As a parent who chooses not to vaccinate... - Page 2

[Jennyanydots]

Originally Posted by AnaKat405 

We do not vax, currently.  Our little girl is almost 4 months old and right now, we don't see a need for it.  As she gets older we are open to revisiting discussion as things change.  If we do decide to vax, it will be (obviously) delayed and very selectively.

My husband has shared this with co-workers (I cringed when he told me that), but they were supportive.  Most cited at least one person they knew personally who had a child with a very adverse reaction to vaxxing.  One co-worker stated that they selectively vax because his niece has autism due to what his sister believes was reaction to vaccination.

I decided early on that we would be very careful about vaccines after witnessing a friend's two year old stop talking altogether after being given "too many" shots at one visit.  We stopped seeing the family practitioner we were going to after she began insisting on shots at the 1 month check up.  We're currently looking for a new doctor in the Oklahoma City area if anyone knows of one, as the only ND in our area appears to only work with long-term ailments and is not accepting new patients.

So far, I have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in regards to our vax status.  I'm hoping dh keeps it zipped if his mom asks, but I know he won't so I'm going to have to decide how to handle that battle.

Good luck finding a doctor who supports your choices. And good luck with your MIL- I hope she is more understanding than you expect...

[Jennyanydots]

Originally Posted by Taximom5 

Great thread, thanks for starting it!
The reactions I get depends on the people I'm with, and I'm starting to notice some correlations that I don't really understand.
It does seem like most of my friends, relatives, acquaintances, etc., who identify themselves politically as Republicans tend to be the ones who unquestioningly believe every bit of propaganda fed to them by the pharmaceutical industry, to the point where they are horrified that we don't get...flu shots. When confronted with the facts (like the Cochrane review, and/or cases of US Govt-compensated and admitted severe reactions), they bleat, "but we have to do it to protect the people who CAN'T vaccinate!"
There doesn't seem to be any way to convince them that the shot doesn't protect, and that there is some evidence that it may harm more that it helps. They don't listen, and they are horribly unsupportive and condescending about ANYONE'S decision to even delay a vaccine, no matter what.
It does make me wonder who they think "CAN'T have vaccines," when they lash out at even parents whose children have had serious reactions.
On the other hand, most of the people I know who identify themselves as either democrats or independents are not only extremely supportive (even if they fully vax), but often disclose that they either don't vax, Sel/delay vax, or have stopped vaccinating.
It might be just a coincidence, or maybe political affiliation (or lack thereof) is an indicator of a general approach to authority? Not sure on that one.
Full disclosure: I have nothing against either party, and have voted for both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. And I think that both parties are already bought and paid for by the pharmaceutical bid dusty, anyway, so I don't see that it makes a difference, either way.

This is interesting. Maybe we can start a new thread about socio-political philosophies and how they may correspond to governmental vaccine policy compliance...

[MissCee]

I definitely have no support besides DH regarding not vaxxing our LO. My mother knows and still nags me to no end to get him caught up with his vaccines and continues to tell me that he will never get into a public school without them. My grandmother does not know and would lose it if she did know as she's a nurse and always trusts pharma. My in-laws know and nagged a bit at first, but now it's just not talked about. A few of our friends know, and to be honest they don't seem to care lol.

The worst reaction we got was from an ER doctor when LO was 10 months old. He woke up covered from head to toe in a rash and had a very high fever so (out of fear of course), we brought him into the ER. Right away the doctor asked if he was vaccinated on schedule, and we said no. He told us, and I quote, "You may as well put your son in the car without being in a carseat. You're doing the same thing." I was honestly devastated after hearing it :( Comparing not vaccinating to not putting our son in a carseat was just one of the comments I'll never forget. Anyways, it turned out LO had Roseola. Treated naturally at home and he was fine within 2 days :)

[Jennyanydots]

Originally Posted by MissCee 

I definitely have no support besides DH regarding not vaxxing our LO. My mother knows and still nags me to no end to get him caught up with his vaccines and continues to tell me that he will never get into a public school without them. My grandmother does not know and would lose it if she did know as she's a nurse and always trusts pharma. My in-laws know and nagged a bit at first, but now it's just not talked about. A few of our friends know, and to be honest they don't seem to care lol.

The worst reaction we got was from an ER doctor when LO was 10 months old. He woke up covered from head to toe in a rash and had a very high fever so (out of fear of course), we brought him into the ER. Right away the doctor asked if he was vaccinated on schedule, and we said no. He told us, and I quote, "You may as well put your son in the car without being in a carseat. You're doing the same thing." I was honestly devastated after hearing it Comparing not vaccinating to not putting our son in a carseat was just one of the comments I'll never forget. Anyways, it turned out LO had Roseola. Treated naturally at home and he was fine within 2 days

That doctor sounds like a real jerk. Sorry he said that to you. I don't know why anyone thinks its ok to bully someone else around like that.

[emmy526]

Originally Posted by Jennyanydots 


That doctor sounds like a real jerk. Sorry he said that to you. I don't know why anyone thinks its ok to bully someone else around like that.

ER drs are notorious for being bullies with parents who have nonvaxxed children.....they typically like to put the child thru every test possible, just because of vax status.   It's a total power trip for them.  

[Marnica]

In terms of support IRL, it varies. 

My parents know. I honestly don't know what they think. They don't bring it up, we don;t discuss it as I made my position very clear in the beginning, but in the rare occasion it does come up they don't give me any crap. So I guess it's not really support, but they don't give me a hard time. My in-laws don't know. I don't think my father in law would care, but my mother in law probably would since she is a pharma worshiper. 

I have a handful of friends IRL who do not vaccinate and of course we have the support of our ND, so I always have someone to talk to about it if I start to doubt myself. Overall though, it is not something I discuss and most people have no idea which is exactly the way I want it!