THAT HORRIBLE "V" WORD DEBATE...
I read this book almost cover to cover in 2 days, and I would HIGHLY recommend reading it. I also had this really long post written with my thoughts on it all, but lost it all when I went to post it....hmm... anyway, I'll try to get some of my thoughts written again, but it might be a while. I did want to recommend this book, however. It gives OODLES of information on everything you would want to know about vaccines from an un-biased perspective. I found it very helpful!
9 comments:
Hey Terri! I will have to check it out. I had a client a couple of weeks ago that came in requesting her baby's vaccinations be given according to Dr.Sear's suggested schedule. She was getting all the immunizations, just slowly. I don't happen to agree with this method, but I was curious at the time to check into his suggestions. As you know, I'm sure I have a few words to add! ;) One of the biggest concerns is that while you are slowly immunizing, your child is left susceptible to the illnesses. Anyway, I will try to get it from the library! We always respect the parents that come in, but it would be great to have a little more knowledge on his thoughts. He is a great pediatrician and a father to a handful of children! I do have one of his books at home already.
Love, Julie
I knew I would probably hear from you! :) After you read the book, let me know your thoughts... especially the part on aluminum levels. I was intrigued by it all.
So Terri, did you have Aden get the hep b vac while he was in the hospital?
I'll try to read the book before we get together. If we have time we can sit and discuss some of the opinions/advice. I do like the fact that he is not against vaccines as a whole and he provides education. So many of the websites and books out there today about vaccines do not give facts, go over disease trends and pretty much are JUST opinions which scare people. Good for you for doing your research!
A GREAT source to go to for any questions/concerns is the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia website. Here is a link to a discussion on aluminum from their site:
http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=88655
Here's just a brief blurb:
"The aluminum contained in vaccines is similar to that found in a liter (about 1 quart or 32 fluid ounces) of infant formula. While infants receive about 4.4 milligrams of aluminum in the first six months of life from vaccines, they receive more than that in their diet. Breast-fed infants ingest about 7 milligrams, formula-fed infants ingest about 38 milligrams, and infants who are fed soy formula ingest almost 117 milligrams of aluminum during the same period."
Some other great info also from this site:
"Aluminum is considered to be an essential metal with quantities fluctuating naturally during normal cellular activity. It is found in all tissues and is also believed to play an important role in the development of a healthy fetus. This is supported by several findings:
During healthy pregnancies the amount of aluminum in a woman's blood increases.
The amount of aluminum in the blood of the fetus increases between four and a half and six months gestation and again at eight months gestation.
At delivery, the blood of full-term infants contains more aluminum than the mother's, but it decreases shortly after delivery.
The blood of premature infants has more aluminum than that of full-term infants.
The concentrations of aluminum in brain tissue are high during gestation and highest immediately after birth.
The breast milk of moms with premature infants contains more aluminum than that of moms who carried their babies to term."
Lindsey -- No, Aden did NOT receive the Heb B in the hospital, and if you choose not to give it to your baby in the hospital, you have to request it (& actually sign that you don't want it!) More on why we didn't give it at that time to come later. (I'm in a hotel lobby writing this right now...) Dr. Sears, author of this book, also recommends they don't get that one in the hospital. I would really recommend reading this book before your baby is born!
Well, I'm glad you posted about this book! I feel like there are so many opinions about vaccinations and it is tough to weed through the junk! I'll look into getting through the library. Someone was just talking about the hep b vac. and finding a pediatrician. I thought I had my ped. all picked out, but I don't know how he feels about delaying or omitting vaccines. Thanks again for recommending the book!
Julie -- from my reading about aluminum in this book, the levels given in vaccines far exceed what the FDA states as being acceptable. For example, in a preemie or a child with kidney issues (my Aden), they should not receive more than 10-25 micrograms of aluminum injected at one time. If a person goes with the AAP schedule, depending on the brand of vaccine, they can get up to 1200 micrograms at one time -- a level that can definitely be toxic. That is his main reason for spreading out the vaccines. Even with spreading them out, they will still get over 100 micrograms in many of the individual vaccines. His fear is that aluminum may very well be the next thermisol, but he does still recommend vaccinating.
I started reading the book in the back and read the last 2-3 chapters first, and then I slowly went through each individual vaccine after that. Reading the last two chapters gave me much of the information I was looking for.
I wrote a comment and then my computer froze up (probably from all the cross-referencing I was trying to do!) Anyway, brief is probably better! I can give you copies of everything I find when I see you.
Basically I was writing on the safety of vaccines, but this quote from CDC's website sums it up best:
"To ensure the safety of vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other Federal agencies routinely monitor and conduct research to examine any new evidence that would suggest possible problems with the safety of vaccines."
I'll refrain from posting anymore on the subject until I read Dr.Sear's book!
Love ya! Julie
Sorry, I promised I wouldn't post anymore yet, but I thought of a couple of things I really wanted to add before being quiet for a bit...
1. Does Dr.Sears use mcg or milligrams? There's a difference in the measurement. For example the paragraph from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia site I quoted before (which is HIGHLY reputable) states this: "While infants receive about 4.4 milligrams of aluminum in the first six months of life from vaccines, they receive more than that in their diet. Breast-fed infants ingest about 7 milligrams, formula-fed infants ingest about 38 milligrams, and infants who are fed soy formula ingest almost 117 milligrams of aluminum during the same period." I'm interested in reading if Dr.Sears talks about those facts as well in his aluminum discussion.
2. Hepatitis B shots and the paperwork to decline them for newborns is not a conspiracy or to make your life more difficult. There actually have been babies that have died from hepatitis b because they were not vaccinated in the hospital (it's very critical to get the first dose in within the first 12 hours if the mom has hepatitis b). So, to protect babies and themselves they have made hepb mandatory unless you waive it.
Okay - now I'll wait for the book that I had to order off amazon. We have 11 holds on it at our library and I knew I wouldn't get it in time to have a discussion with you while your here. It's a good investment anyway as I can better discuss this with my clients when they come in requesting his schedule.
Jules
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