I'm sorry about your son's death, Gismobabe.
There is a lot of variability among the Amish. A LOT of the Amish around here vaccinate.
My son is not vaxed and has IgE allergies to peanut and egg.
To answer the original question, I read Kirby's Evidence of Harm, back in 2005 and long before I became pregnant. It really opened my eyes.
Here's an excerpt from a blog post I wrote about vaccinations and how I came to my decision.
The reason I started researching vaccines so late is that it is such a HUGE topic. There are countless viewpoints, books, blogs and opinions about vaccines. There are conflicting studies, shady research and clinical trials... it's seriously overwhelming. We refused the Hepatitis B shot in the hospital. My reasoning at the time for declining was that we'd planned a homebirth anyway and I didn't think my baby would be using intravenous drugs anytime soon. It actually worked out well that I waited for doctor's visits. It gave me plenty of time to decide to skip all vaccinations.
I read so many different things to come to this decision. At first I thought we would just delay and selectively vaccinate. So, I got a list of all the vaccines given and started researching them. I researched the disease it protects against first. When was the last case, what the symptoms are, complications, prevention (besides that vaccine) and treatments. The most helpful resource for that was the Mayo Clinic website. It has all that information in an easy to read format.
For instance, I looked up rotavirus. It is spread hand to mouth and causes diarrhea. So, if Gideon has diarrhea, I will nurse him more often, watch him closely for signs of dehydration and take him to the hospital if he shows any signs. I crossed that one off the list of vaccines.
But, as I researched more, I realized that I don't feel comfortable allowing foreign substances to be injected into my baby. Vaccines don't only contain the virus- most also contain aluminum, preservatives, fetal human and bovine cells. And, I don't want to mess with his immune system at such a young age.
For me, it was when my oldest got to a year old and the pediatrician brought up the chicken pox vaccine. I knew I didn't want to get that one for him and it led me to research each vaccine individually.
my mom actually stopped our shot updates at some point and i remember her having to turn in the non vax/religious exemption waiver for school. then by the time i actually got married and pregnant i was already all for natural/home birth. i was lucky to be raised in a very natural minded home.
The death of my 6 month old son. He fell off a very low bed (according to all doctors, definitely not the reason for his severe brain bleed) 5 days after his DTP Pertussis HepB HiB shot. After months of accusing me of shaking my baby, the autopsy results reveal that there was (of course) no Shaken Baby Syndrom and it was determined that his death was "fateful". Several doctors have speculated that the vaccines had to do with his death.
Needless to say my subsequent child received no vaccines at all and has been perfectly healthy and I am not going to revaccinate my 6.5 y.o.
I'm so so sorry to hear that. My heart breaks for you. You are a brave, strong woman and are in my prayers.
We brought up circumcision with our close friends when I was pregnant with DD1... and after we all agreed that we would not cut our future sons - they said, "well what about vaccination?" And I thought, well what about it? I think it's strange now that I hadn't thought of it before then, but I'm so grateful they made me think of it. My family and friends have always regarded me as very hippie-ish, which I've always thought of as a weird label for someone who tries to think for herself unstead of just blindly following the herd. But nonetheless, my research in vaccines and the motives behind them have led DH and i to not vax our daughter.
I vaxed my older kids, but started worrying about allergies and other issues with my kids. I did research after the fact and deeply regretted vaxxing my older kids. DC#3 was not vaccinated except for tetanus, as a result of the research I did. It was a long process, but I've moved from embracing traditional medicine to looking at it warily. In fact, I look at everything warily now, not just vaccines. I'm a much stronger person since I started questioning the assumptions we all make about what's "right" for our children. I feel like I've finally grown up.
DD1 received all of her vaccinations on schedule until DD2 was born. When I was pregnant with DD2 I had a gut feeling that vaxing her was wrong. I read so many books and websites during that pregnancy and finally decided to vax her on a delayed, selective schedule, starting when she was 6 months old. I also delayed DD1 until I could decide which ones I wanted to give her.
