anyone want to talk tests & vaccinations? - Page 2

[LizzysMommy]

Does anyone know a good resource of information for all of the newborn tests/proceedures that are discussed in the posts above? I'm familiar with the reasons behind some of them, but not others.

I've talked to my pediatrician about no circ and waiving the Hep-B shot, but I'm not sure about the rest.

[writermommy]

OK, I'm confused. Are they doing the Hep B in the hospital again? When my first dd was born, they gave her the Hep B in the hospital. I didn't know any better at the time, so I let them do it. When dd #2 was born, they told me they were no longer doing the Hep B until 2 months because it was no longer considered safe so soon after birth. DD #2 and #3 didn't get it in the hospital. So, have they changed their minds yet again?? If so, I will definitely be declining it. This is ridiculous!!!!!!!! :

[Panserbjorne]

Lizzy'smommy-what specifically are you looking for? Info about erythromyacin, vitamin K, PKU? Are you asking what they are, or why people are declining/accepting based on circumstances?

[Apwannabe]

I had 4 hospital births and none of them were that bad and 3 of them were great.

My first I did all the tests and didn't know any better so I can't say what it would have been like if I had gone gainst the norm but somethign tells me it wouldn't have be pretty. (1st hopital)
My second we had amazing nurses who I loved. they set me on my crunchy path.lol. Well they encouraged EBF on demand and for as long as possible. the crunchiness sort of took off from there. she didn't have HEP B or eye drops but had all the otehr stuff.no issues. (2nd hopital)
Aidan only got PKU. no issues, great hospital and nurses( 3rd hospital)
Karlin wasn't going to get anything but we did end up going wiht the Vit K cause she had a bit of bruising. again no issues. I also had no testing during my pregnancy beyond the intial blood work which for me includes a hep C test. (3rd hospital again)

[Apwannabe]

just realized this is a birth board. woops.

[LizzysMommy]

Originally Posted by firefaery

Lizzy'smommy-what specifically are you looking for? Info about erythromyacin, vitamin K, PKU? Are you asking what they are, or why people are declining/accepting based on circumstances?

I'm looking for more detailed info about what they are specifically intended to treat/prevent (why they are routine), in addition to why some people may chose to decline them.

Is there any resource out there that puts this all together?

[gumby74]

Recently, DH and I have spent a lot of time talking about this issue. I am a special ed. teacher for birth to three year olds and though I am not convinced that vaccinations are the cause of Autism, the chance of having a child develop Autism scares me enough to want to do what I can to prevent it. We feel so incredibly ignorant when it comes to knowing what vax are given, when and why. Where is a good place to find information about this topic that is as unbiased as it is possible to get?

[Still_Snarky]

Originally Posted by gumby74

Where is a good place to find information about this topic that is as unbiased as it is possible to get?

I found A Thoughtful Parent's Guide: How to Make Safe, Sensible Decisions about the Risks, Benefits, and Alternatives by Aviva Jill Romm to be very informative and unbiased! It's a good place to start if you know nothing (like I did)! Here's the link to amazon.com.

[Miss Juice]

I also appreciated Stephanie Cave's "What your doctor may not tell you about childhood vaccinations" (I think that's the title). If you use the link Celeste posted, there are some other books listed at the bottom, and this is one of them. Actually all the ones listed are helpful.

I was pretty set against vaccinating, but I needed info for my DH. (If I tell him something, it's interesting, but if he reads it himself it's much more powerful). So I went to the library and got every single book I could find and we went through them together. Even the more pro-vax books had information that made DH say, "Hmmmm..." and by the end he was completely convinced.

Good luck - it's a ton of information, a lot of work, and IMO one of the most difficult decisions we face as parents. The key is to make information your friend, and to come to your decision based on information and not based on fear. If you decide to vax because you are afraid of the diseases, or if you decide not to vax because you are afraid of the vaccine, you won't be 100% comfortable with your choice. Once I researched the diseases, I wasn't afraid of them at all.

If you aren't sure, wait. You can always vaccinate later, but you can never take one back.

[TanyaS]

Originally Posted by Miss Juice

I also appreciated Stephanie Cave's "What your doctor may not tell you about childhood vaccinations"

I have to second this book. I bought a copy and I refer to it often. It's an excellent and straightforward resource.

[momsmyjob]

I read Stephanie's book and I would recommend Dr. Mendhelson's book..

How to raise a healthy child in spite of your Dr.