Immunizations and Autisim

We decided to do an alternant vaccination schedule. My daughte also recieved ALL of her shots in the early months and then I changed my ming. She now recieves no more than three vaccinations at a time and that is only when a series must be followed. It averages out to about a shot or two a month. Every month. I just don't like the idea of bombarding her little body with illnesses (dead or alive) so we spread it out. I'm also no comfortable not having her vqaccinated at all. Out vaccination schdule was custome with out doc, but if you'd like me to send it to you let me know!

HI J.,

It's L. again. I forgot to give you my Chiropractor's number, oops! Dr. Arvay ###-###-####

I was also thinking, you could actually leave the whole autism issue out of it. Just the knowledge of how vaccines are made and what is actually in them was really enough to horrify me. Also, don't be discouraged by andy negative responces you might get. I asked a vaccine question here one time and was quite surprised at how rude and hateful people could be reguarding this topic!! God bless!

There is a great book that offers the good, the bad, the background, the issues, why you want that shot and why you may not--It's called the Vaccination Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Dr. Robert Sears. (Minus all the opinions & fear!) :http://www.amazon.com/Vaccine-Book-Decision-Parenting-Lib.... You can get it at any bookstore. We have done many of the vaccinations, but also did not do a few of them (chickenpox, MMR-until she's older) based on educating ourselves about the issues. There's a lot of fear and misinformation out there about vaccinations, from both sides. In many ways, it's not good to have an unvaccinated child. On the other hand, it's naive to think putting something like a vaccine into a small body won't have some affect--I'm not talking about autism, more about allergies, immune issues, etc. That said, my family lives in a community with a lot of unvaccinated children, so there were some (DTap, Hib, pneumococcal) that we felt were very important. I don't know if you're in the Denver area, but there is a pediatrician in Boulder who often speaks on vaccines from both a medical and holistic approach. His website is http://www.mindfulpediatrics.com. It's a hard decision, but rather than going with such conflicting advice that makes it very hard to make a decision together with your husband, get the vaccination book and make a decision you both feel is right. I can tell you I feel about 60% right and 40% wrong every time she gets a vaccination, but after reading the book and hearing Dr. Steinbock (Mindful Peds) speak, my gut tells me some of them are important. Good luck on your decision!

The autism/immunization debate used to be based on the fact that the mercury-containing preservative, thimerisol, was in some of them. Not the case anymore, it was taken out due to the controversy. You can now even get thimerisol-free flu shots. So, this ends that debate.

Your husband is corrrect about the research, by the way. There was no scientific evidence that supported the autism/immunization debate (although as a scientist, I do understand a Mom's concern!). There was a study lots of years ago, but all of the researchers of the study ended up taking their names off the aricle years later!

That being said, if anyone wants to continue to have this debate now and in the future, there needs to be a better argument against immunizations. Maybe it's the spacing of the shots that is concerning, so work w/ your Dr. to figure out a win-win. Your child will not win if she does not get her shots.

Very well written DEB K!
Have you looked into delayed schedule? That might be a great compromise for you and your husband.

I recommend Dr Sears' book. I don't agree with it all, but that's one reason I like it. He's diplomatic.
For us, we decided it was worth being all natural and not injecting foreign substances into our baby's body. The human body can deal with measles (which is just a viral infection) or chicken pox much better than 'cow matter' and aluminum and other random ingredients in vaccinations.
Another popular option is to do a delayed schedule. Check out (I think it is) Denmark's suggested schedule. The thought there is to allow more time for their bodies to grow and develop; also to get vaccinations one at a time to watch for reactions.
Good luck my dear. I hope you two can agree on something together, no matter what it is. It's important you are on the same page =)

my 3 children are not and have never been vaccinated. my son is autistic. he was tentatively diagnosed at age 12. I will never know how or why. I do know it was not caused by vaccine.

long before my own son was born, I nannied for a family whose son was severely damaged by vaccine as a baby.

I only really worried about disease through vaccine exposure while mine were babies and tods. you have to be very vigilant about screening EVERY kid prior to direct contact until they are 5 or 6 because of the incubation periods. it's not easy. I once postponed a birthday party for my own because a best friend had chicken pox and I had a newborn. I felt awful but that was a decision I had to make for my baby's safety.

educate yourself about individual vaccine incubation periods, how vaccines work, vaccine ingredients, and also about the individual diseases and how they are caused and spread. mothering magazine has fantastic current information on this stuff (annually I believe).

one thing worth noting, my children have never had an ear infection, unlike all their peers. they have never been seriously ill at all. one year at school they picked up pinkeye. the year my oldest was 9 I begged the school nurse for a heads up on who had chicken pox. I was concerned that he was already so old and had not caught it yet. we invited the poxy kid over for a slumber party. eventually they exhausted themselves to sleep in a pile, and soon everyone broke out in spots. I was so relieved to avoid the varicella vaccine because it was still so new.

knowledge is power. informed choice is the best route.
good luck.

You can pick up an excellent resource on amazon.com. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_3_6?url=search-alias....

Just copy and paste it into your web browser. I tend to agree with you that vaccines can be extremely dangerous and the book Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective will put the issue in perspective. It seems like it would be a good resource for your husband too.

