I don't want to vaccinate...

[anjsmama]

Non-vaccinating moms/parents: What's your big reason? 

Right now my big reason is.... I don't see any reason! I just don't feel like letting anyone inject my DD with anything. I don't see the point. She's never been sick a day in her life, she's breastfed, and she spends 99.8% of her time with me, DH, DS, & a few friends (we  live far from family). I feel like she is safe from whatever all these dangerous diseases are out there....

That said, her pedi has been really chill about it so far and I know most non-vaccinating parents in this area use her. But she did mention she'd want to talk about (not give, but discuss) vaccines at her 9-month WBV in Oct. I honestly don't know anything about vaccines, other than they seem like useless injection of diseases to me - doesn't encountering disease naturally teach your body to fight it? Anyway - I feel like her pedi will hear me if I have a good reason for not wanting to vaccinate....... so I'm wondering what yours are! And how/where did you or do you do your research about specific vaccines? TIA!

[shiningpearl]

A great resource is the CDC Pink book.  You can order it, or view it online and print it.   You have to remember that it is from the CDC so they are encouraging vaccinations, but it has great information about the diseases and the complications from the vaccines.  measles used to scare me, and while I don't desire my children to get it, it also helps to know that until the vaccine came along, most people didn't even worry about it.  My mom had it as a child and my father had mumps as a teenager. 

It also helps to know the ingredients in vaccines. 

Our doctor wanted to know why, I talked to her about what i knew and she's been ok with it.  I think she wanted to make sure I understood the risks and I wasn't just panicking because I heard something on tv. 

[Monkeygrrl]

My reasons (in no particular order, even though they are numbered):

1. I do not believe the ingredients are safe for me or my children.

2. I am not afraid of any of the illnesses that vaccines are supposed to protect against.

3. Several of the illnesses are not in our country anymore, my children don't need those vaccines.

4. I have seen vaccine-damaged children. I do not want my children to be included in that number.

5. The fact that there is an account with billions of dollars in it just waiting for the parents of vaccine-damaged children to sue and get their piece of bothers me. If vaccines are so safe, why is this account even necessary?

6. I believe many of the illnesses decreased not because of the vaccine, but because we started using clean water, started washing our hands/bodies more frequently, and stopped throwing our sewage into the same street that we walked on.

I'm sure I could come up with more reasons, but that's a decent start. :)

[MyBoysBlue]

I agree Read the Pink Book.  It really helped me to put the risks of these illnesses into perspective.  It's kind of funny but that CDC publication is one of the publications that helped sway me to the side of not vaccinating. 

Dr. Jay Gordon's video was what swayed my DH.  He wasn't interested in doing a whole lot of reading but I had been sharing stuff with him and the video helped him understand where I was coming from.

Originally Posted by shiningpearl 

A great resource is the CDC Pink book.  You can order it, or view it online and print it.   You have to remember that it is from the CDC so they are encouraging vaccinations, but it has great information about the diseases and the complications from the vaccines.  measles used to scare me, and while I don't desire my children to get it, it also helps to know that until the vaccine came along, most people didn't even worry about it.  My mom had it as a child and my father had mumps as a teenager. 

It also helps to know the ingredients in vaccines. 

Our doctor wanted to know why, I talked to her about what i knew and she's been ok with it.  I think she wanted to make sure I understood the risks and I wasn't just panicking because I heard something on tv. 

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by Alenushka 

"believe" was not a good enougth sientific reason for me to do or not to do anything.

I think it is important to read studies on both sides of the argument. Read what happened in the countries which stopped vaccinating in the last 20 years.

A lot of people, for example, believe that soy suplimmets help with post menopausal issues. Well, a study was just complited (see Health section in nyt.com) that showed that this is not better than placebo.

No one ever argued that vaccines are 100% safe. They are not. No medical intervention is risk free. I had shosk reaction to flu vaccine and was not vaccinate again after that. At 18, I was very very ill with mumps. I started vaccinating again under supervision and all went well. I do not want to have measles, or Hep B or many other things I vaccinate against.

But the other side of this argument that non intervention also has risks and sometime quiet significant risk. For some reason, people forget about it

Alenuska, please be reminded this is the I'm Not Vaccinating forum, and is not a place to debate vaccination. Thank you.