When DD2 was 11 months old, she received the Prevnar vax. That night I knew something wasn't quite right but it was more of a feeling than anything in particular. The next morning she ended up in the ER, unable to sit up--every few minutes she would blank out and lean heavily back and to the left. Eventually she was unable to move her body at all. She was either stiff or limp and still had fits of leaning back and left. When I spoke to her she just stared into space until I got into her line of vision. Then she could track me with her eyes and cry/scream but couldn't reach out or really even change her facial expressions. She continued to decline until she began posturing like she was seizing, but also screaming and shrieking. She was as straight and stiff as a board, laying on my lap screaming nonstop, so they gave her 1/2mg of Adavan (sp.?) to calm her down. Several hours later she was unconscious in the ICU and they told us to call our family; they didn't know when or if she would wake up.
Luckily, later that night she did wake up. She made progress in her motor skills every day and a week later was released from the hospital. She is an awesome, articulate, coordinated 3.5 year old who seems to have recovered just fine. Neither of my kids has received any vaccines since then and our ped gave them both a medical exemption due to allergies. Her doctor there tested for everything he could think of as a possible cause, including several exotic diseases and some incredibly obscure things that she would have had virtually no chance of being exposed to. Even after 5 days of nonstop testing with no positive results, I couldn't get any of the specialists to agree that the vaccination was the cause. One doctor even told me I should get her the second round of Prevnar. The doctor in the ER was a friend of my mom's and was newly pregnant. She decided not to vaccinate her baby because of what happened to Lotus.
More than anything, the experience instilled a deep, unwavering strength in my intuition as a mother and showed me clearly that it's up to me, as the parent, to make informed choices about everything for my children. From the experiences in the doctor's office, where even receptionists questioned and judged my choices, to sitting--10 pounds lighter from stress and shock with a shaky, drunk-acting baby on my lap--listening to a pediatrician tell me that the same shot was a good idea, pounded into me that putting my kids into any kind of machine, be it medical or school or religious, is dangerous and could even be deadly. I'm not against all vaccines. I support other families' informed choices about vaccinations. I'm against following blindly, especially when it comes to my responsibility for someone else' well-being.
Sorry for the long post. I know most of you understand how hard it is to edit out ANYthing when you're talking about vaccines. lol!
The death of my 6 month old son. He fell off a very low bed (according to all doctors, definitely not the reason for his severe brain bleed) 5 days after his DTP Pertussis HepB HiB shot. After months of accusing me of shaking my baby, the autopsy results reveal that there was (of course) no Shaken Baby Syndrom and it was determined that his death was "fateful". Several doctors have speculated that the vaccines had to do with his death.
Needless to say my subsequent child received no vaccines at all and has been perfectly healthy and I am not going to revaccinate my 6.5 y.o.
When my college was harassing me as a freshman for not completing a certain series of vaccines, they almost refused to let me in, sent letters, tried to set up me talking with someone about it. A light bulb went off in my head something isn't right. This continued for years, my senior year they sent letters threatening to hold my diploma. My mom insisted I had all those shots before but she had lost the paperwork or something or another. I hate needles and flat out refused to comply. I felt bullied and refused to get more shots. In the end I ignored all the harassment and life went on and lo and behold I did get my diploma.
Fast forward to now when I let doctors know I plan to TTC and they ask if my shots are UTD I say yes.
The flu vaccine propaganda makes me cringe.
I am looking into the care of a ND.
I am still in research mode.
I also am protective of over vaccination when it comes to pets.
