Tidbits

Ok Ok....I will try to respond to those that have emailed with questions, but here is at least a list of books I have been reading about vaccinations and the diseases. The one that I LOVE that truly gives the information without EVER choosing a pro or con side, is Vaccinations: A thoughtful Parent's Guide, by Aviva Jill Romm. Also How to Raise a Healthy Child...in Spite of your doctor, by Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD. Vaccines, Are they really safe & effective? by Neil Miller. A Shot in the Dark, by Coulter and Fisher. Two GREAT websites with a lot of information and research are: National Vaccine Information Center (on the left side they list every disease with information on it and the vaccines etc) and Children of God for Life (an awesome site with Catholic direction, especially like the section if you click on the left on Moral and Historical Perspectives and then click on Moral Obligations...good information and food for thought!)

Some of the things we have used in our decision:
-you cannot know the effectiveness of each vaccine on each child for immunity unless you get a blood test drawn
-some of these diseases like chickenpox are better to contract naturally as a child to build lifelong immunity to it (vaccinations do not give you this) (would probably give them this shot when they are older if they do not contract it naturally because as an adult it it more serious....although with the vaccinations not a lot of kids are getting it anymore...which is leading to serious issues of adults getting cases of shingles...that is another topic!)
-too many shots at one time increase the risks of reactions and then also make it hard to tell which reaction is being caused by which vaccine
-babies immune systems need time to develop and breastfeeding passes along immunities already
-the chickenpox and MMR vaccines contain aborted fetal cell lines
-why would my babies need HEP B, especially at birth?? I am sure that for awhile they will not be having sex, exchanging needles etc. not necessary!
-so many of instances of these diseases that occur happen to just as many VACCINATED children as unvaccinated
-the research of links of the DPT vaccine and SIDS is REALLY interesting
-so many of these diseases if contracted are VERY treatable and then give you lifelong immunity to them.

Dr. Sears, while a proponent of vaccines, as issued a booklet that also now gives an alternative schedule for vaccinations so children do not get them as early or as many at one time....very interesting and makes sense to me!!

If you are wanting to do more research...what I did and found very helpful for my husband and I to discuss and make decisions (still deciding on some) is take each vaccine/disease and have a sheet of paper (or for me almost a notebook) for each one. List all the pros, cons, info, questions etc....makes it a lot easier to decide when each one is looked at and treated individually. Unfortunately with a lot of medical physicians unwilling to discuss these concerns with you and truthfully not educated on the specifics, it comes down to the parents needing to do the research and equip ourselves with the information to make the best decisions for our children. Good luck!!