unsolicited opinions on vaxing? do you give them?

[thatblondegirl]

i have a couple of pregnant friends. i was wondering if it would be bad of me to send them info on vaccinations? or should i just bring it up in conversation, then see how they react from there? i don't want to overstep.

[mrsfatty]

Honestly, I don't think that it's appropriate to ever give advice unless it's asked for...

Making yourself AVAILABLE and being a good listener--AND sharing without "preaching"/"pushing"/etc. is the best bet.

Asking how they're pregnancy has gone, if they've found a pedi they like, how things are going for them is a great start. If they haven't found a pedi, you can recommend yours and be like, "oh and the doctor is great with our choice not to vaccinate!" HA--and then I'm sure, if they want to know or are interested, then you can share.

[ZoeyZoo]

I think the way mrsfatty described sounded good. I wouldn't be upfront about it. Vaxing is strange and a lot of people are not supportive about going against the herd on this subject. I personally don't tell anyone unless asked directly. I do go on the record and say that parents should research the risks vs. benefits of any medical decision including vax for themselves but never mention that I don't vax.

[Layna]

I have a pregnant friend who know's we don't vax and I've told some stuff as to why we don't vax.
I didn't want to seem pushy about it or have her feel like she had to advoid the subject around me so I sent her an email with an ingredient link and told her that I wouldn't bring it up again because I didn't want to seem pushy and if she wanted to know more to just let me know.

[Deborah]

I'm a librarian. Bought Romm's book on vaccination for the library. When someone comes in looking pregnant I'll say: "We have some good books on pregnancy and stuff" and take them over to the shelf and pull out a couple, then I'll say "if you want to research vaccination, we've got a good book." If they are interested I'll hand it to them.

I've also gotten some books on biomedical treatment of autism and other materials on autism because there are several families in the community who can use the help. The biomedical books circulate on interlibrary loan, too, which leads me to suspect that few libraries in my state own these books, unfortunately.

[CanidFL]

No, I typically don’t do this. I have had 1 person ask me if I did the vaccines in the hospital and I said no since we had a homebirth. Then they pushed a bit more and said “well you had to do them at some point right?” I was honest and said we have not vaxed yet. She did her own research and decided to vax on Dr. Sears schedule.

If I wanted to plant the seed then I do what PP mentioned and say something like “have you found a ped? Mine is great. He is breastfeeding friendly AND is really open about delaying vaccines or not vaxing at all if that is what you choose for your baby!”. Very upbeat and they normally just smile and say thanks

[DesireeH]

I've had a few people ask "how did they do for their vaccines?" and then I'll just tell them. It depends on the person. If its a super close friend, they already know I dont vax. If its an acquaintance I might "plant a seed" so to speak but I dont want to come off as pushy or over the top so I try to "lay low." LOL