Hi Jo, Vaccination is such a personal and difficult issue and no one can make the decision for you. It is one of the many decisions you will have to make over the years on behalf of your child and empowering yourself with information is the best start.
I'd like to share with you my personal experiences around vaccination. Like you, I had reservations about vaccinating when my first baby was born, after much agonizing we decided to go with the vaccinations. The 2 month one was ok, if not distressing for myself and my baby, some temps in bub but generally ok. The 4 month one was a different story. Although no where near as severe as some stories I have read, the reaction she had was enough for me to discontinue any vaccinations. Within 12 hours of the vaccination her temp was 40 deg, she screamed non stop for almost 24 hours, she arched her back, refused to breastfeed, would not take any fluid at all (I tried boiled water on a teaspoon), she started to projectile vomit and continued to for appr 9 hours. Fortunately a few days later she was back to her normal self. When I spoke to the Dr she said it's ok it will pass and its more than likely a reaction to the vaccination. I felt a lot of guilt at injecting some unknown substance into my perfect baby and made the decision then and there to always go with my instincts. I went on to have 3 more children and have not vaccinated any of them, they are now 9, 7, 5 and 3 and are all healthy normal children. Like the RH - discussion I do believe there is an awful lot of money to be made by drug companies and the Govt. Dr's receive a monetary incentive from the Govt when they vaccinate a child and the more vac's they give the higher the payment from the Govt. There is just so much to consider around this issue and the book Vaccination Roulette - you can order it through www.avn.org.au is an extremely informative read and a real eye opener. If you do decide to vaccinate Jo, I think breaking them up and doing one at a time is a great idea and it would give his little system a chance to fight each one individually. The one thing that I find extraordinary is that if there is an outbreak of measles at school (an outbreak is considered 1 case). I need to keep my unvaccinated children at home in order to protect the other vaccinated children. If vaccination really worked this should not be an issue as those vaccinated children should be 'protected' against the disease. This has actually happened to me and a whole heap of kids at school went down with measles (most immunized) and mine didn't - WHAT THE? Good luck Jo on making this very difficult decision. Warm regards Jo Hunter -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of JoFromOz Sent: Tuesday, 26 July 2005 11:28 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ozmidwifery] Vaccination Hi All. I don't want this to start a war or anything, but I would just like to hear people's opinions (and why) on vaccinating babies. This is the week for our first vaccinations (I declined Birth HepB) as William is 2 months old tomorrow. We do want to get him vaccinated, it's just a matter of when we start, and whether we get them all done together. Here is why I'm hesitant: He is only 2 months old, and not going to be going into any childcare in the near future (at LEAST 12 months if ever). It isn't normal for a body to have to produce antibodies to 7 diseases all at once - or is it? I was thinking that it would be better to get only one injection at a time so that if he reacts to something really badly, we will know which vaccine to avoid next time. The diseases such as Hep B and tetanus, and Diptheria, etc aren't all that likely to find my son just yet - or are they? However... Should I just do it and not make a fuss? Just follow the government's schedule? He is in contact with 3 adults who work in schools - would that be a reason to vaccinate sooner rather than later? We have looked at pros and cons, and still can't come up with a concrete decision. Any opinions/info would be appreciated! Thanks, Jo :) -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
