First off, I’d just like to lay it out there that I try to be open minded about the choices people make regarding vaccinations. Both of my boys have had full doses of everything I was told to give them and I have no regrets, but I also never did any research to make a decision beyond the recommendation of my pediatrician. I am however, always interested in hearing other people’s stories about the decisions they’ve made and why. My friend Erika posted this video and I thought I would share it and hope that it can bring out a “positive” discussion among us moms. Please be respectful when commenting, but I would love it if you posted about your vaccination decisions.
http://www.youtube.com/v/u1xw0Ob5bqs&hl=en_US&fs=1?rel=0&border=1
12 comments
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 3:06 pm (UTC -7)
I, too, followed the recommended schedule by my doctor; however, I have many friends who did allow their children to have all of their shots, but broke up the dosage more over time. One of the issues that people have is the amount of vaccinations kids get at one time with combination vaccinations. Combo vaccinations, from what I am told, are a more recent type of vaccination that some people feel may be too much for a young child's system to process at once. I have friends that have specifically asked for non-combo vaccinations; which are not necessarily covered by all insurances. I have a healthy child, and so I can't really make a judgment about people who have children with certain unexplainable diseases, like Autism, that feel that their must be a link between the increase in the disease and something that humans are doing differently to their children.
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 3:11 pm (UTC -7)
I will begin by saying I do what is right for MY family and I have no opinion on what anyone else does for theirs. What's right for me isn't right for you and blah blah blah. That being said, my son would have a fevered swollen lump in his leg that would last MONTHS after every shot, plus three days of general cranky malaise. The doctor told me this was all normal, and he was fine. Within days of his MMR shot at about 20 months he became EXTREMELY and VIOLENTLY ill, and stopped talking completely. I don't vaccinate.
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 3:56 pm (UTC -7)
So far my daughter has had all her vaccines but on a slightly more spread out schedule. We did not do the Hep B shot in the hospital. My daughter is only 1 so she still has more vaccine to go. As of right now our plan is to continue with the spread out schedule, break up the MMR immunization and to skip Hep A until she is closer to her teens then decide if she needs it. We did not do the regular flu or H1N1 last year, Im still undecided about getting it this year.
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 3:58 pm (UTC -7)
wow, I am actually very offended by that video. I am a mother that did all the vaccine's for my son. I didn't do ANY research and just followed my doctor's advice. I wish that I could have a do over. My son had negative reactions to the many ingredients in vaccines. My younger brother's also had reactions to the vaccines. After doing my research and knowing my family history I did not vaccinate my daughter. I have decided to error on the side of caution. Everyone's genetics are different and react differently to vaccines. My choice for my children is because I love them and want to keep them safe. I am offended that the message in the video seems to be that I am just listening to the silly opinions of Jenny McCarthy.
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 4:24 pm (UTC -7)
I too am offended at the video. I'm a mom to 2 girls (ages 18 & &)when our oldest was a baby it was basically mandatory to give vaccines, so I followed the advice of her pediatrician. When she became a teenager and in H/S, in California they were making it a "law" for all teen girls to be vaccinated for the HPV virus and she wouldn't be allowed to participate in ANY sports in her school district UNLESS she had this vaccine. I was working for a medical insurance company at the time and I did major research on this vaccine(Gardisil)and was NOT comfortable w/having her vaccinated. Also, the MAIN way to GET the HPV virus was to have 'sexual contact" and I knew that she wasn't doing that. I got major stress from others saying I wasn't a good Mom, I don't know what my teen is doing, etc. I stood my ground and stayed resolved that it wasn't for her. I am so glad that I did because we ended up w/many girls that had serious side effects of this vaccine! With our little girl, I did the vaccines, but not the chicken pox one, I did not trust it. Just my opinions. I think each parent needs to treat it individually because we are not all the same. I do not care about the statistics on this…we have to do what is best for our families!
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 5:05 pm (UTC -7)
I believe every mother does what is best for her child. I am glad we live in a country where you have choices. As for the video, I thought it was entertaining. I might have it stuck in my head all day!!
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 5:59 pm (UTC -7)
Like any woman, Jenny McCarthy had a career. Her son got sick, and like any mother she went on a crusade to help her baby. She was just fortunate enough to be able to scream louder than moms like me who are drowning in the system with my vaccine damaged child.
Anonymous says:
July 30, 2010 at 11:18 pm (UTC -7)
Whether or not you vaccinate is each parent's decision. I have had all 3 of my kids vaccinated on the normal schedule and have not had any really negative reactions, though I do skip flu shots just by personal choice. On the issue of vaccines causing Autism and other such problems, I am on the fence. True, autism has been more highly diagnosed than it used to, but this, like ADHD and other psychiatric disorders, may be more attributed to advances in this field rather than a higher prevelance rate. For instance, ADHD was not as common when I was growing up, the kids were just called "active" or troublemakers. Had there been the attention then that there is now, the diagnosis would have been more common I'm sure.
Anonymous says:
August 1, 2010 at 4:58 am (UTC -7)
WOW! I am surprised by the number of mom's who don't vax or on a different schedule. I have felt so alone! We are on a selective, delayed schedule.
Anonymous says:
August 1, 2010 at 5:09 pm (UTC -7)
I have no worries about vaccinations. My child is fully vaccinated.
Anonymous says:
August 2, 2010 at 6:32 am (UTC -7)
Both my children 5yrs and 11yrs are both fully vaccinated. They have never had any serious reactions, just a little fever, or a little redness. But I vaccinate my children because my mother had a sister that died of Polio and a brother that was partially paralyzed and has a speech problem because of it. She also barely survived another childhood disease. I never questioned that I would get them vaccinated. Flu shots on the other hand, those I usually do not do.
Anonymous says:
August 3, 2010 at 5:16 pm (UTC -7)
I do not vaccinate my child. I have done the research of ones who have them and ones who don't. My son was very ill after his first shot so i put a stop to it and started researching. He has been fine and will be 4, I don't plan on vaccinating any of my children in the future. Each parent has their personal thoughts on vaccination and will choose what's best for their family. For mine its to not put the crap in the vaccinations into my sons body.