Moving to Chile and don't want to vax

[SBCornais]

We are moving to Santiago, Chile this November. My daughter will be 12 months when we move. We have never vaccinated her and don't have any plans to. No vaccinations are needed to enter the country, but family members have started to make me worry now. We will be down there for 2 to 4 years. I am still breastfeeding and hope to breastfeed until my daughter is 2, at minimum, hopefully we can go longer.

Should I get her vaxed before she goes? Does anyone know of a good resource to help me decide if she would be safe un-vaxed down there?

Thank you so much!!

[Marnica]

What are your family member's specific concerns?

Are they fact based or just fear based on ...well nothing?

I assume you will not be living out in a mud hut, but in Santiago where medical care is avaliable if needed. This may ease your mind

http://apps.who.int/immunization_mon...fileresult.cfm

look at the reported cases of VPD's in this country. Very small. Looks like mumps and pertussis, but this is no different from the US. Chile has a highly vaccinated population.

and here
http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/country/chl/en/
there hasn't been a disease outbreak reported in chile since a cholera outbreak in 1998.

I'd be more concerned about earthquakes than i would about VPD's!

[Emmeline II]

Take a copy of "Naturally Healthy Babies and Children" and "How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Dr."

[SBCornais]

Thank you both!! The WHO link made me feel much better and will be a great reference to send to family if they keep giving me a hard time.

[isabchi]

I'm Chilean. I don't see any different in the medical and sanitary conditions between USA and Chile. Chilean population is highly vaccinated. From my point of view the common chilean contagious illness is due to over use of antibiotics, polution (in Santiago) and too much junk food diet.
If you going to live in Santiago try to travel often to other city to have fresh air, eat tons of probiotics and has a healthy life style.

[SBCornais]

isbichi...
thanks for the info! yes, we will be living in Santiago. I am concerned about the pollution but we are planning to be out of the city every weekend for exploring and fresh air. I am also thinking about buying some air purifiers for the home and one that we can clip to us while out and about in the city.
We already eat very healthy (westonaprice.org) and add probiotics to our diet.
Any other advice would be welcomed!

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by isabchi

I'm Chilean. I don't see any different in the medical and sanitary conditions between USA and Chile. Chilean population is highly vaccinated. From my point of view the common chilean contagious illness is due to over use of antibiotics, polution (in Santiago) and too much junk food diet.
If you going to live in Santiago try to travel often to other city to have fresh air, eat tons of probiotics and has a healthy life style.

I'm not Chilean, but I've lived in Santiago and have to agree with this. The pollution is a much bigger health concern than the VPDs, and public health officials there seemed as obsessed with vaxes as they are in the U.S. (Maybe Isabchi, being Chilean, has a different experience. But that was my impression)!

I did everything that the WHO told me to before I went there (and before I was better educated ) I got vaccinated for Hep A and even had an oral typhoid fever vax! The people at the health dept tried to portray Santiago as some disease-ridden, third-world cesspool, and I believed them. Never mind that they'd never been there.

[isabchi]

Originally Posted by Turquesa

I'm not Chilean, but I've lived in Santiago and have to agree with this. The pollution is a much bigger health concern than the VPDs, and public health officials there seemed as obsessed with vaxes as they are in the U.S. (Maybe Isabchi, being Chilean, has a different experience. But that was my impression)!

I did everything that the WHO told me to before I went there (and before I was better educated ) I got vaccinated for Hep A and even had an oral typhoid fever vax! The people at the health dept tried to portray Santiago as some disease-ridden, third-world cesspool, and I believed them. Never mind that they'd never been there.

Yep, public health officials are very fascinated and all about vaccinations. So sad!. Any way, in Santiago you will have access to few holistic health providers, maybe some antroposophic doctors.
Try to contact Organic farmers group ( through facebook) in advance to access to variety of produces or maybe could be a good idea to contact slow food chile. You can find organic produces in supermarkets but a very high prices. Be aware that chilean veggies are higly sprayed. If you drink cows milk, you have to know that almost nobody drinks fresh milk, It's quiet popular powder milk or in Tetra packs ( like Parmalat).
I'll also try to figure out in advance how to access to some products or supplement that are very expensive in Chile like Coconut Oil and vitamins, maybe trough Amazon.