To the PP, I don't vax because I consider vaccinations to be nonsense, for many reasons.

[zippy_francis]

Originally Posted by Monkeygrrl 

My reasons (in no particular order, even though they are numbered):

1. I do not believe the ingredients are safe for me or my children.

2. I am not afraid of any of the illnesses that vaccines are supposed to protect against.

3. Several of the illnesses are not in our country anymore, my children don't need those vaccines.

4. I have seen vaccine-damaged children. I do not want my children to be included in that number.

5. The fact that there is an account with billions of dollars in it just waiting for the parents of vaccine-damaged children to sue and get their piece of bothers me. If vaccines are so safe, why is this account even necessary?

6. I believe many of the illnesses decreased not because of the vaccine, but because we started using clean water, started washing our hands/bodies more frequently, and stopped throwing our sewage into the same street that we walked on.

I'm sure I could come up with more reasons, but that's a decent start. :)

Pretty much all my reasons too. I would also add the fact that the $$$$ involved to push these vax is sick to me.

[Monkeygrrl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zippy_francis 

Pretty much all my reasons too. I would also add the fact that the $$$$ involved to push these vax is sick to me.

Oh, yeah. That. *sigh*

[purslaine]

"I don't want to vax" is good enough for me.  

I am tired of the fact that we are supposed to justify not vaxxing to everyone.  It makes it seem like vaxxing is the "good thing" and we have to defend why we do not do it.  IMNSHO - you don't have to defend or justify your actions.

_____________

Now that the above (probably unhelpful) mini rant is out of the way, here is what I would do:

Figure out a sentence or two that will let the doctor know politely that you are not going to vax at this time, the topic is not open for discussion at this time, but that if you have any questions you value her expertise and will let her know.  Practice saying it.  If all else fails and DP is not with you at the appointment, use DP as an excuse:   "DP and I are not comfortable with vaxxing.  I cannot make any decisions until I talk to him"  I feel like a horrible feminist   but I have played the Dh card more than once for numerous things,  lol.  

It does not hurt to have a game plan for this discussion, even if she really does turn out to be cool with non-vaxxing.  

Edited by purslaine - 8/18/11 at 6:43am

[ma2two]

Don't worry about it, you will come across more reasons to not vaccinate as time goes by and you read and hear more information. That's still happening for me, and I made the decision many years ago. Every time I read something new, I am so glad that I did not vaccinate my children.

You don't need a reason. Just tell the pediatrician that you are simply not comfortable with vaccinating right now.

[japonica]

Originally Posted by Alenushka 

"believe" was not a good enougth sientific reason for me to do or not to do anything.

I think it is important to read studies on both sides of the argument. Read what happened in the countries which stopped vaccinating in the last 20 years.

A lot of people, for example, believe that soy suplimmets help with post menopausal issues. Well, a study was just complited (see Health section in nyt.com) that showed that this is not better than placebo.

No one ever argued that vaccines are 100% safe. They are not. No medical intervention is risk free. I had shosk reaction to flu vaccine and was not vaccinate again after that. At 18, I was very very ill with mumps. I started vaccinating again under supervision and all went well. I do not want to have measles, or Hep B or many other things I vaccinate against.

But the other side of this argument that non intervention also has risks and sometime quiet significant risk. For some reason, people forget about it

I agree that this post is not appropriate here. What's with the pro-vaccination posts in this forum in the last while? There is a S&D forum and a main forum for debating these issues. It might be worthwhile for some folks to read the guidelines at the top of this forum.

To the OP: my kids are 6.5 and 3 years old. The eldest attends school, the youngest will next Feb., both have a doctor signed CO exemption legal for Australia. So far, their health has been fairly unremarkable. Both stayed home with me until school started. Both were breastfed until three years old. My DS caught a few more colds and bugs than his sister had at his age, but then his immune system is different to hers. She seems to have more resistance to various illnesses going around. 

My DS did have pertussis (not lab confirmed, but fit CDC clinical case description and the cough and vomiting was unmistakeable) when he was 23 months old. My boostered and up-to-date DH caught it and brought it home to us. I didn't become ill (I had some residual immunity from my last bout of it), nor did my unvaxed DD although the guys of the house were coughing and hacking all around us for over a month. I followed the treatment protocols suggested to me and he recovered without complication in just over five weeks. DH recovered a lot slower, about eight weeks for him.

