Why do YOU choose to vaccinate or not? Part 1

I never considered not immunising BiP, it was something that never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until met other mothers, in person and virtually, that I discovered that many parents we choosing to either delay or skip immunisations all together. I am in the process of collating information on the parents who choose to go down the non-immunisation route but I have to admit I am struggling.

The law in France
In France there are 3 mandatory vaccinations that children MUST have by law; Diptheria, Polio and Tetanus in order to attend kindergarten, daycare and school. Failure to provide proof that your child has been vaccinated is illegal under French law (and in Italy).

What are other Mummy’s doing?
So, when I asked some Mummy’s internationally why they vaccinate/delay vaccines or choose not to vaccinate their children here is what I was told (please note these views are not necessarily shared by MummyinProvence – i.e. ME!)

MummyinLondon says: “We choose to vaccinate, but more slowly than the UK’s schedule, I believe they do too many at once, and my daughter reacted very badly to one set of vaccines, which made me change how I view them. I think they are necessary, but we give too many too fast, and our babies bodies are too little to cope.”

MummyinMelbourne says:“We chose to vaccinate accoring to the normal schedule of vaccinations in Australia. This is because I believe it is safer to give a small amount of the disease in the jab, then to put your child at risk of catching something that could kill or badly harm them. There are also some childcare centres and schools that wont accept a child that is not immunised, so this did have some influence.”

MummyinIllinois says: We chose to fully vaccinate according to schedule. I did prioritize vaccines though and try to spread them over a few weeks. I feel the risk of disease and sickness is much greater and more detrimental than the potential side effects. I vaccinate myself too (flu, h1n1, pertussus). My daughter is in daycare, thus increasing their necessity, in my opinion.”

MidwesternMommy says:“There is no credible medical proof to delay or deny vaccines and unless we want horrible childhood illnesses that were once though eradicated to return, vaxing is the way to go”

MommyinJAX says: “So this may make me an uneducated mommy in this regard, but technically I’m not educated in medicine so that is fine. I did not go to medical school, I do not have a degree in medicine. Therefore, I follow my doctor’s advice. Websites have made me more aware of controversies but for the most part has not changed how I parent. I will vax based on what my doctor suggests. I also have kiddos in daycare, this is one less hassle I have to deal with (getting exceptions for not getting my child vaxed).”

Carnet de Sante - Legal French Health Record for all children

MommyinKentucky says: “We do the scheduled vaccinations. I researched on my own, but I do not have a medical background. I searched for a pedi that I trust, and since she is educated in this profession, we trust her judgement. I think it is important to have a pedi that is educated, and current on issues, and one that you can trust, and always be sure to discuss any concerns with them.”

MommyinSacremento says: “We are doing all the scheduled vax’s except we delayed hep b. Our ped said it wasn’t necessary and I didn’t want to do anything unneccessary at birth. I have to admit I’m a little worried about all the vax’s, but I’m hoping that the benefits outweigh the risks. I’m really just trusting my ped on this, after taking a lot of time selecting him. I definitely want to vaccinate Tommy against the fatal diseases, but sometimes it seems like an awful lot of injections. It’s definitely a tough one for me.”

MommyinTX says: “We delay some vax’s, like the Hep B. He did not get it at birth as there was no need for it; he just now got the 1st dose of Hep B at his 9 month appt. I don’t feel any need to justify our decision, it is what we chose to do & it is what it is. We will not do chicken pox (varicella) and we don’t do rotavirus. Those are not necessary. Catching chicken pox won’t kill him, nor will rotavirus.”

So that’s it for today – I would love to hear from other parents who are choosing to not vaccinate their children and their reasons why. I promise to have your voices heard!

11 thoughts on “Why do YOU choose to vaccinate or not? Part 1

  1. Diane H.

    Great article! Good for you for asking the question in a non-emotional way.

    I really identify with the Moms you quote who picked g a great pediatrician and then trusted their advice. I did the same. This issue was really complicated with lots of “noise”. I felt it was almost impossible to make a really educated decision on my own. But I felt confident I did know how to pick a doctor that shared my values, so I trusted her judgment. We immunized, but not quite on the CDC schedule and opted out of a couple of things that weren’t required.

    Reply
  2. Mummy in Provence

    Thanks Diane … I look forward to hearing what other mothers say. Having a paediatrician you can trust is so important .

