Vaccines Revisited

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You may recall that I wrote several months ago about our beliefs on vaccinating our kids. Because I don't use labels in my posts, I cannot for the life of me find it. Oh well. So here is where we're we've come from and where we are at.

While I was pregnant, the Swine Flu rocked the country and the livelihood of several pregnant women was compromised. My family, husband, and friends were all concerned for my health and safety but I was not about to lock myself up in my house and not step outside for 6 months. I'd go crazy! B and I talked about whether or not I would get the vaccine for 3 months before it was even available. We went back and forth and read countless articles and watched a number of youtube videos. The "what ifs" plagued us but it eventually came down to what was best for me. We worried about the possible risk of autism, something which has very little scientific support, yet I felt and believed that while the health of our baby was important, my health was just as important, if not more so, and that we could live without a baby, but we could not live without me. It was a heart-wrenching decision. I often wondered if I had made the right one and as far as I can tell, I certainly did. I received the vaccine at the beginning of November and I knew that when Logan arrived during the peak of flu season, he would have my immunities through my breast milk and would be protected. If, God Forbid, he happened to develop autism, I was not going to blame the vaccine. I was not going to blame anyone. God, my Creator, is my confidant and I had to trust that He had our plan and Logan's laid out well before we even knew we were pregnant. Logan is a blessing from above, with or without autism and we would love him no less and no different.

Once Logan arrived, we chose to decline the Hep B vaccine in the hospital. There was no reason for him to receive it as both B and I are healthy and no one in our family carried the infection. We had then discussed how we would be vaccinating Logan. It was clear to me that the risks of him being unvaccinated were greater than if he was vaccinated. I do this terrible thing were I worry about the future and all those "what ifs" and I am trying with every fiber of my being not to do that. I am living in today and will NOT worry about tomorrow.

You know, it's in the Bible too. :)

We have chosen to do a delayed vaccination schedule with Logan. Up until he was 6 months old, he only received 2 shots and one oral vaccine. At 6 months, he received 3 shots, one of which was his first Hep B vaccine. Let me be clear here: I DO NOT BELIVE that vaccines cause autism. There is not enough, if any, scientific proof that it does. Even when I see things like this, I shake my head. This is just coincidental. Twenty-five years ago, there were a lot less children with autism, but guess what? There were also a lot less people with Alzheimer's Disease. There were a lot less people with breast cancer. I think graphs and stats, as shown in the link, just causes parents to go into a bigger tailspin of unnecessary worry about all those "what ifs". It also gives the parents who have children with autism someone or something to blame. It's always someone else's fault. What if (ha, no pun intended) it's NOT anyone's fault? What if it's genetic? What if it is just a coincidence? What if the child developed autism even without having been given a vaccine?

Now, some of you might be shaking your heads at me. That is fine. You might also be saying "Well Sarah, WHAT IF he does get autism and you're vaccinating him 'causes' it?" I say to you, "WHAT IF your baby gets pertussis (whooping cough) or meningitis and needs to be hospitalized for weeks because of how ill they become?" Autism is a disorder. It's not curable but it is also not fatal like most the diseases we are vaccinating our children against. I can live with having a child or children with autism. I could not live WITHOUT my child because he died from a disease I could have protected him from. I could not live with the guilt of having to hospitalize my son for something he could have been protected against. And I certainly cannot live without Logan. That is where the line is drawn. For both B and me, this is a no brainer.

So what do I believe? I'm not 100% sure and, FYI, no one is 100% sure, but I believe that children who develop autism have some other kind of predisposition to the disorder prior to ever having received a vaccine. The risk of our children being unvaccinated makes them much more susceptible to diseases which have been nearly eliminated over the last several decades because of vaccines.

I am sharing this with you because I think it is important for us, as parents, to share what and why we feel a certain way about anything. Something like vaccinating your children (or not) is a very touchy subject and is sure to ruffle feathers and attitudes just like talking about politics and religion can. Our children are so precious to us and I believe in protecting mine. Please know, that if you happen to disagree and have different beliefs on the subject, I respect you and your choice. I pray all of our children, vaccinated or not, stay healthy. I also pray that if you are a soon-to-be parent, that you do your own research and educated yourself on the matter. It is not my intention for this to be a place for fangs and flaming and lashing to take place so if you have something to say that is NOT respectful, then either keep it to yourself or send me a private message.