You can see all my posts here about immunization choices, but until now I haven’t taken the time to write a more comprehensive post on our specific and individual vaccine decisions when our youngest was born. That might be what has taken me so long, because this really has to be an individual choice, and only after you have done extensive research on your own into every one of the vaccination safety issues. As I’ve often said here on the blog, there is too much I still don’t know about all of this. Please don't just blindly follow the path we’ve taken. I hope this motivates you to do further research.
First I want to say…
I believe that most doctors are kind people who truly want us to be well, including our own family doctor, who is a really great guy and I can talk about all of this with him, even though we strongly disagree. Many just haven't heard about or haven't been trained on the rest of the story — no one can be informed and up on everything. (Other docs, however, are not so great, and won't even have a discussion with you about this, they'll just drop you as a patient if you don't get every shot right on their schedule.)
Keep in mind that I’m not suggesting in this post or any of my posts that you ignore your doctor’s medical advice by any means. I just hope that you don’t blindly follow whatever protocol they say is necessary. Question and research everything. You'd be surprised to know how few people actually do this.
Why Question Vaccinations and look into Vaccination Safety Issues at all??
Before our youngest child was born, I never questioned the vaccine schedule that came from our doctor’s office. With our first three we blindly let them give whatever shots they said the kids were due for at their well-baby visits. This makes me really sad now, but we just didn't know — look at this comparison below, how did I not know this?!
Then I went through what I call my “food conversion” when our third child was two. So by the time I was pregnant for our fourth a year or so later, I was well into the whole foods diet and natural lifestyle, and began to question everything (all you Mama Bears out there know exactly what I’m talking about). Of course this led to the issue of vaccine decisions.
Researching and making decisions about vaccinations proved to be very time-consuming and difficult.
Over the course of several months, I’d bounce things off Kent and ‘talk out a different side of my mouth' every other day. I read books and websites like crazy. I asked good friends what they knew and I went to our doctor for advice. I made sure Kent and I both looked at this together, knowing that the ramifications no matter which way we went could be huge.
Many things I learned about vaccination safety issues made me really squirm, and here are the top issues that led to our decisions:
- DID VACCINES STOP THE SPREAD OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES? I realize immunizations originally came about for valiant reasons, but read an excerpt from this article: “Much of the success attributed to vaccination programs may actually have been due to improvement in public health related to water quality and sanitation, less crowded living conditions, better nutrition, and higher standards of living. Typically the incidence of a disease was clearly declining before the vaccine for that disease was introduced. In England the incidence of polio had decreased by 82% before the polio vaccine was introduced in 1956.” Also, the charts at this post clearly show that communicable diseases were on a steep decline prior to vaccines. I had no idea!
- AUTISM RISKS? Of course a big issue that comes to mind is the Autism question. It has been strongly linked to immunizations, mostly due to the mercury/Thimerosal content, which is a preservative. Of course there are others who argue just as hard that there is no link, but even the government admitted a link between vaccines and autism: “Furthermore, in 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Government Reform Committee, after a 3.5-year investigation, concluded that Thimerosal caused the autism epidemic and that the FDA and health authorities were guilty of “institutional malfeasance” in covering it up.” This is such a heartbreaking and burdensome disease for families to deal with. Can you imagine if one day your child just stops making eye contact with you and then they're never the same? Thankfully there has been enough of an uproar that MOST immunizations no longer have mercury in them, but you have to ask to be sure. Sadly, though, they've just replaced the mercury with other risky preservatives. (Expect weird looks when you ask about the mercury — it's shocking that hardly anyone even ASKS. The nurses at my office said, “Well I don't know, nobody asks that, I'll have to go check the insert!” That's when I found out even more not to trust the drug companies <– the nurses were shocked too at what they saw when they looked! Read the whole story at that link.)
- This doesn't just happen. Watch this heart-wrenching TRUE story: One Day from Hell — Unbelievable Video of Vaccine Injured Michigan Triplets. These parents trusted their doctor. 🙁
- Another thought that my friend, Michele, shared recently: “Autism doesn’t develop when kids are teens or in adulthood. It isn’t spread through the air like a virus. There’s some common denominator as to why only young children get it.”
