. The more I hear of mamas paying for an ND to do their LO's yearly,...the more I consider that option for DS. take care, good luck!