    Reply
  3. Wissam

    The easiest thing that any parent could do is to vaccinate, it only takes a minute, and you can remain ignorant to the debate, not ask any questions, and simply go ahead with the protocol recommended by the drug companies, and implemented via government and doctors.

    If anything goes wrong; within this ignorant state you would not carry any guilt, as you simply did what you were told you to do. So if you want to remain in that space, then I suggest you don’t do anymore research on this topic. I was in that ignorant state for my first two children, and it’s not a bad place to be. Ignorance is bliss = true.

    So, what are we really debating here? You don’t need to be a doctor to read a well researched study on how vaccines work, and the success the Pharma companies have had doing double and triple blind studies to ensure that injecting, formaldehyde, aluminum, live viruses grown in monkey’s, cadavers and chicken embryo cells, is both safe and effective in preventing disease.

    When someone finds one, I would love to read it. If you could find one on how all the different vaccines react within our children’s bodies and work with one another that would be a really good read also.

    So, now I have an unvaccinated 2 yo, and I don’t know what to do?

    Reply
    1. mummyinprovence Post author

      Thank you for your comment. It is always great to receive comments from Dad’s. It is a tough choice deciding what is best for our babies.

      Reply
  4. Marcy

    We vaccinate. I realize there is some risk in that, but there’s risk in everything. I do also have some concern for the chemicals used in vaccines, but on the other hand when you valance that miniscule exposure against what they get every day through the environment, that helps put it in perspective. For example, I read an analysts by a doctor once on how babies are exposed to more aluminum from breastmilk in the first 6 months than from all their vaccines combined (and the exposure is much higher from formula). So while there may be negative effects from these chemicals, the doses seem small enough to pale in comparison to the enviornment exposure– so I try to limit that as much as I can, and trust that the benefits of vaccines outweigh, for me, the potential risks.

    I briefly thought about trying a delayed schedule with my second baby, but then I found out that there’s NO evidence that it does any good, and I didn’t want to delay and leave him vulnerable to catching disease for longer than necessary.

    I’m all about improving vaccine safety and making sure the ones we give are safe and effective. But I also feel strongly about the need for vaccines, at least in the majority of the population, so that we can keep these horrible diseases at bay.

    Reply
    1. mummyinprovence Post author

      Thanks for your great comment Marcy. I always welcome those who defend their position. Sharing is very important whatever your stance.

      This topic seems to be quite a controversial one. We vax on schedule, I am not an MD and I trust the French medical system. There are a lot of other things I can put my mind towards and being opinionated on.

      Reply
  5. healthy mom

    I hesitate to reply to this, it is such a heated subject. I never thought about it before, but after a young, very healthy family member got Cancer, I have done more research than I care too. Please, research and read (if you really want to know, if not, just do what they tell you) I understand wanting to trust your Dr. I think Drs in general are absolutely wonderful people. They are so overloaded though, with fees and premiums..that sadly they aren’t even aware of the dangers. They rely on the AAP which gets a huge part of their funding from Big Pharma, fear mongering is used…and this goes on and on. Either decision is hard and scary.
    I applaud your efforts and putting thought into it.(most people just do it, without looking into it) We all want to do the right thing for our little ones. Good luck with your decision.

    Reply
    1. mummyinprovence Post author

      It’s a tough debate and I really appreciate your input..

      Reply
  6. C

    We vaccinate because we believe it is incredibly irresponsible not to.

    When we lived in the US, I saw everyday as a teacher how small our world was getting, watching students scatter to and come from all four corners of the globe. Including those parts where diseases like Measles are deadly and far more serious than American strains were, and were diseases that had largely been eradicated in the US (like Polio) were alive and well. I so often hear that “we don’t travel” is the reason that some parents delay or avoid certain shots–but how do you know your child won’t still be exposed to them in school? You don’t…you rely on herd immunity to protect your child. And as we’ve seen each year with rising mortality rates of diseases like the measles and the reappearance of diseases like pertussis that herd immunity is failing.

    Living abroad, we live much closer (and visit) countries where those diseases are alive and well.

    Finally, I watched my week old child almost die from a bacteria. I swore in that moment that I would NEVER hesitate to help protect her against a preventable disease (her sepsis was a 1 in 50,000 thing…much like people think of measles as killer).

    I can respect families with a history of immuno disorders choosing to be more cautious, but in general, I see not vaccinating as irresponsible and dangerous. There are very few parenting issues where I take a strong position, but this is one of those few.

    Reply

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