- Here’s a quote on Vaccines & Autism that makes a lot of sense, from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, author of the GAPS Diet: “Vaccinations have been designed for children with healthy immune systems. We have a growing population of children who do not possess healthy immune systems. They are not fit to be vaccinated. In a child with a compromised immune system, vaccinations cause damage to that immune system, putting the child closer to disaster. In some children they provide the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. In my clinic, about 15 percent of the children started their autistic symptoms after MMR vaccinations and about the same number started after DPT vaccinations. But the majority of parents see no connection… Despite having no vaccinations, some children are still autistic. So vaccinations are not the cause of autism. They just bring the child closer to the problem.”
- From another Mom: A letter of apology to the child I vaccinated. (<–I see that link no longer works, censorship is real…)
- Here's a newer post that has made me question ALL shots: Parents, you MUST know about the risks!
- This doesn't just happen. Watch this heart-wrenching TRUE story: One Day from Hell — Unbelievable Video of Vaccine Injured Michigan Triplets. These parents trusted their doctor. 🙁
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- This Mom will make you cry when she explains the one small change that brought hope for her son!
- A CANCER LINK? One piece of this that especially intrigued me was when I read that perhaps the increase in childhood cancers (and other diseases) could be related to immunizations. Yes, I know, everything is linked to cancer. And I know without a doubt that genetic, nutritional, and environmental aspects play into this, too, obviously, but it’s not that far-fetched to believe there could be a connection in some cases. We used to GET childhood diseases like chicken pox and mumps. We’d build up natural immunities and complications were RARE, these illnesses were just part of childhood. Our immune systems would kick in and become stronger for whatever it needed to fight next. Now we immunize our kids against everything and wonder why many are getting sick. (We know personally many children who have had childhood cancers. It seems much more prevalent these days, doesn’t it?) We need to concentrate on strengthening our immune systems and let our kids play in dirt like most of us did when we grew up. We didn’t have antibacterial sanitizers squirted at us wherever we turned. Fevers didn't freak us out like they do now. We're causing wimpy immune systems. I asked our family doctor if he didn't think there could be a link between the increase in childhood cancers, possibly due to the overload of shots, because don't our immune systems NEED to fight off some things in order to strengthen them? He said getting the vaccine is like getting the disease, because the way immunizations work is that a small amount of the disease is injected into us so our immune systems kick in to build antibodies against that disease, as if we actually contracted it for real. I replied with, “That can't be all there is to it! (I love my doc, he puts up with all my questions and we have great conversations.) How can it be that getting a shot directly into our bloodstream (with all sorts of questionable additives and even human DNA from aborted babies) can be the same as getting the disease naturally?” Obviously we don’t want to contract a disease that kills us, naturally or not, but for most people these diseases aren't even serious. Look at how measles was viewed just a few years ago, it was no big deal, “just the measles” (the Donna Reed Show, the Flintstones, the Brady Bunch):
If that video ever gets censored, you could try watching it here, but I was having trouble getting it to play. (Did you see my post from the other day, Why All the Anger? Arizona Cardiologist Responds to Critics Regarding Measles Vaccine.) Chicken pox and mumps and measles were as common in kids back then just as a cold or flu is now. We were sick a few days, our immune systems fought it off, and we got better. Rarely did anyone die from those illnesses. Yes, some did, but some die from stubbing their toe and getting an infection, too, there are always risks in life. But by taking away ALL illnesses, what are the ramifications? The natural way MUST be better, whether it's been studied or proven one way or the other, it's just common sense! ***Recently I've also REALLY wondered about the increase in autoimmune diseases. You guys, doesn't it just make sense that this could be caused by the way we are tinkering with our immune systems by injecting people willy-nilly (“free flu shots at Walgreens today!“) with foreign bits of diseases, preservatives, and unknown chemical additives?!!! - TRUST: Another issue for me was blindly following what the drug companies push onto the doctors, who are then pressured by them and the health department to push onto us. (Again, be sure to read my rant about our last trip to the doctor’s office and how I learned even more not to trust the drug companies. That made it so obvious to me, you won't believe what happened there.) I remember when our first child was born in 1992, and Hepatitis B was still an optional shot. My doctor said these exact words, “I see that as unnecessary for him because neither you nor your husband are high risk. You don't have multiple sex partners and you don't use drugs.” However, it wasn't long before I was traipsing him back in to get those shots because a few years later it became a required series of shots in order for him to go to school. At the time I didn't think much of it, oh what a blind sheep I was, until years later when I looked back and realized what a coup that was for the drug maker of that shot. If they can get the CDC to call a new shot “mandatory”, they're instantly super rich. I can't even imagine the money those drug companies put into lobbying to get that very thing to happen. Another recent example is the push for the immunization, Gardasil, for pre-teen girls. (Read that link for more info on why our daughter won't get it.) Although they would have you believe differently, not EVERY teenage girl is having sex and therefore at risk for cervical cancer. There are very real risks associated with this shot so it can't be given with the idea that, “It can't hurt”! As I said above, you have to question everything. Just this week a new scary story came out: GlaxoSmithKline Recalls H1N1/swine flu Vaccine in Canada Over ‘Life-Threatening' Allergy Risk. We never know what next “problem” will be found with this or that vaccine and they have to pull it off the market. Read a quote from this article: “Vaccines have not been subjected to thorough studies. There has never been a single long-term study comparing the health and welfare of vaccinated to unvaccinated children.” More on trust: Can We Trust Our Doctor and the CDC? (You’ll be shocked at how I found the answer). One more: Doctor Tearfully Apologizes to Parents (and Says NO to Vaccinating the Elderly and Vaccinating Newborns).