THis of course is a extremely hot topic. I think it is clearly a personal choice however it seems to be a divided discussion in your own home. Do you have anyone in your family with autism or know of anyone that has had a bad reaction to vaccinations?

I just read however that measles is on the rise again, due to non vaccination, which puts you at a high risk. Can you afford to be seriously ill at this point in your life?

There is a risk with everything having to do with vaccinations in children. The research is extensive that there is a slight chance of autism however everyone in the medical field has concluded you are putting your child at a higher risk of serious disease or illness not vaccinating.

I was vaccinated, even as an adult I got boosters to protect myself as I am a single mom and cannot afford to be sick with a serious illness. I got tetnus that had the DTP combination shot recently. My children are vaccinated. I worried like you, I sat on the fence before they were born, however the alternative for me wasn't even an option when it came down to statistics. I don't ever recall anyone I grew up with that had a reaction to being vaccinated, no children I have ever known has had autism due to being vaccinated. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen either.

I do know it can happen. There is a small percentage of children that do have a tough time, can spike fevers have an allergic reaction to something in the vaccination. Same with the first time you have to truly treat your child with an anti biotic, there is a risk there.

It is just for me weighing the percentages. Your child unvaccinated has a greater chance of getting whooping cough, mumps or measles now more then they have a chance of getting autism. Study that most vaccinations now no longer carry mercury which was the main reasoning behind associating autism and vaccinations.

My children get the flu vaccine every year too. In public schools allowing them to be so suseptible to illness and exposure how awful would I feel if they developed serious respitory complications due to not being vaccinated and be put in the hospital. Just not an option if I can prevent something so large scale and so much more likely to happen.

More research has been done to say that those children that had bad reactions to vaccines had genetic makeup that caused the autism more then the vaccinations themselves.

There are many options, delayed vaccinations so your child is older, strong and more able to handle them. I think however choosing to never vaccinate not only puts your child at risk, it puts you, your family and the public in general for these deadly illnesses to now rear their head again. Delayed vaccination may pacify you and your husband. Not having a huge combination of vaccines at once I truly think can help lower any chance of any bad reactions. A lot of parents choose this route now.

Whooping cough is horrible, can lay up a healthy adult for weeks, put you or your child in the hospital. My friend got it two years ago and was laid up for three weeks, in quarantine through the city in her home and bruised three ribs from the coughing. She was exposed to a child that wasn't vaccinated. Since the vaccination debate this illness has risen yearly and is now something more common then not. Pregnant women that are exposed to whooping cough can put their unborn fetus at risk. I had to avoid a good friend for several months during my pregnancy with my son due to her choosing not to vaccinate her children.

You can think conspiracy theory with the drug companies just trying to make money, however I truly feel like we are blessed to be in a country to where the medical field is trying constantly to improve the overall health of our children. Vaccinations, like penicillin and every other drug that has come into play throughout history isn't fool proof, there are mess ups, there are risks. Just have to decide what risks are greater then others.

Children were dying of epidemic numbers then there were vaccinations invented to prevent them. Measles, Mumps, Polio, Ruebella are all illnesses you can talk to any senior citizen about how devestating they were when they were children before vaccines came into play. They lived through the horror of how many children died or were left crippled.

I say talk to a few professionals, pediatric professionals, talk then to someone believing in holistic healing and weigh your odds. What is truly the risk of them getting a illness vs what is the risk of them contracting autism. It is tough being a parent, every day we have to make huge decisions for our children and pray we make the right ones.

I am not going to preach vaccination, I just think because of the fear factor in the media and all the debates have really brought about serious illnesses back again that now expose everyone again in society not just children. You are at risk yourself now. It is a deeply personal choice. You and your husband should research the pros and cons together so you both get the same set of facts and go from there.

DITTO everything Deb K wrote!

I know this is a heated subject, but measles and whooping cough, once thought almost a "done deal" are on the rise. It comes down to a risk/benefit decision and being well informed (there is a lot of well-intentioned but misleading info out there regarding vaccines).

I know for our family, the benefits of getting vaccinated outweighed the few possible risks-- esp. looking at the basic statistics. I was a bit unsure at first (regarding vaccines), but after much research, it was a clear choice for me.

As you are already doing, get as well informed as you can, talk to professionals and do internet research (isn't the web great?). A delayed vaccination schedule may be a good compromise for you and your husband. Good luck!

Read Baby 411 or Toddler 411; they are both written by a doctor in Boulder. They clearly explain why kids need vacitations and what risks are involved (autism, believe it or not, is not one of them). My parents chose not to vacinate me, but my husband and I have given our daughter all her shots. I was weary at first, but really I was uninformed. I know you want to do what is best for your child so take some time to read up on this.

A possible solution might be to agree on an alternative immunization schedule. That way your daughter still get immunized, but perhaps at an age and rate that you feel more comfortable with. Many doctors are familiar with this, as many more parents are choosing this alternative.
We agreed not to immunize until after age 2. I wanted to be able to see any changes in their behavior and speech, should they occur. Also, there are less doses required after a certain age with certain shots. We also selected specific vaccines and did not do all of those that are now on the recommended schedule (way too many, in my opinion). It is a difficult decision, I wish you the best.