I have a 2 mo son.I am not going to vaccinate him. We all hear the horror stories if we don't vaccinate....?

Question

my question is, all the moms and dads who made the decision NOT to vaccinate, how many of your children have gotten these diseases? I mean we all know a child with autism but do we really know anyone who has polio or whooping cough?

Answer 1

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with everybody else on here.  If everyone decided to stop vaccinating their children, these horrible diseases will come back.

My son has a form of autism.  He's had all of his vaccinations.  I absolutely do not blame the vaccinations for his autism.  He was born two months early, and he's always been developmentally behind, so I can't blame the shots.  I was also an older mother (39).  Maybe some people have had problems with the innoculations, maybe not, I don't know and I'm not about to act like I do.  I just think that for a long time, people didn't know what was wrong with the people who had autism.  They probably just thought they were mentally retarded.  

People don't want to believe that anything like autism can happen in their families, so they have to have something to blame.

My son's had all the vaccines (including the ones for RSV) and he's hardly ever been sick at all.  Just a few colds and a stomach thing once.

Answer 2

There is no wisdom in avoiding inoculations. Measles is still a problem. Polio still exists in other parts of the world. If your child has not been immunized I do not want him around my child or my pregnant wife. The reason you seldom meet people with these conditions is because people get vaccinated! And yes, I knew people who had polio. Smallpox was a scare within the last decade. You are endangering your child and every child with which he has contact.

Answer 3

I only have 2 relatives who have never been vaccinated.  They are by far the healthiest of all the family.  As a matter of fact, they are the only ones who don't have a diagnosis.  Pretty much all the other family members have ADHD, Bipolar, Aspergers, Anxiety, etc.  Its amazing how social and calm they are compared to everyone else.  Its a beautiful thing.  Yes, they did get chicken pox, but so did vaccinated ones.  They did not get chronic ear infections that all the vaccinated ones got.  They did not get measles or anything like that, and neither did anyone else.  If you go to youtube, they have some studies on vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations.  As a matter of fact, the news often reports measles outbreaks and mentions that some were vaccinated and some weren't.  I hear all kinds of reports of people being vaccinated who get the disease they were vaccinated for.  I guess those studies that say they don't work, must have some merit.  I know that I have spent tons of time researching and spending money to get my children to no longer have autism, thus there is no way we are vaccinating any longer.  Not after what I learned on toxins and contaminations, and all the stories I read on the net and my neighbors tell me on horrendous reactions.  No way, not for me any more.

Answer 4

Withholding vaccinations to infectious diseases such as hepatitis B and C, measles, pertussis, and others is just plain irresponsible.  You may "protect" your child against an injection that lasts less than 15 seconds, but you subject them to a lifetime of dangerous consequences.  Measles is a horrifying disease w/ a nearly 100% attack rate (meaning that if 100 people were in a closed space and one of them had measles, all 100 would become infected within just a few minutes).  I'm sure you love your child -- I would never question your (or anyone else's) intentions.  However, just think about what would happen if he were on an elevator w/ someone with measles.  By the time they rode to the top floor of the Sears Tower, your son will have already contracted this disease.  If he had been vaccinated, his previous exposure to the measles antigen would have stimulated a rapid and extremely protective immune response to the measles virus, and he would not have developed the actual disease.  

To vaccinate your child is a decision that affects society as a whole.  When you think how far we've come in the past 100 years w/ vaccinations, withholding this form of preventative care seems to be an incredibly self-serving and cowardly way to save your child a brief moment of discomfort (which he won't even remember in 6 months).  As a doctorally-prepared infectious disease nurse, I would just ask that you consider the long-term effect that withholding vaccination WILL have on your child when they participate in close-contact activities such as football, chorus, or even dormitory life at college.  All exposures to other people in these situations are a potential source of illness for your child.  And when you talk about measles, infectious hepatitis, and pertussis -- all of these diseases are lethal.  Because of their relative rarity, these diseases are also very low on the differential diagnosis for most physicians.  Other more common diseases will need to be screened out before treatment for the (preventable) infectious disease can begin.  

