To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate? That is the Question!

Trying to be the best mommy that I can I have of course been reading up on the vaccination controversy. This parent thing is tough. It is so difficult to know what the right thing to do is. Like my experiences with researching labor and delivery I find that there are many perspectives. There is definitely the mainstream government recommendations to vaccinate and then there is the other end which believes that vaccines can cause Autism, ADD, and a host of other behavioral disorders not to mention the actual illnesses you are trying to protect your child from or worse. I have read the CDC recommendations which the American Academy of Pediatrics follows for their vaccination schedule and even before I did some research it seemed to me to be an overload of immunizations in a short amount of time when babies' immune systems are just getting the hang of things. When we were growing up we only received 10 total shots of a several diseases. Now in the first 18 months of life babies are supposed to get 27 separate immunizations for 16 different diseases. In one visit they want to give them 5 immunizations to cover 7 different major diseases. This starts at their two month well baby check-up. Again...major red flags went up in my mind. This just doesn't seem to make sense to me and that is separate from the Autism debate. That is just from a immature immune system perspective. In real life babies would not come in contact with 7 major illnesses at once. It seems like a lot for their little immune and nervous systems to handle not to mention the chemical additives such as aluminum and formaldehyde. I feel a lot more research needs to be done on the long term effects of this vaccination schedule both in the amount of vaccines given at once and the short duration (18 months) that they are given in. But that is just me.

As a teacher though I do feel that some vaccinations are beneficial and should be given. Is my child going to go unvaccinated? Absolutely not. But as with everything in my life I believe in moderation and not living my life in extremes. I am fortunate in several ways...I live in a state that allows parents to choose a different schedule for vaccinations without much trouble, I have a doctor who agrees with me about my approach to vaccinations (actually that is why we go to her), and that Jax won't be in daycare during his first year of life so we can take the vaccinations at our own pace.

Now I have read some scary books that link vaccinations to Autism, ADD, and a host of other neurological disorders. Most of it was linked to the Mercury that supposedly is not in the shots any more. Mercury poisoning mimics the symptoms of Autism. One shot alone doesn't have enough Mercury to cause this effect but multiple shots given at once repetitively over time could effect a small population of babies who are genetically not able to clean their systems of the Mercury accumulating in their brain. Anyway...supposedly this isn't an issue any longer (though Mercury containing vaccinations are still out there) but many people feel it has to do with other things not the Mercury. Some feel it has to do with giving a live vaccine (where the disease is an active or alive version not a dead one). The main shot like this is the MMR which is a combo shot of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. This is the shot that parents of Autistic kids swear has given their child Autism since the symptoms appeared shortly after the series of these shots. Too much is just unknown. There are so many possibilities and many of them have not been thoroughly researched enough to ease my mind. I neither believe nor disbelieve these accusations. I just don't know. How do you know if your child is genetically unable to handle the vaccination schedule until it is too late? It also tends to effect boys more often than girls. Another reason for me to be sure I am taking as many precautions as I can to protect my child.

My pediatrician did a lot to ease my fears and sent me to buy "The Vaccine Book" by Robert Sears. It is a non-biased book that just gives you the facts about the diseases the vaccinations protect against, how serious they are, the ingredients for the shots, the most common side effects, and why you would or wouldn't choose to give this shot. I found it very helpful in making an educated decision about my son's health. She, like me, believes that vaccinations are a good thing if done to meet the needs of each unique child instead of a one size fits all approach. Not every child is in daycare. Not every child needs every shot or needs them at this early of an age. I like her approach because she asks me questions about our lives and then helps us decide if they are necessary at this time. Like I said...Jax will be vaccinated but in a way that lets his system process the immunizations in a timeline that is sensitive to his immature immune and neurological systems.

Here is the AAP Vaccination Schedule:
Birth - Hep B
1 month - Hep B
2 months - DTaP, HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Polio
4 months - DTaP HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Polio
6 months - DTaP, HIB, Pc, Rotavirus, Hep B, Flu (if in season)
1 year - MMR, Chickenpox, Hep A
15 months - HIB, Pc
18 months - DTaP, Polio, Hep A, Flu (if in season)
2 years - Flu
3 years - Flu
4 years - Flu
5 years - DTaP, Polio, MMR, Flu
12 years - Tdap, Meningococcal, HPV (3 doses - girls only)

Dr. Sears States: "My main worry about this schedule is that there really hasn't been enough research on the various chemicals and ingredients in many vaccines to prove that they are 100% safe. It has also been my experience that giving 5 or 6 vaccines at a time can increase the likelihood of a severe reaction. My Alternative Vaccine Schedule circumvents these theoretical worries and provides complete vaccine coverage, but at a more reasonable pace."

We will be following Dr. Sears' Alternative Vaccine Schedule with a few deletions:

2 Months: DTaP and Rotavirus (we chose not to get Rotavirus--see below)
3 Months*: Pc, HIB
4 Months: DTaP and Rotavirus
5 Months*: Pc, HIB
6 Months: DTaP and Rotavirus
7 Months*: Pc, HIB
9 Months: Polio, Flu (2 doses)(undecided on Flu)
12 Months: Mumps, Polio
15 Months: Pc, HIB
18 Months: DTaP, Chickenpox (undecided on Chickenpox)
21 Months*: Flu
2 Years: Rubella, Polio
2 Years 6 Months*: Hep B, Hep A (we did not get Hep B before and won't here either)
3 Years: Hep B, Measles, Flu
3 Years 6 Months*: Hep B, Hep A
4 Years: DTaP, Polio, Flu
5 Years: MMR, Flu
6 Years: Chickenpox

*These are shots only visits as they aren't regularly scheduled check-ups.

We choose at birth not to have Jaxon vaccinated for Hep B since it is a sexually transmitted disease and I felt that it was not needed since I do not have it. Again I felt that a newborn would not normally be exposed to this thus I wanted to give his immune system time to mature. We probably won't give it all as it is pretty rare and only found in risky populations. Maybe when he nears his teenage years.

At his two month appointment we decided not to get the Rotavirus immunization. Our pediatrician said it was still too new on the market for her to feel comfortable giving it and that since Jax wouldn't be in daycare at first and that he was breastfed that he wasn't likely to get it and if he did that breastfed babies do better at fighting it. Rotavirus causes severe diahrrea and is usually spread at daycares when one person changes diapers without sanitizing in between kids. Since Jaxon won't be in daycare until late next year we decided not to get it. We did get the DTaP which protects against Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis or Whooping Cough. This used to be a controversial shot because it tended to cause the most severe reactions. Some even blamed the original version (DTP)for SIDS deaths in the late 1970's (when I got the shot). They recalled it off the market and changed it to DTaP, which eliminated many of the issues. We felt that fighting 3 diseases at once was enough for this first month.

This is a controversial issue. Many parents believe in all or nothing approach and they are very vocal about their opinion. As with everything in my life, I respect everyone's opinions and choices and ask that they do the same for me. I am more than happy to share my findings and choices here in the blog or in real life through respectful conversation. I do it without judgment of other's choices for their children. As I said above...each child is unique and each parent should make choices that best suit their son or daughter. That is what I feel I am doing for Jax. I want him to grow up and be the healthiest child in mind, body, and spirit. If that means I have to research everything that is injected into his body then that is what I am going to do. If that means I take him to the doctor more often to space his shots out at a pace that I feel is more accommodating to his little developing body than that is what will happen.

My philosophy in parenting is similar to my philosophy in life. Be mindful of your choices in life. Don't just take what is set before you without question. ESPECIALLY when it comes to your child.

With that said I will leave you with this: “The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” --Thich Nhat Hanh