Hi Jo, My experience is that we vaccinated our first son,wanted to question it but we weren't at that place in ourselves, after his 12mth MMR, he was a very sick boy and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Our GP at the time was happy to say it was the vaccine, just give him 4 hourly paracetamol and ignore the maximum dosage recommendation until better. There was no reporting of the reaction. A few years before that I had also been vaccinated by the same GP, for "triple antigen" booster, ended up in emergency that night very sick and the Dr accepted it as being a reaction to the vaccination, again no reporting.
After our son's reaction to MMR, we started the research and reached the decision not to continue vaccinating. Our three other children are not vaccinated. We have have done the tetanus threat after a hospital visit for a split lip, but refused to be bullied into it out of fear. Again went home made some calls, read a lot and chose not to vaccinate. We have had a 4 month old baby being treated for suspected meningitis, but it hasn't changed our minds on vaccination. I cannot trust the government literature as I know now personally and anecdotally how much under-reporting there is of adverse reactions. It's not good enough that those vaccinating us can ignore any consequences of this treatment, despite clear instructions to report these side effects. And why do Dr's get paid to vaccinate us? If it is so critical to our health and well-being why do the government have an incentive payment to Dr's per vaccination? I can to tell you that not vaccinating my children is always with me. We are always seeking more information to support or change our decision. Everytime I go to the Dr's (which is hardly ever)I wonder how it will be respected. What kind of reaction will I get from others at school etc. I don't see it as a burden, I just have it with me as part of my parenting, like so many other things. It's not an easy decision when you are starting out, like childbirth and the choices we have with that, we do have to accept the benefits and consequences of our actions. Parenting is a constant challenge, and we all have our own notion of what is the best thing to do by our children. Welcome to the game of life. You can really only do what you believe to be right at the time and after that don't look back just learn and move forward. Also check out VISA at http://www.visainfo.org.au/ Take your time to be sure whatever you decide Megan (obviously with a lot to say) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of JoFromOz Sent: Tuesday, 26 July 2005 10:58 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.
