Benefits of immunisation
The main argument for immunisation is that society needs it to reduce the risks of a disease outbreak. With a disease outbreak, the reasoning goes; more children are affected badly by the disease than those who are reported as being affected by the vaccination process. The fewer children there are immunised in a society, the more likely it is that there will be an outbreak of a life threatening disease.Questions raised in immunisation
The problem is that we are being asked individually to give a healthy child something which could potentially make them unhealthy.What are the odds, we must ask ourselves, that our child will be the one who will get the disease if they are not immunised? Well, the odds rise for a disease to occur and spread as fewer children are immunised. So if the viewpoint of the conscientious objector becomes the prevalent one, then your child’s risk individually grows. The irony of this situation is that it is only in the luxury of a society like ours, where immunisation rates are high, that such conscientious objectors can thrive in reasonable safety.
The second question you should consider is the risks for your individual baby of having a bad reaction to an immunisation. Factors that might affect your choice include size, the general health of your baby, how old your baby is and any family history of bad reactions to medications, or a history of immune system problems in the family, such as chronic fatigue syndrome.
You don’t need to go as far as a conspiracy theory to realise that we are in a vulnerable position of not really understanding what we are being asked to do to our children. Few independent bodies exist that have the funding and expertise to critically examine vaccines and their affects. Immunisation studies for approval are rigorous but they are designed and run by the drug companies who sell the vaccines. They are also promoted by governments who work on the principle of reducing overall risk in a society. So the question is: who is going to put money into discrediting these trials? Maybe that is one reason why there are a number of anti-immunisation sites on the internet. As a parent, it’s worth looking at some of these sites, but always worth double checking any facts with other sources to see if an informed decision has been made. Informing yourself is the key.
Personal choice
As a concerned parent, I am putting forward my situation to assist the thought processes, while being very aware that I am not in any way able to give an easy answer to such a complex issue. Things worth considering include postponing the injections, breast feeding, keeping your food and your baby’s food healthy, avoiding illness and reducing foreign bacteria when out and about.Postponing – a half way compromise
As my baby was small (less than 3kg) and I have had chronic fatigue syndrome in the past, I chose to postpone the initial injections until my child was very healthy and 5 months old, including the post delivery injections such as Vitamin K and Hepatitis B. I did this with minimal research and the reasoning that a healthy bigger baby was probably more likely to cope with injections than a newborn.Safeguarding your unprotected baby
Because I made the choice to postpone immunisation, I reduced risk where I could, by reducing his exposure to illness. I also relied upon exclusive breast feeding as a natural boost to my son’s immunity. I made sure that I kept healthy, did not drink alcohol or use any medicines, except a couple of paracetamol on very few occasions. I ate well.Cleanliness
While I understand that we all carry bacteria on our skin, reducing the incidence of foreign bacteria seems to me to be prudent. I considered the environments to which I was subjecting my child. I cleaned public surfaces before use and used a pram for shopping rather than the baby carrier in a shopping trolley. I still carry antibacterial wipes in the car and the pram just in case of a 'sticky' situation.
Illness
I kept him away from illness in children and adults and asked others to wash their hands before holding him. I wash my hands before picking up my baby and feeding him and thoroughly before putting fingers inside his mouth.
Breast fed protection
Breast feeding is vital to my decision to delay immunisation for the protection that it gives to the infant. I feel this is an important and valid choice as breast milk is individually tailored to your baby. Breast milk includes antibodies for the viruses you encounter along the way and it is easy to digest. This way, when your child is ill they are still getting good nutrition as long as you eat well. Many health benefits have been linked to breast feeding, such as a reduction in the incidence of asthma and allergies in babies who are breast fed. I breast fed exclusively until 6 months, as recommended by the World Health Organisation and I continue with breast feeding as a major part of my baby’s nutrition.
Keeping healthy
I have dietary and nutritional help during pregnancy and as a breast feeding mum to ensure that my milk is of good quality. This advice includes such things as eating organic foods, using sea salt and unhomogonised organic milk, using full fat foods and eliminating canned and processed foods. On a full fat diet I have been steadily losing weight, so that’s a surprise! I rarely drink, maybe a half a glass in a month, don’t smoke or use any medications. I try to get enough sleep. My husband takes large doses of Vitamin C (see our childbirth article) which has worked well.
Boosting health
By eating organic foods and preparing them for your baby, you are reducing chemical levels in your environment. No matter how many studies are done saying that chemical levels in a food or cleaner are not significant, you can’t go wrong by reducing your exposure. When you start thinking about how many chemicals you already expose yourself to, any reduction is worthwhile. In my experience, natural cleaning products and foods that come to you as nature intended do cause a boost in your immune system and general wellbeing. As a previous sufferer of chronic fatigue, I can say that with some conviction.
For further reading and information on immunisation and safety concerns, start with http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/vaccination/safety.htm. There are plenty of articles and a list of recommended sites and further reading on the subject. Meanwhile, we at www.happybub.com wish you and your family health, wealth and happiness.
We found vaxing caused our child to develop excema.
Heres an interesting link
(http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/12/04/the_secret_truth/)
allthebest xm