My daughters were both completely vax'd and I didn't think anything of it. That is what you did. My son was different. He had his vaxes on time until he was 15 months. He was non verbal and didn't interact with others. There was something different about him that I couldn't put my finger on. We had Children First coming to our house to work with him and his comprehension. I kept putting off his 15 month shot just because. It wasn't that I felt uncomfortable with it (maybe I didn't and wasn't paying attention) I made his appt to get his shots and I had a horrible feeling. I can say without a doubt that we would have lost him. Not lost him as in passing away but lost him and who he is. I can feel it down to my core that that would have been the case. My mom felt the same way. I canceled the appt and he has become "normal" for lack of a better word. Those next set of shots would have put him over the edge. I followed my mommy instincts. We do not vax any of our children now. This isn't because I have a bad feeling about them but because I couldn't imagine myself making an appointment, driving them there and getting them injected with chemicals. Sure I worry about the scary diseases but I pray and that helps.
Gismobabe - I am so incredibly sorry about your son.
I've always been someone who anticipated NOT immunizing my kids; and that was even before I knew all of the research and information about the products/chemicals that the immunizations are made out of. Since getting pregnant (and prior to that, getting involved with the birthing community) - the more science-based information I read, the more research I did, the more I realized that I would definitely NOT be vaccinating my child. I'm very thankful that I have a partner who realizes that the decisions I'm making for our children are based in science/research, and that I'm doing what is the best for their health. I feel that the risks of "highly recommended" vaccines outweigh the risks of not having them, and that in doing so, I'm simply prepping my infant's immune system for failure.
If my child grows up, educates themselves, and then decides differently - that they would like to be vaccinated as adults; I will support their decision to do so. However, I don't feel that it is my right or privilege as a parent to fill my infant's body with chemicals that have been proven to impact development.
I remember being five years old and got stabbed in the thigh with that horrid needle; it hurt for days. I knew back then that this vax thing was a disturbing, ate-up idea, and nothing I've heard on the subject since has convinced me otherwise.
First was all the info I got from my Bradley Method class. My DH and I were just getting into all natural foods and medicine when I got pregnant. We did all our own research and read books on vaccinating but I think it was when a chiropractor came to our BM class and said he didn't vax his kids and we shouldn't either; his kids were 11 and 13 and were fine. I had never heard of a doctor saying not to vax and it completely pushed me over the non-vax edge. And in doing more research and coming across stories like these, it even more solidified my choice to not vax.
A debate got started on a facebook forum. I was on the fence, while only one other parent was adamantly against vaccination. I started researching right then, and I started with personal stories from parents who believe vaccines harmed their child(ren). The ThinkTwice website mostly. I held my one month old while I read them and sobbed for these families.
I also dated a guy who's cousin became epileptic and eventually severely retarded after her baby vaccinations. The goverment foots this girl's bill, but who cares about money when she'll never have a normal life.
I was thinking about delaying and only giving single shots, but I came across alot of information claiming that the combos were safer. If the single virus has more risks than the combo, there is a serious problem here.
I'm not scared that vaccines will cause autism, I am scared he will be that small percentage that has permanent damage or dies. I couldn't live with myself. I can live with my decision if mother nature causes this in the form of a bacteria or virus. I wouldn't like it, but I'd accept it easier.
I'm a little frightened about how my new doctor on base is going to handle it. I've already got rid of two who believed my baby wasn't gaining enough weight because of my breastmilk. Yeah, that's why he is gaining at least 1/2 oz a day, is alert, is growing otherwise, and why he soils a perfect amount of yellow, seedy, soaking wet cloth diapers.
I can no longer (I'm assuming) plan to run a daycare out of my house WITH the US Army because of non vaccinating, so I think it has further cemented my decision to run one out of my house when he seperates. Apparently, there is a need for child centers that don't hassle.
