Vaccines Post #3
I finished the Dr. Sears vaccination book and I think it was really great. I really recomend it for all parents, or better yet, for pregnant women.
Here are my final thoughts regarding the vaccination issue.
I think that breaking vaccines up into the parts rather than doing them in combo shots is perhaps not the best idea. The MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) is particularly controversial because of its suspected link to autism and the fact they they have live vaccines in the shots. One solution that some parents come up with is to give them as separate shots over a few years. The problem with this approach is that it exposes them to three times the chemicals that are in the shots. Also, its not convenient and your baby will have to have more shots over all.
I have decided that I am going to delay Matilda’s MMR until she is 3 years old. That way, she will be big enough to handle the germs in the shots and I will feel comfortable giving her all the germs at once. I am not concerned about autism being caused by shots, but if they were, you would know by 3 years old if there was a problem and that way, you can feel assured that the autism was not caused by the MMR. I think you can safely delay the HEP B shots for the same reason. HIB, Pc, Rotavirus and Pertussis (in the DTaP) are dangerous and fairly common infant diseases and I think its important to vaccinate your kid for these things on schedule if you are not breastfeeding, and if you kids is around other kids (daycare or playgroups for instance). I think its kind of stupid to vaccinate kids for chicken pox, but we are not sure if Pablo has had it, so we will vaccinate Matilda for that. Matilda has already complete her polio vaccines, but I think you can safely delay that shot since polio is almost unheard of in the US.
I hope this helps any of your other new moms out there to make vaccine decisions. Let me know if you have questions.
I got so much feedback on this. Here are some FAQs
- What is the alternative schedule.
You can find it here http://www.fitpregnancy.com/yournewlife/1205
- What about meningitis?
They are not currently vaccinating infants for meningitis. It might be required to go to college.
Another thought on the possibility of breaking up the shots. Your doctor might be reluctant to order the separate shots for you. If you want to do this, you should speak with them ahead of time so they can get it in stock. Also, I am not sure if they can order these one at a time just for you, so that might be another source of resistance.
More on this… I compared the alternative schedule to the normal schedule and realized all the “damage” has really been done (in terms of too many vaccines at once) for us with the exception of MMR. We talked with two pediatricians about breaking up the MMR and they both were ‘sort of’ OK with it but heavily questioned our reasoning, etc. We are delaying it to 18 mo and will decide then. As far as meningitis, I believe that pneumo-coccal and Hib are both anti-meningitis vaccines. Hib is the one they are having a shortage of. Freya had two already and apparently that protects her about 85-90%: the final vaccine is just for lifetime immunity.