Dr. Sears and vax

[RaRa7]

Just got the new Baby Talk in the mail today and am always really interested to read Dr. Sears article. However in this issue he reminds us all to vax our children (it seemd like the longest warning in the article) and I was REALLY SUPRISED!! Anyone else suprised or was I just in the dark about his feelings about vaccinating?? I thought he was the only one out there I would recommend to new moms --so are there any other sources of wisdom I could recommend then???

[NatureMama3]

Yes, sadly, Dr.Sears is pro-vax.

[sagira]

This is just my point of view, but I think pediatricians and public health in general are concerned about declining herd immunity (and epidemics). There are many parents now who are questioning/foregoing vaccines (including myself). I wonder how many. This could affect everybody as a whole.

I know this is taken from the CDC/NIP section, but I have seen it multiple times in several publications:

Three countries - Great Britain, Sweden, and Japan - cut back the use of pertussis vaccine because of fear about the vaccine. The effect was dramatic and immediate. In Great Britain, a drop in pertussis vaccination in 1974 was followed by an epidemic of more than 100,000 cases of pertussis and 36 deaths by 1978. In Japan, around the same time, a drop in vaccination rates from 70% to 20%-40% led to a jump in pertussis from 393 cases and no deaths in 1974 to 13,000 cases and 41 deaths in 1979. In Sweden, the annual incidence rate of pertussis per 100,000 children 0-6 years of age increased from 700 cases in 1981 to 3,200 in 1985. It seems clear from these experiences that not only would diseases not be disappearing without vaccines, but if we were to stop vaccinating, they would come back.

Yes, I like Dr. Sears too. And I think he's probably concerned too about losing herd immunity. I'm holding off on vaccinating my son. I may do it when he's approaching two years of age. I may not. We are going to travel internationally by then, so the benefits may outweigh the risks of immunizations by then. We'll see.

Cheers,

[gilnikche]

This came up last month too:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ighlight=sears

[Walkin' Mama]

That silly Baby Talk...I usually just read it for entertainment value. In this issue, they also remind to you vax your little girl before piercing her ears! :LOL

[moss]

Originally Posted by arismommy

so are there any other sources of wisdom I could recommend then???

Mothering mag publishes books!

I've looked at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846
Mothering Magazine's Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. it was pretty good.


And there's http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846 Natural Family Living : The Mothering Magazine Guide to Parenting. i havent looked at that one yet but there are a lot of reviews (mostly glowing ones) on amazon.

I prefer a woman's 'voice' in books about mothering anyways and i'm not a big fan of Sear's (didnt like the heavy christian undertones in his books). Jan Hunt and Kati Allison Granju are other women's authors who talk about natural parenting, and i've enjoyed reading their books.

[thepeach80]

Originally Posted by Walkin' Mama

That silly Baby Talk...I usually just read it for entertainment value. In this issue, they also remind to you vax your little girl before piercing her ears!

I saw that! I was more blown away by that than anything else...

[Sasha_girl]

He is pro-vax, but one of his sons is not.

[Sasha_girl]

Originally Posted by Walkin' Mama

That silly Baby Talk...I usually just read it for entertainment value. In this issue, they also remind to you vax your little girl before piercing her ears! :LOL

Oh puke.

[mamacarla]

Since I have made the tough decision to do many of the vax's I was glad to know that Sears recommends vaxing. I trust his advice on so many things and read his books and columns constantly.

[DesireeH]

Another reason I am glad that magazine doesnt come to my door! LOL I used to get so irritated reading them!

I like Dr Mendelson's views on vaxing much better!

[KoalaMama]

I take this as a reminder not to look at someone's stand on one subject and go "oh, that makes sense!" and then blindly follow everything else they say. Dr. Sears is still just a human, and has to make all the same judgement calls as the rest of us. I don't expect to agree with everything he says no more than I would expect him to offer blanket agreement to me.

And it's interesting that his son Dr. Bob started by fully vax'ing his first child, partially vax'ing his second, and no-vax'ing his third. I wonder if Dr. Bill would still consider vax'ing all his kids if he were doing it with the information available today rather than what he knew 20-30 years ago. (Assuming all his kids are adults now.) Many doctors take a different stance for their own children than what they support as their public policy.