As many people believe, I assumed that vaccines were great things...before I got preggo that is. Someone told me about refusing the antibiotic eye ointment, Hep B & Vit K at the hospital. That got me started doing research on vaccine recommendations. Hep B seemed like an utterly pointless vaccine to give a newborn since I am Hep B free. Then I began wondering about other vaccine recommendations. I started off thinking that maybe one day I'd get DS some vaccines, but the more research I did, the more convinced I became that vaccines are ineffective at a minimum, dangerous at their worst & that bolstering natural immunity is the most important thing you can do for your child's health. Recently, I became concerned about exposing a newborn to Whooping Cough (I'm due in July) & considered giving DS the vaccine (even though I hate that it's only available with Diphtheria & Tetanus). After more research, I discovered that vaccine does not prevent transmission b/c you can still get a mild (non-clinical) case of Whooping Cough, besides the fact the Pertussis vaccine seems to have a relatively low efficacy overall.
I had a severely allergic reaction to a vaccine when I was a baby. Stopped talking, stopped using one of my legs, had really high fevers and seizures. My mom told me that at the time (early 80s) that she was told that it was just a side effect and that she should keep vaccinating. I continued to have horrible reactions to vaccines. I'd get horrible, high fevers, swollen limbs, terrible sleeping patterns, seizures etc.
She didn't know that she had the option NOT to vaccinate. At the time, in the midwest usa, it was unheard of.
When it came time to vaccinate my kids, my mom told me about all of this. (I had no clue.) she had done a lot more research since then, and simply passed it on. She said that she wished she had known
about all of this at the time.
Her information got the ball rolling, and I did a lot of my own research, attended seminars and decided that it was in my childrens' best interest not to vaccinate.
So neither of them have been vaccinated for anything thus far. (ages 7 and 8) and they're both extremely healthy. They've not had one ear infection, no eczema, rarely have runny noses, and suffer from no allergies. Meanwhile, so many of their vaccinated peers are constantly ill-despite their annual flu shots.
By the way, has anyone heard about the newly found possible connection with the h1n1 vaccine and narcolepsy? Every time I read something like this, I find it so angering. Here (in Canada) there was all sorts of propaganda, commercials, billboards, magazine adds, pressuring the h1n1 vaccine. They made it sound as though you wern't doing your part as a citizen if you didn't get the shot. Or that you were an irresponsible parent if you opted out. Now this?! And for something as low risk as a flu?
I can understand why for some parents it's a difficult decision to opt out of some vaccines, like dpt and mmr...but imagine if you felt pressured to give your child the flu shot, and did, in spite of your doubt, and had a child plagued with narcolepsy?
I had a severely allergic reaction to a vaccine when I was a baby. Stopped talking, stopped using one of my legs, had really high fevers and seizures. My mom told me that at the time (early 80s) that she was told that it was just a side effect and that she should keep vaccinating. I continued to have horrible reactions to vaccines. I'd get horrible, high fevers, swollen limbs, terrible sleeping patterns, seizures etc.
She didn't know that she had the option NOT to vaccinate. At the time, in the midwest usa, it was unheard of.
When it came time to vaccinate my kids, my mom told me about all of this. (I had no clue.) she had done a lot more research since then, and simply passed it on. She said that she wished she had known
about all of this at the time.
Her information got the ball rolling, and I did a lot of my own research, attended seminars and decided that it was in my childrens' best interest not to vaccinate.
So neither of them have been vaccinated for anything thus far. (ages 7 and 8) and they're both extremely healthy. They've not had one ear infection, no eczema, rarely have runny noses, and suffer from no allergies. Meanwhile, so many of their vaccinated peers are constantly ill-despite their annual flu shots.
By the way, has anyone heard about the newly found possible connection with the h1n1 vaccine and narcolepsy? Every time I read something like this, I find it so angering. Here (in Canada) there was all sorts of propaganda, commercials, billboards, magazine adds, pressuring the h1n1 vaccine. They made it sound as though you wern't doing your part as a citizen if you didn't get the shot. Or that you were an irresponsible parent if you opted out. Now this?! And for something as low risk as a flu?
I can understand why for some parents it's a difficult decision to opt out of some vaccines, like dpt and mmr...but imagine if you felt pressured to give your child the flu shot, and did, in spite of your doubt, and had a child plagued with narcolepsy?
Wow. That story might need it's own thread.
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