Saturday, September 26, 2009

I'm not a granola eating, Birkenstock wearing, commune living hippie.....

So. As per my title, I promise you I am NOT a granola eating, Birkenstock wearing, commune living hippie. However, there is nothing wrong with granola (except for those of us on WW), Birkenstocks are OK, and I am sorry, but commune living is weird. I heart hippies though-my bestie is one! (Love you LG! :D)



I have been wanting to blog about this for awhile. I've been putting it off because there is SOOO much I want to share, and it's a controversial topic among mommies. Some of you've probably already figured out what I want to discuss.



VACCINATIONS.



I know! Ugh-so much hype-give me a break, etc, etc, etc. But, I want to share and maybe learn some new things too. One of my SAHM friends (Mindy) turned me on to the subject and a fab book. The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears. I borrowed her copy, and over the course of 3 days with an infant, read the entire thing. I couldn't put it down. A book about VACCINATIONS. I know, right?

Now, before I "begin," let me tell you, I knew a little about mercury (thimerasal) in vaccinations, possibly causing neurological defects such as autism. That was it. And I was sure enough about to jack my kid up with every shot needed so she didn't get sick and have health issues. Now, I have a slightly different viewpoint-one I would like to share, and hopefully get feedback from you readers.

The Vaccine Book breaks down the 12 vaccinations that infants/children receive. Each chapter breaks it down by:
-what is the disease
- is it common
-is it serious
-is it treatable
-how is the vaccine made
-ingredients in the vaccine
-controversial ingredients
-side effects
-reasons for and reasons against
-what the author thinks

Now, the things I was most curious about were the things in red above. How were the shots being made, and what was going into them. Can I just say, ewww! I think I may throw up a little in my mouth every time I receive a shot from now on! And, as my daughter's advocate in health care, I DAMN SURE will make certain that she is only receiving the MOST NECESSARY and SAFEST vaccinations that I can get for her.

Let me give you an excerpt regarding how the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccination is made and what is in it. "I could not determine where the measles and mumps viruses originally came from, but they probably came from infected individuals many decades ago. The rubella virus was originally taken from an infected aborted fetus in the 1960s. The measles and mumps are nourished for years in a culture of chicken embryo cells. The rubella virus is nourished in a culture of human lung cells." Insert me-!!! WTF!!! It goes on to describe scientific processes of viral growth, including the use of cow fetus serum. The viruses are ALIVE but weakened, so they won't (usually) cause an infection when injected. How reassuring.

Now, as for ingredients:
-The three viruses
-Saline solution, sugar, gelatin
-Human albumin (blood proteins)
-Residual cow fetus serum
-Neomycin (an antibiotic)
-Traces of chick embryo proteins
-"Other buffer and media ingredients" details are not listed in the product insert

The controversial ingredients are the human albumin, cow fetus serum, and chick embryo proteins. I agree-that is NASTY!
However, many of the vaccinations have things like this in them. And they are "safer" and "more necessary." It's just the old saying, "What you didn't know....."

So, another thing I learned about was the addition of aluminum to vaccinations to make them work better. Aluminum is normally harmless-it's in food, water, air, and soil. But, when ingested in large quantities, such as some vaccinations, it can be toxic. Now, this brings me to my next point. The shot schedule is ridic! Five shots at 2, 4, and 6 months old, and most of them are LOADED with aluminum. What can end up happening is aluminum toxicity in infants, due to the high amounts of aluminum in shots. There are many MAJOR medical issues that can occur when aluminum reaches toxic levels.

At 2 months of age, infants are supposed to receive: HIB, Pc, DTaP, Rotavirus, and polio vaccinations. If you gave your child all of these shots at once (!), they could receive up to 925 micrograms of aluminum at one time. Theoretically, [for a tiny newborn, this toxic dose would be close to 10 to 20 micrograms,and for an adult ti would be about 350 micrograms.] This is referring to accumulated aluminum. So it's not like if you give them all the shots, it's insta-death. Can you imagine though? Gah, that is a lot of just ONE chemical in your baby!

So, enough soapbox. My plan is to set up an alternate vaccination schedule, with the help of this book. Also, I am going to opt out of several injections, namely polio, MMR, and at this time, the flu shot (that is one NASTY shot!). I don't feel that it's necessary at this time for my child to get polio, MMR, and flu shots. Polio is practically eradicated from our country, and isn't a danger unless you are traveling outside of the US. MMR is a very mild disease, and poses more of a danger to pregnant women. Also, this is one of the most controversial vaccinations-supposedly causing neurological defects in some children. When Emma goes to school, she can have the vaccinations that I chose to delay. I do not feel that it's necessary for any child under the age of 1 year to be filled with all of these chemicals. With that said, I also want to point out that breastfed babies (Emma) and babies that are not in "daycare" (Emma will go to an in home with 5 others, so it's not public daycare) are much less likely to develop many of the childhood illnesses.

Emma will be going to the doctor next weeek for her two month vaccinations. She will be getting the HIB and the DTaP vaccinations. We will go back at three months for the Pc and Rotavirus shots. I will not be giving her the polio vaccination. We will continue with this alternate schedule until at least one year of age.

