(no subject)

[valancystirling]

Wednesday is the dreaded six-month checkup, at which Topie is supposed to be shot full of vaccines. I'm reading all I can, and the more I read, the more certain I am that no one is coming near my child with a needle. No way.

I'll post some of the things I'm reading later. I'm trying to absorb it all with a clear head, which is difficult because it's such a controversial and emotional issue. Fear is used on both sides of the argument, and I'm tyring to get past that. Do I want to be afraid because the pediatrician's friend died of whooping cough because she couldn't afford the vaccine? Do I want to be afraid because of this other side?

This is insane. I just want facts. FACTS.

Comments

[nickittynic.livejournal.com]

I still haven't done any reading on the subject. Partly because of time, and partly because like you I just want the facts. I want the *science* behind it all. But that doesn't seem to be what most of it is about. So I've been trying to think stuff through in my head given what I know about physiology and immune response and whatnot.
I'm hoping my ped will be able to tell me more or provide me with some better resources. The most scientific thing I have is my pediatric nursing text, which of course is like "OMG, the CDC says vax!"

[nickittynic.livejournal.com]

I just read the link you posted. That made me terribly sick.
Ignoring all the stuff about the vax, I don't know how *anyone* could see their child, their tiny baby, in so much pain and agony and accept the answer of "It's normal".
It makes me so sad and disgusted at the same time.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

Me too. I think, honestly, that if I'm going to be swayed even a tiny bit by fear, that article (and the dozens of others I've read like it) is more horrible to me than the idea of Topie getting a bad case of chickenpox, or even polio. To be perfectly honest.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

You would think your ped would be straight with you and at least talk to you reasonably, since you're a nursing student. I hope it goes well. What are you thinking of doing so far? I still don't know if Topie will be in public school or not, so maybe we'll just delay until she's 2 and go from there.

[nickittynic.livejournal.com]

I'm still thinking we'll get most of them eventually, but not anything we didn't get. Like chickenpox and the flu. Well, *maybe* the flu shot *eventually* but that's only if I'm working in the hospital, because I don't want to bring it home to everyone.
I just don't see the point in giving them so young when their immune systems aren't there. I mean, I thought the point of the immunization was that we mounted immune responses against these weaker antigens so that we had antibodies ready to go. But maybe I'm missing something.
I'm pretty sure the ped will have some good info for us, since she was the one who said "I don't vax before 6 months old" even before we said anything.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

That's definitely promising. I can see getting the flu shot if you're working in a hospital.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get straight answers from people who aren't in this for money?

[nickittynic.livejournal.com]

Ha! That would be nice!

[nalidoll.livejournal.com]

Here is what I have learned, though I don't know how much help it will be...

A good portion of the immunizations given to infants are not needed for anything beyond "helping" get through the first year or two. They are meant to help as the child's immune system develops. I found this out because Miss Bit could not get most of those. I was the primary caregiver, and I am immunosuppressed. We worked with her first ped, telling him this, and he held back any shots which would make her a risk to *me*.

She did have to get some of the shots she missed before she could start school. This is when we found out that a lot of them were now not necessary, since she was older. While there are some out there that carry a risk associated with just one shot (info is available on which ones, by simply searching the activist groups that are pushing the info as much as they can), much of the general risk that people worry about is associated with large amounts involved in a whole slew of shots. Spreading these out and skipping the uneccessary ones, as I understand it, lesses the risks.

As you know, I wasn't able to breastfeed, and Bit's immune system still kicks ass, even without all the shots she never got. Ask the ped for a list of all shots and a breakdown of what they are for. It is a place to start in researching and making decisions.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

That's very interesting. I would have never thought of that situation. If Topie does go to public school (probably) she'll have to have her shots anyway, so waiting a couple years isn't the end of the world. Apparently a lot of people wait two years. I'll do some more reading.

[sorcha.livejournal.com]

Ok, I had a look at New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com) and did a search for vaccination and MMR and stuff. There's a lot of information there, but you have to dig for it.

I did find this NHS immunisation website (http://www.immunisation.nhs.uk/) which is set up by the UK's national health service. You'll probably be facing different vaccines, being across the pond, but at least the NHS site will give you some more information, and it seems very reasonable in tone.

There's no doubt about it on my part, when we have kids they're getting immunised. The vaccines are a hell of a lot safer than the risk from the disease itself. Chickenpox can be fatal. Polio is very often fatal and if it's not, it can cause permanent disability. Ditto mumps, measles, rubella, whooping cough, diptheria, tetnus, meningitis.... They're all deadly. And I'm not relying on herd immunity to protect my kid. Not when we've had our first death from measles in the UK for 14 years (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4871728.stm) recently.

Your pediatrician should be able to provide the numbers for you to make an informed choice. Good luck.

[valancystirling.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your input. Those pages you linked to look interesting. It's probably a good idea to get information from other sources (i.e., the UK).

I never questioned immunising until just recently. Until now, I always thought it was something that was just done. But now that I actually have the kid, and she's not just a concept, it all seems different to me. It's become a potential matter of life and death.

I hope my pediatrician can offer some new insight, but up to this point she's pretty much blindly in favor and doesn't seem to have much in the way of objective facts. I'll check out your links and see how it fits in with the picture I'm already getting.