We originally began delaying, but then the more I read, the more questions I had and I couldn't justify going ahead until I was 100% confident in my decision. I think an adequate strategy is to delay until you feel you have researched enough to make the decision that is right for you. Hopefully, your ped will agree to at least that much. The Pink Book is a good start. There's a couple of online sites (not the tin-foil hat ones, but ones that are fully referenced with peer-reviewed scientific research) that are useful too, but really, you'll want to start reading the medical literature, epidemiological reports, all that stuff on your own firsthand. That's where the real nitty gritty is. 

Find a health care provider willing to listen and work with you (another battle). We have an older GP who had measles, whose kids had mumps, pertussis and chicken pox and doesn't give us any grief about our choice. He wishes we'd reconsider on the DT (and I occasionally revisit the issue) but it's not a deal breaker for him in terms of us remaining his patients. 

We've been swimming against the current for almost seven years now. I don't argue with other doctors (ER docs etc.), school officials, whoever. I just smile and say, "we have a conscientious objection," and leave it at that. There's not much they can do about it. FWIW, I was vaccinated for a couple of the VADs I ended up with anyway, namely mumps and pertussis. So, I don't have a lot of personal conviction in their efficacy as they didn't serve me too well. I had chicken pox as well (no vaccine when I was in primary school), but it wasn't as much a hardship as an annoyance.

Good luck. 

[member234098]

M

Edited by member234098 - 5/31/12 at 5:29pm

[SilverMoon010]

There are several different reasons for our decision. The basis is that I believe in allowing a child to build their immune system without continuously overworking it, disrupting it, and confusing it.  One thing that has always hit home for me is when watching programs on vaccines on T.V., when they show a 2-month-old getting injected with 5 different vaccines (actually I think it's 8 vaccines, 5 shots) at one time it makes me ill.  I get really upset when I see that.   Something is terribly wrong with that picture and I can't see how that is allowed to be performed on a tiny baby who hasn't even had time to grow yet, let alone being recommended/mandated by the government. There is something so terribly "off" with that that I personally refuse to accept that as "normal practice." It makes me question everything else I am told I should be doing.

[mattemma04]

Researched the complications listed in each vaccine insert,and how they are treated if my child developed them.In most there IS no treatment.Also,the vaccine injury compensation fund is a joke.Most parents are turned away when they apply for help after their child is injured by a vaccine.

[member234098]

Edited by member234098 - 5/31/12 at 5:29pm

[loveyourohana]

I started with the belief in vaccination, I was raised to believe in them, but inwardly I never felt good about them.  I was told that my son would never attend school if I didn't vaccinate, and that any severe reactions he was having after receiving vaccinations had nothing to do with them.  (I was lied to by those I was supposed to trust!) My son was having the same reaction that the Pollings daughter had before she became autistic... What finally made me wake up and gain confidence to fight for what I believed was a nurse who was paying attention to him, and the coercion.  Once I learned the truth, and realized my instincts were correct, and that he could go to school despite the fact... I was angry, and lied to again, and again, and again.  As I learned more about vaccination cover ups and real risks,  I began educating myself Big Time!!! 

I have come to have enough faith in myself to admit, I just never believed in vaccinations to begin with, and any trust I did have went right out the window!    

My child's best interest (being the minority) really never existed in that industry!  Its an all or nothing, no matter the outcome or risk coerce, even if a child is harmed in the process!  

Edited by loveyourohana - 8/25/11 at 2:34pm

[amnesiac]

I have removed a couple of posts from this thread which were not in keeping with the guidelines for this subforum. Please remember that

This forum was created to serve the needs of members who have made the decision not to vaccinate ... Posting to this forum will not be restricted only to members who do not vaccinate. However, we will actively restrict conversations in favor of mandatory vaccination or other topics that would be inappropriate for the forum. This is not a place for debate or discussions on the merits of vaccines or the dangers of not vaccinating, it is also not a place to argue against vaccines or selective and delayed vaccination schedules