So readers, if you are still reading (:D) what are your thoughts, comments, concerns, etc? Am I being a freak? (not that I care). Love ya-kthxbi. :D

And sweet readers, thank you soooo much for the kind comments on my ailment filled post Thursday. I appreciate it AND you!

I hope the rest of your weekend is fab! War Eagle!

10 comments:

  1. Hm, from what my husband and I have discussed, because psychologists discuss vaccinations and their likely impact on cognitive functioning, they have such a low rate of impact. The ratio of well children versus not well children after vaccinations far exceeds the potential harm, in our eyes. There's not that many people who have autism or are on the spectrum as a direct result of vaccinations. I do understand the fear and I do understand the toxicity levels. I also believe that many disorders are overdiagnosed and incorrectly assumed to be a result of vaccinations, but these are my own opinions and are totally, 100% completely not backed by any research of any kind. Just observations.

    We plan on vaccinating our children to everything, mostly because we can keep the immediate environment clean and healthy for the children. But everyone else, y'all are dirty in our eyes. In all honesty, people carry so many germs with them and there is only so much you can do to prevent the children from coming into contact with these germs. And to my husband and I, we'd rather be safe than sorry.

    However, like you, we do plan on a vaccination schedule. Some things are more imminent and should be administered relatively early and other vaccinations, like polio as you mentioned, can wait until a year or so. I do agree that it is wise to be judicious about the number of vaccinations at one time because of the chemicals in the vaccinations and the small size of the infant. That's a ratio I wouldn't want to mess with!

    Maybe things will change when I have kids? I don't know. I do know I'll become Lysol Nazi and that's about the only thing that's certian!

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  2. I do find this topic intriguing so keep me posted on all that you read and decide!Dooce has alot to say about it as well.. So does jenny mccarthy

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  3. Sister
    first of, as per Lauras comment about Jennie mcCarthy..She is hilarious and you have to read the book "belly laughs" about her pregnancy. i have it you can borrow it, it is soooo funny! number 2, we got those vaccines as do most all babies, when did you become a commune living, scared of vaccinations, hippie?!! me love

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  4. Wow. Way to do your homework. I will have to say I am a big believer in vaccines, but spacing them out is a smart idea. I will say that I believe the flu shot is very important every year. I think by the time Gracie is old enough, it wiu be too late for this flu season, but Gray has gotten his every year and knock on wood we have avoided the flu. It's jut tough because you can't give the small ones any over the counter meds to treat cols symptoms, so I would just like to avoid it all together. I will say that none of us will be getting the swine flu shot this year. I'm not to sure about that one.

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  5. I don't think you are a freak, you seem to know your stuff! I have chosen to vaccinate because I am more afraid of what other children may carry... I am even scared of what I may bring home from my school, on my clothes, shoes, whatever. MA goes to an in-home too, but it still freaks me out a bit! I think if you are doing what feels right to you, then it is definitely the right thing!

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  6. Great post! After talking to my doctor (and other doctors) I have given Maia all the recommended vaccinations. I think I would not be able to live with myself if she got really sick from something very preventable. I read up on it before going, but my doctor put me at ease. And I will definitely be getting her the swine flu shot as well as it has killed several children in south florida.

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  7. I totally agree with you on the vaccines. I have been doing alot of reading/research myself and the whole thing really makes me nervous. We actually just switched pediatricians because my original doctor was giving me such a hard time about spacing out our vaccines and acting like I was a big pain in the ass. They pressured me into getting her the hep B shot when she was a week old. I was so tired and wasn't thinking straight because of no sleep that I agreed, and I have regretted it ever since. Our new doctor has no problem at all with using an alternate schedule and I feel much more comfortable now with him. No one really knows what all can happen because of the vaccines and every child is different. I say better safe then sorry... I don't think I will regret being extra cautious.

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  8. Peeps are crazy.. Great research Sus..

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  9. Great post. I just read it after reading your 200th post recap (yay!). I also own that book. It is my guiding light. We are doing the very, very bare bones Dr. Sears plan and I feel so great about it. I love knowing that J will only get 1 or 2 vaccines at a time. I Soooo appreciate your proactive approach to parenting. So many parents don't take the time or even think to research things that potentially could be harmful for their kids. they just drink the koolaide and forget that there's a HUGE pharmaceutical lobby out there that is trying to make $$$ on our fear (and ignorance). As a kids, we weren't required to get a fraction of these vaccines! Go back and look. It's scary! Okay, you can see I'm passionate about this for my kid. Bravo sistah.

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  10. Susannah,

    I'm so glad I stumbled upon this post. I don't have kids and don't plan on having any in the near future but was ALWAYS concerned about our inflated vaccination schedule and why it has changed so dramatically in recent years. Each time one of my friends gives birth I think about it. I also work with kids and many have autism spectrum disorders and the thought that something that is supposed to PROTECT our children is crippling them neurologically is terrifying. My friend Jessica gave birth a couple of weeks ago...she too did the research and chose an alternative schedule. I applaud you for that...it takes guts and alot of docs are very condescending about it. I'm definitely going to do alot of my own research when my time comes!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment!