On Vaccinations



I'm going to just come right out and say it:  I don't vaccinate my kids...anymore.  It didn't start out that way.

I was aware that there was controversy going on about vaccines when my daughter was born in 2002, but not really informed on the topic, which is something that, in retrospect, I regret terribly.  Certainly the hospital staff and my daughter's pediatrician at the time didn't inform me about the risks, facts, or that I actually had any choice in the matter.  It was presented as something that simply had to be done, so I did it - and cried every time my tiny little girl got stuck by nurses.  Aside from the two of us crying, though, my daughter had no apparent side-effects from her vaccinations, so I followed the same path when my son came along in 2005.

All seemed well until shortly after my son turned one, and something changed.  Just before his one year check up, he had four words that he used frequently:  mama, dada, bubbie (his sister) and pup-pup (the dog).  It wasn't babble, mind you - he would yell for me from his highchair when I disappeared into the kitchen to get more food or a washcloth.  He used our names.  And then, all of a sudden, he didn't say anything at all.  He ceased to talk, period.  No babble.  Nothing.  Not only that, but he developed a sudden habit of smashing his head on any available surface whenever he became upset.

By this time, I knew a bit more about the vaccination controversy, and the thought of Autism terrified me, though I was comforted by the fact that my son continued to make eye-contact, smiled and clearly understood what we were saying to him.  At our next doctor appointment, I expressed my concerns to his pediatrician, and she assured me that children this age often switched from working on one skill to another - from language to large motor skills, for instance - and that my child's behavior couldn't possibly be linked to vaccines because there was no proof that vaccinations caused autism.  Well, I was the second of seven children, and I'd been a nanny for over a decade by that time - I'd taken care of many toddlers, and I'd never witnessed the complete disappearance of speech or the frightening display of temper that my son was experiencing.  I told the doctor that, until I was more certain, there would be no more vaccinations for either of my kids.

Not long after that, I ran into a woman I'd graduated from high school with who had a son about the same age as mine.  As we were comparing mom notes, it became clear that we had similar thoughts on parenting, and she admitted to me that she hadn't vaccinated her son at all - not even the Vitamin K in the eyes.  I told her about our experience and she gave me a book to read:  What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations, by Stephanie Cave, M.D.  What I read in this book made me furious.

The book, in fact, is not a 'don't vaccinate your child' book.  Written by a pediatrician, it simply lays out the facts, pros and cons of vaccinations, so that parents can make an informed choice, with the full story that your pediatrician wouldn't have time to fill you in on, even if they knew.  Some things I learned:

  • Most of the diseases children are now vaccinated for (mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox) are fairly harmless viruses for the majority of the population (my grandmother had most of these, and recovered without incident, as did most of her siblings and friends - they were simply "childhood illnesses").  Unless you have a severely compromised immune system already, you can handle these viruses, just as most people can handle the flu.  What's really shocking?  The damage done by the vaccine is, in many cases, worse than the damage done by the disease. 
  • The symptoms of autism and the symptoms of mercury poisoning are identical, and mercury isn't the only scary ingredient in vaccines - you're likely pumping your small child full of formaldehyde and ethylene glycol (the main ingredient in antifreeze), among other disgusting and disturbing things.
  • One would think a vaccine is approved based on rigorous testing and the findings of safety and efficacy when, in fact, the people in our government who approve vaccines nearly always have a financial stake in the company that made them.  Basically, the fortunes of a corporation outweigh what is actually best for children.
I still recommend this book, as I like how it goes through the history of vaccines, but there have been so many changes to the world of vaccines since it was written that it shouldn't be the only research you do.  Natural News has a consistently updated page on recent vaccine news, and I strongly recommend visiting the National Vaccine Information Center.   The more you dig around, the more you realize that vaccinations are not all they're made up to be - we are being misled.

Thankfully, our story has a happy ending.  It took a full year, but shortly after my son turned 2 the head-smashing had completely disappeared.  I remember very clearly the night I asked my family, "Who wants ice-cream?"

"I do!" said my husband.  "I do!"  said my daughter.  "I do!" said my son.

They were the first words he had spoken in a year, and my husband, daughter and I all stared at him with our mouths hanging open for a minute or two.  Just two little words, but even more priceless than when my husband and I used them in our wedding ceremony.

From that point on, his language developed in leaps and bounds, and people still comment on his varied and unusual vocabulary.  I often wonder if his eczema and allergy to cold might have been prevented had he not been vaccinated, but I feel almost certain that had I continued vaccinating him, I would be among the many parents with a silent child, of which there are far too many.


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