The argument that vaccines cause autism and other neuropsychiatric diseases has been silenced.  There is absolutely no association, on a population level, between vaccinations (even those that contained thimerosal -- which has been removed from nearly all vaccines to date) and neuropsychiatric illnesses such as autism.  I don't have any answers about why autism is more common in recent years, but according to studies which have collectively sampled over 1,000,000 boys and girls and followed them for an average of 15 years post-vaccination, the autism was not associated with the childhood vaccines.  It could be that we are getting better at diagnosing autism, or that our societal definition of autism has changed, or that children are afraid to talk to psychiatrists who are screening them for autism, which causes them to "clam up" and look like a child w/ autism!  But when you think about preventable diseases and "risk" associated with vaccinations, it is very safe to say that the "risk" for autism does not increase w/ vaccinations -- only the "protection" against incredibly devastating, preventable, and debilitating infectious diseases.  

Answer 5

I was concerned about vaccinations also.  The middle ground that I found was to space out the vaccinations a little more than the dr does.  My kids have gotten all of their vaccinations but not as many at one time.  There is a theory about autism being triggered by the preservatives in vaccines.  Google alternate vaccine schedules for more info :O)

Answer 6

I have 3 kids - 1 fully vaccinated with autism and a list of medical conditions that ALL began after his vaccinations, 1 that only had 1 HepB and had to return to the NICU after that and 1 with none.  My unvaccinated child is by far the healthiest.  They've ALL had the chicken pox after exposure to their father when he had shingles.  My 5yo IS vaccinated for chicken pox and had the worst case AND has already had shingles.  At FIVE.  None of them have ever had any of the diseases you vaccinate against.  I personally have had 17 MMRs (prior to waking up to how stupid that is) and am NOT immune to measles or rubella.  The doctors want to keep vaccinating me.  Not happening!

You can get your child in school without vaccinating but it depends on your state regulations.  And for all the people saying that you're a bad mother - please - go hug your kids and thank God they're healthy.  If there's an outbreak of a disease and your kids are not vaccinated, they can't go to school.  If they get something serious, chances are THEY caught it from some adult not vaccinated, and most likely from a different country where the diseases aren't eradicated.  

That guy with the pregnant wife - do you think EVERY person your wife comes in contact with is totally vaccinated?  Is she in a bubble?  Stop ragging on this INFORMED parent for trying to investigate what's best for HER.  She only asked if anyone knew anyone with a NEW case of polio or whoping cough.

FYI - That rotovirus virus that was supposed to "save" all these kids from stomach virus and possible dehydration.  It was PROVEN to cause intestinal deformities.  Not in ALL kids, but enough to make them pull it off the shelves.  Worth the risk?  

Answer 7

You may be doing your child more harm that good by not vaccinating him. I don't know what kind of stories you have heard, but kids generally do fine with vaccinations. Just give him pediatric Tylenol before his doctor's appointment and his discomfort will be minimal. Babies have a tendency to run a low grade temp after immunizations and the Tylenol will help. Also, I don't know the guidelines in other states, but in my state a child cannot attend school if they are not vaccinated. It's the law.  

Answer 8

I have to agree with the others here. if a shot can keep a little one safe from disease it is well worth the the chance of bad side effects. I do think that they start the shots to soon, and give to many at one time. they should be space at longer intervals.  

Answer 9

I have a 5 year old and a 15 month old who are not vaccinated for anything.  They have both gotten chickenpox, but that was after searching very hard for it. (We went to a chickenpox party).

I'm pretty sure my 5 year old had pertussis (whooping cough) when she was 2 1/2.  But we never went to the doctor for it and I've never had her titers checked so I can't know for sure.  I treated it with high doses of vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate powder, which I mixed with water or juice.

Edie, a previous poster, must live in Mississippi or West Virginia.  Every other state has exemptions to vaccination for school. http://mothering.com/discussions/showthr...

Answer 10

There are other options too.  I chose to have vaccines split because I was afraid of too many too soon.  They still get what they need but over a little bit longer period of time I am sure u will make the right decision for your child

Answer 11

Why would you not vaccinate him just to be safe? You don't sound like a very good mom to me...sorry.