Unsure about shots for my baby???

Question

My son has an appointment for the end of the month to get his first set of shots. I am worried about him getting shots for a number of reasons. With my first son I didn't think twice about it. However now I know someone who swears shots caused more problems in her daughter (who is diagnosed with autism, but she had problems BEFORE she got the shots). Now I have been reading up on information and don't know what to think. How did you come to your own personal decision about giving your child shots? So far my son seems to be developing normally, and I would hate to screw him up from getting his shots. However I would also hate for something bad to happen to him by getting sick. My gut instinct is to let him have the shots, but I would hate myself if he had a bad reaction and it changed him. My friend swears against the shots and has her daughter exempted from. I don't know what to do - but I have to make a choice. Any thoughts??

My friends daughter is medically exempted from having to get her shots and she goes to a public school. My friend demanded it as soon as she had her daughter medically diagnosed with autism. She goes to school everyday, but has an IEP and gets special help from the school. I know that much is true.

Answer 1

I am in favor of giving every child the required shots, but I feel the schedule they have assigned is a bit rushed. Unless your son is exposed to many unvaccinated people, I would delay giving him the shots. Many of the shots are combination shots. Some can be divided & given on different days so it is less of a shock to a child's system.

But I have a portrait of a 4 year old girl (my grandfather's sister) who died in 1914 of diptheria, unheard of in these days due to vaccinations. So I would not skip shots, just postpone them.

And as many pointed out, Thimerasol, the componant many fear caused autism, hasn't been in childhood vaccines since January of 2003. So that is one thing you don't have to be afraid of.

Answer 2

My children are now 7 and 5. I'm expecting my third. Neither of my children have had any immunizations nor will my third. After much research, my husband and I came to our decision for many reasons. Here are a few: First and formost is that negative reactions (from tenderness at the shot sight to death) do occur. I personally know a few people who have experienced serious negative reactions. To attest to the fact that these reactions happen, the US government has "The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System" place. The government recognizes the risks, tracks potential reactions when reported (only 10% of potential reactions are reported), and will compensate the grieving parents in certain cases. I personally would be able to handle a death from naturally occurring disease better than from a shot that I consented to. Secondly, some of the diseases covered in the shots are usually mild and medical technology can help many of the rest (certainly better than it did years ago). Third, the age that most infants receive their first course of immunizations is also the peak age for SIDS. I believe there is a coorelation. Fourth, some normally developing children develop autism only after their MMR shot. Austism rates sky-rocketed after MMR was introduced in the UK and then again 10 years later when it was introduced in California. Fifth, we had a couple of "contraindications" to consider in our family; one of the shots is contraindicated if there is a milk allergy (my 1st was allergic and my 2nd is lactose intolerant) and family history of seizures is another contraindication (my husband and his cousin both have/had a seizure disorder. We felt our personal risks were higher. My advise: read everything you can from both sides. Educate yourself so you can make an informed decision that YOU feel good about.

Finally, to clarify some false information given by other responders. Most people know that public schools "require" up-to-date immunizations for enrollment. This is not entirely true. Every state in the US has, at the very least, a medical exemption. To qualify for this exemption you must have a doctor sign off. Most states also have either a religious or philosophical exemption or both. It is not required that you prove your religion or that you argue your philosophical case. You can find the exemptions on the back of the immunization forms given to you by your school/organization. With the medical one, the doctor must sign. With the other two, you simply sign it in the appropriate slot. You may still be hassled by school officials but they must ultimately abide by your state's laws.

Answer 3

I agonized over this, too. I went with the shots.
If I were to go through it again with a baby, I would ask to have fewer vaccines and have more shots over time with fewer diseases in each. The worst that I remember from either of mine, when they were little, was that my first daughter had swelling in her leg where she had the injection. I think that after that, I gave a tiny
bit of Tylenol prior to prevent pain and swelling.

