In case you missed my disclaimer in Part One, here's the deal: I'm not a doctor, or a scientist, or any kind of medical professional. Just a mama here. Please don't take my words to your kid's pediatrician without doing your own research. We made these decisions for our child, and our child alone.
In my last post, I wrote about how we skipped Hep B and vitamin K when our Babydoll was born.
The on-call pediatrician who came to check out our daughter thought we were crazy, and though we were able to provide him all the research we'd done, he still looked at us like the crazy hippie folk we are. Whatever. This same doctor flounced into my room, reeking of cologne and attired in fashions generally seen on "Jersey Shore." He also adminished me for having the baby in my bed instead of her rolling plastic box, even though it was easily 65 degrees in that room and we were freezing. Guess why he didn't become our pediatrician.
Before Babydoll joined us outside the womb, I began reading. And reading. And reading some more. I read Dr. Sears' The Vaccine Book. At the urging of my boss (who gave me his copy), I also read Dr. Cave's What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations. I got more out of Dr. Cave's book, than I did Dr. Sears' (don't get me wrong. I am so down with Dr. Sears and all of his hippie childrearing ways). I won't paraphrase either book for you - I think you should read them for yourself. If you're looking for a book report, this ain't it.
I also pored over the information presented at Generation Rescue - and there's a TON of information over there. I checked the website for The Institute For Vaccine Safety (run by Johns Hopkins) to familiarize myself with each vaccine's marketed brand name.
I reviewed the CDC's recommended schedule of childhood vaccines, and that's when I discovered some interesting things:
1. They pump a whole lot of crap into babies when they are only 2 months old. 2-month-olds are shot up with seven diseases (eight, if Hep B is included) in one visit. My hormonal knocked-up self cried about that for a good hour. I still get the shakes when I think about all of those diseases having to be fought off by one very weak immune system. And at this tender age, a great many doctors, researchers, and scientists agree that the immune system is incapable of adequately responding to the vaccines in such a way that immunity begins to develop, so:
2. They repeat that business at 4 months old and 6 months old. The infant's immune system is still in development at this point, but is more advanced than at birth or two months old, and is more readily capable to fight off the diseases, which leads to immunity.
3. The rotovirus vaccine (brand name: Rotarix) is 100% bullshit, in my opinion. Rotovirus is the leading cause of diarrhea in children, from birth to five years old. If left untreated (meaning, you don't adequately hydrate your child), it can be fatal. The initial rotovirus vaccine was introduced in August 1998; it was pulled in November 1999. You know why? It caused a rare bowel obstruction in infants and was killing babies. In addition to killing babies, Congress launched an investigation into several members of the CDC's advisory committee who had recommended the vaccine. They found that some of the committee members owned stock in the pharmaceutical companies in question; some members owned patents on the vaccines; and specifically, Dr. Paul Offit owned a patent on that particular vaccine, and had recommended its addition to the CDC's schedule for childhood vaccinations. Thank you to Congressman Dan Burton for having the balls to question lobbyists and pharmaceutical companies! Finally, Groovy Mama has love for a Republican.
After months of research, speaking with our pediatrician, and searching our hearts, we decided to delay vaccinating our daughter until she was four months old. She gets one shot per month, and yes, we skipped Rotarix. We will also delay MMR - unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard that this vaccine is the one thought to be tied to autism. Experts go back and forth about this pretty much daily. We didn't base our decision about MMR on any of the autism hype - we are just following what feels right to us.
I asked on Facebook, if any of my friends or family had done a delayed or alternative vaccination schedule. Out of 25 answers, only one mother had (she happens to be a mom whose parenting style I identify with). Everyone else said pretty much the same thing: "Just follow the schedule! We did, and our kids are fine."
Well, okay. I'm not trying to change the world, I guess I just wanted to gauge how out there my ideas were. Another catalyst occurred when we took Babydoll to her one-week pediatrician appointment. While we were waiting, a mom came in with her 15-month-old daughter (I don't just magically know that - I overheard her say it). The mom told the receptionist that they were there for shots, to which the receptionist replied: "Which ones?" The mom looked at her blankly, and said "Um, I don't know. Don't you have it in her file?"
Whoa. Really? Seriously, lady? BD and I looked at each other, incredulously. This mom doesn't know what disease(s) is about to be injected into her daughter? She probably also doesn't know what side effects to look for in the aftermath. She probably doesn't know to give her daughter a little extra vitamin C and vitamin A in the days before the shot (immune boosters - helps the body fight better and ward off a fever). Poor kid. Her shoes were sparkly, though.
By the time Babydoll begins school, she will be current on all of her shots (except the aforementioned Rotarix, but they only get that twice in infancy). There are a couple other vaccines we will skip as well; we feel that they are unnecessary and we'd rather not subject our child to anything more than what we feel she needs. There are a lot of funky ingredients in today's vaccines - check out these potential side effects.
Another argument posited to us was: "Well, I got all my shots when I was a kid and I'm all good." Okay, so let's talk about how the schedule has drastically changed in 25 years, shall we?
In 1983 - children received a total of 10 vaccinations from age two until age six.
In 2008 - children received a total of 36 vaccinations from birth to age six.
Quite a substantial difference, wouldn't you agree? Check out this chart for yourself.
When it comes to your children, it is YOUR responsibility as their parent to make the best decisions for them until they are capable of making those decisions for themselves. It is my hope that all parents educate themselves about everything concerning their child, rather than blindly following the herd.
There is an abyss of information on this topic. There are thousands of books and studies written on the subject. And, as always, every doctor has her own opinion. The best parenting advice I've received is "Follow your heart and your gut." So that's what we've done, with this and with everything.
