Why I Chose Not to Vaccinate My Children

Vaccines. One of the most controversial topics for the past two decades! Should I or shouldn’t I get my child vaccinated? This is not an article stating whether or not to vaccinate your child(ren). But rather a mom’s view; a mom simply stating her opinion on why I refuse to give my children any more vaccinations.

What is a vaccine?

A vaccination contains parts of a killed or weakened virus or bacteria and is then deliberately administered, either by injection, by mouth or aerosol.

An informed decision is the best decision. Let’s start from the beginning. You could say that my husband and I grew up on “different sides of the tracks.” He came from a family of 7 children, him being the oldest. His mom was and still is very dedicated to learning and practicing living a more natural, healthy lifestyle. My mother in law mostly makes everything from scratch with all natural ingredients. Neither himself or his siblings had any shots through their childhood. Colds and flu were treated naturally with herbs, and their bodies were fed natural, whole foods.

I, on the other hand, grew up living  a very conventional way of life. My brother and I went to the doctors regularly, got our “mandatory” shots and took our antibiotics that the doctors prescribed if there was a cold or flu present.  I was a sickly child growing up, in and out of the hospital a lot throughout my childhood. We ate meat and potatoes most nights for dinner and unhealthy goodies in the cupboards.

A short time after my husband and I were married, we were blessed with a healthy little girl. Four days later, we were standing in the pediatrician’s office holding our bundle of joy trying to comfort her after receiving her set of shots. The mistake we made, is that, this was not a subject we talked about or heard each other's reasons behind the other ones opinion.

For me, vaccinations were of the “normal”. As for my husband, he struggled with the vaccination concept because he didn’t get them and they were not a part of his life growing up.

As a new parent, one decision that will have to be answered is, if you’ll vaccinate your child or not. A decision that has the potential to greatly impact the health of not just you, but mostly our children's’ lives. No one should be made to feel pressured or persuaded into one of the most important decisions of your child’s life. I believe that it's every parent's right to educate themselves before getting their child(ren) vaccinated. With an open mind, and learning all the facts, will only help with making an informed decision.  I do not think parents should be considered “bad or irresponsible” parents whether you choose to have your children vaccinated or if you choose not to get vaccinations.

Why we said no more vaccinations!

Fast forwarding up to the last two years. After sitting in the nurse's office for my son’s Kindergarten registration, listening to the nurse explain to me that the state is mandating another “required” shot because of the multi-state outbreak of measles that started in California, I responded with, I’d like to talk this over with my husband.  ( I already knew his answer, and I had already formed mine). I believe she heard the hesitation in my voice and told me that I could take home a vaccination exemption paperwork if we choose not to do the vaccinations. When she handed me the paperwork, she didn't make me feel pressured in any way which made me feel confident that we would not be persuaded into a decision that we could possibly regret later down the road.

After the measles outbreak, I did a lot of research on vaccines, and came to the conclusion after thoroughly researching and carefully weighing both, the risks and benefits of each vaccine, that the current vaccines are not safe for our children and that there are safer ways. We are completely aware of the risks that disease can pose to our children, an individual, and a community.

We believe that if you are going to feed your children unhealthy foods, then vaccinations are probably a good choice for you. On the other hand, if you are going to feed your children healthy food choices, and help build up their immune systems with the appropriate vitamins and minerals, then vaccinations might not be for you.

Unfortunately, our children had most of all the mandatory vaccinations, and we can’t undo what’s already been done, but we have chosen to help build up our children’s immunities in natural ways, and not in an artificial way with vaccines.

What I have come to understand through my research.

The body uses its many defenses while building immunity through natural processes. A vaccine, on the other hand, is taking a potential pathogen along with toxic ingredients, such as formaldehyde, aluminum, adjuvants etc. and putting it into the bloodstream, making it an artificial thing.

• Skin. The skins major function is to protect the body from infectious organisms, such as, bacteria, parasites or viruses that cause disease. Example: The outermost layer of the skin, called the epidermis, is a natural barrier between your body and the bacteria outside. As long as your skin is healthy and intact, then viruses and bacteria cannot penetrate the barrier.

With a vaccine, we are bypassing the law of nature with a needle of stuff, your skin wouldn’t normally allow through the skin barrier.

• Respiratory system. Coughing, blowing your nose, and sneezing are ways your body attempts to expel the potential invader. The tiny hairs, called cilia, found along the walls of the airway and nasal passages help move the mucous. The mucous and the tiny hairs help trap the unwanted particles. The mucous acts as a barrier between the upper respiratory system and potentially hazardous airborne particles.