You're the Mom. It's up to you, but thanks to vaccines we don't hear of many of those diseases anymore. I had mumps, chicken pox, measles all before I started first grade. My mom had to care for me with the fevers and all.

I got both kinds of polio vaccine and smallpox. Do they even give those now?

I have heard some good arguments made that the mercury based preservative in vaccines caused autism. They don't use that preservative anymore in child vaccines. The rate of autism is still rising after that change. I do not know what causes autism. I don't' think that anyone has answered that question yet.
I don't think that vaccines cause that problem, but the link has been made, and if you have a child with autism, it would drive any good parent crazy wondering how and why it happened.

Answer 4

We decided against them for a number of reasons after my son's 6 month appointment.
First, I didn't want him to have the flu vaccine; the nurse didn't listen and gave it to him and said "too bad"
Second, we have a history of autism in my family. I talked this over with the pediatrician and he recommended that we avoid vaccines-that's what people can't wrap their heads around-a doctor actually recommended that we don't vaccinate-amazing!
Third, I looked at my vaccine record and compared it to the recommended schedule-there are so many vaccines that I didn't have and I am doing great!
Fourth, I haven't had any boosters since I was a kid. If I truely belived in vaccines I should update what I have.
Fifth, I don't agree with aborted fetal cells being injected into my son-it's sick and wrong even though it was two babies that died 30 or so years ago.
Sixth, no vaccine is 100% effective. I weighed the pros and cons-if my son for example contracted measles-I'd rather him have that than suffer from autism or a reaction. We have a healthy diet and great sanitation in this country!

Answer 5

I know someone with a child that was negatively affected by shots, and seeing what she went through with doctors who refuse to listen is very frustrating. It turns out he has a form of epilepsy that the shots made worse, and he is currently not getting any more. Most likely nothing will happen, but I will tell you this, if you notice any problems than DON'T give him any more. In some countries they wait until 2 years. The older they are the less likely the risk.

Answer 6

Only you can make this decision. Personally, my kids are fully vaccinated on schedule. However, I would consider getting the shots spread out of possibly skipping some. I don't get them flu shots, in fact I've never had a flu shot either.

There's lots of information out there for you to read, make an informed decision. Certainly you'll feel bad if your child has a reaction to the vaccines but you'll feel just as bad if your baby gets pneumonococcal meningitis, HIB or hepatitis and it could have been avoided.

Answer 7

I would not hesitate to have my child inoculated. The complications from measles and mumps (just to name a couple) especially for males far outweigh the risks. My son has had all his shots, no problems as most would tell you and he never had to suffer through as much as the chicken pox. Ultimately your choice of course but I'd feel a lot better knowing my child was being mingled with children that were not going to be infecting him with unnecessary germs and contaminates.

Answer 8

GET THE SHOTS. your baby can die from the flu or a simple cold. I had both my kids immunized because its the smaert thing to do. The shots protect your baby from getting sick! Back in the old days...Most infants did not live because they had no protection. Have you ever gone to a graveyard? Morbid but take a walk through one and you will see hundreds of babys that died at an early age in the 1900's because of simple things that could have been prevented. There is a very small chance that he could have a reaction..a very small chance. Not enough to worry about. I went through the same thing but in the end deceided that having a healthy baby is best. That person who thinks the shots affected her kid...shes just plain crazy and paranoind and needs something to blaim her childs defects on. She feels guilty for how her child is and blaims herself but in no way is it her fault. Dont listen to her please for the sake of your child!!

Answer 9

If you dont give him the shots then you run the risk of him dying from a preventable disease. Whooping cough has returned to the US as well as measels and some TB and other diseases that we thought we had under control. The risk of problems from the shots is very low but the risk of dying from a disease they prevent is high should the child be exposed.

Answer 10

All mothers go through this worry. But read about some of the disease your child can get if he/she does not get the shots. That will be an eye-opener for you.

As for your friend that had her daughter exempted from shots. BS....that kid is goin to have to be current on shots to go to school.


M