• The gut. The gut flora promotes normal gastrointestinal function, regulates metabolism, comprises over 75% of our immune system, all while providing protection from infection. One of the most important functions of the gut is to prevent foreign substances from entering the body.

Moving onto shots.

DTap, short for Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis. Diphtheria is an infection that is usually spread through the air or by direct contact. Diphtheria is a disease that can be avoided by proper living conditions, such as, good solid nutrition, hand washing, proper hygiene and a boosted immune system.

Tetanus. Tetanus is found in soil and in the intestines of humans and animals. It is not contagious from person to person. The vaccine contains tetanus and wanes off after a few weeks. If you are exposed to something that would require a tetanus shot, an additional shot would be needed. For our family, we deal with punctures by rusty nails, but disinfecting the area and keeping it clean.

Pertussis. Pertussis (also known as the whooping cough), has been around since the 16th century and is not going away from a vaccine. In fact, we are now seeing vaccine-resistant pertussis.  (Read more here about the pertussis vaccine.)

Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is a virus that is transmitted through bodily fluids. This vaccine, originally created for prostitutes, IV drug users and sexually active members of the population is now given to babies even if the mothers who are tested during pregnancy for the disease are not a carrier and the child is not at risk. (Read more here about the Hepatitis B vaccine ).

Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A is a virus that is from contaminated feces. Hepatitis A is caused by poor hygiene and improper hand washing that is passed to persons through food, drinks, and objects that are contaminated. Following infection, the immune system makes antibodies against the virus that help fight against future infection. (Read more here about the hepatitis A vaccine).

Mumps. Mumps have minimal to no complications if contracted and is less contagious than measles or chickenpox. The vaccine is not 100% effective. Merck is currently being sued for falsifying data and fraud regarding the effectiveness of the mumps vaccine. (Read more here about Mumps, measles, and Rubella)

Chickenpox. Chickenpox is an illness that produces an itchy red rash and red blisters all over the body. The vaccine for chickenpox can only give 40-85% effectiveness against  the disease. Getting the chickenpox and not being vaccinated can give you a lifelong immunity. (Read more here on chickenpox study)

Polio. The polio virus is a gut virus that has been around for centuries. During the 1950’s, many similar diseases were misdiagnosed as Polio. These were 'hand, foot, and mouth' disease, undiagnosed congenital syphilis, Gillian-Barre syndrome, ECHO, DDT poisoning, transverse myelitis and Arsenic. Why had it begun to show paralyzing effects on people in the 19th century? Possibly because it was a reaction to the pesticides, arsenic, and DDT that were sprayed on literally everything, including food! Disruption of the immune system from the toxic and processed food caused a disruption with the immune system balance and the gut, thus turning a gut virus into a terrible disease. (Read more on the polio virus here)  

Rotavirus. Rotavirus is a virus mostly among children worldwide. It is the most common cause of severe diarrhea. Typically, by the time a child is 5 years old they have been infected with the rotavirus at least once. Each time at which a child becomes infected, their immunity becomes subsequent and stronger, therefore, infections are less severe. The spread of the rotavirus happens through contact with an infected person, or from an object or surface that is not disinfected right away. (Read more on the Rotavirus here).

Rubella. Rubella also known as German measles is generally a mild viral infection that is less contagious than measles. And like many other diseases, rubella is relatively harmless, lasts about a week and usually provides a lifelong immunity.

Measles. An infectious viral disease that is spread through the air by tiny droplets from coughing and sneezing of an infected person. Most times, a person who is infected does not become infected again. Most recently, the “Disneyland Measles” in the headlines has increased in sales. Studies have shown that an increase in vitamin A can help reduce the occurrence of contracting measles.

Last but not least…

HPV.  Human papillomavirus a commonly sexually transmitted infection. HPV is easily passed between partners through sexual contact. This vaccine had us on the fence. Should we or shouldn’t we have our daughter vaccinated? Although our daughter is not old enough to receive this vaccination, does not mean it hasn't already been brought up in prior conversations with pediatricians, family, and friends. After carefully weighing the risks, and yes, there were a lot of risks, such as rape and girls having sex at an early age etc. we decided that we will do as our parents, our grandparents have done in the past. To give her the education and proper resources she needs to help avoid putting herself into these situations.

Nothing in life is guaranteed 100%. Whether you choose to vaccinate or not, we can all agree that as parents, we do what we need to do in order to protect our children.

Armed with resources and educating ourselves on topics such as these, helps us be more confident in our decision.