- FETAL CELLS: No matter where you are on the abortion issue, this little known fact about vaccines may make you as sad as it does me, and it was a major factor in our decision.
- MSG IN VACCINES: From an MSG site: “According to the manufacturer, Varivax–Merck chicken pox vaccine (Varicella Virus Live), contains L-monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed gelatin both of which contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG) which causes brain lesions in young laboratory animals, and causes endocrine disturbances like OBESITY and REPRODUCTIVE disorders later in life. It would appear that most, if not all, live virus vaccines contain MSG.” (Read why else MSG is scary.)
- Even worse is that there is so much GLYPHOSATE in our food supply now (a scary herbicide that is found everywhere), this opens up the gut and brain barrier to allow the glutamate, aluminum, mercury, and other toxic components from the vaccine into our bloodstream! (Search online for “glyphosate dangers” and you'll learn more than you want to.)
Watch this video that explains more:
Dr. Stephanie Seneff also explains why she thinks aluminum is even more of an issue than mercury now because we have so many more aluminum-containing vaccines than we used to. She explains the link between vaccines and health problems later in life such as cervical cancer, Alzheimers, autoimmune disease, sleep disorders, and more. None of these are easily tied to vaccinations because they were given so many years earlier…
Now this has been censored off Youtube too, why don't they want us to know the truth?!!! This MAY be the video and you could try watching on Bitchute, but I couldn't get it to play there.
What freaks you out about vaccine safety issues?
Please share what factors helped you decide one way or another.
If you do decide to still get the shots, be sure to do this first:
What You MUST Do Before Mandatory Vaccinations
Next in Part 2: Our 5-part plan for vaccinations and how do school exemptions work?
HOURS OF RESEARCH into Vaccination Safety Issues!
Similar to other longer posts I’ve written, these two took me literally dozens of hours to write and I hope you find it helpful in making your own decisions. If they have been helpful to you, please shop at Amazon though this link for whatever you normally would or shop for your food and supplements here and buy my Real Food or Rookies book! 🙂 Thank you!
More you might like:
- All my posts on vaccinations in one spot
- Here’s a good article by a doctor about why he’ll never vaccinate his kids
- What part did the vaccine play in the the decline of polio?
- How to Get OUT of Mandatory Flu Shots – Two Brilliant Ways Around this Infringement on Your Rights
- Part 2: Our 5-part plan for vaccinations and how do school exemptions work?
- Get the book: A Shot in the Dark to learn more.
Katie says
My eyes were opened a few years ago and stopped all vaccines. However all my kids have received some vaccines and I deeply regret blindly doing whatever the doctor told me to do. I would love to see a post about “I allowed my kids to vaccinated and regret it. Now what?” What things can I do to help my children’s immune system to be as healthy as possibly despite allowing them to be injected with all kinds of junk?
My prayer is that my children are wiser than me when they have kids of their own and do not allow any sort of vaccine.
KitchenKop says
Katie, I know, I feel the same way. 🙁
Have you seen this post?
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/how-to-build-up-your-immune-system/
Also, there’s more info in this post: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/what-you-must-do-before-mandatory-vaccinations/
Hope that helps!
Kelly
kari says
We do not vax! When i had my daughter i wasnt educated & did a few shots,than i really dug in & researched the each disease & each vaccine & ingredient ect…I stopped vaxing her & she hasnt had a vax in over 4 years.My son is vax free.You can treat a child with an illness, u cant treat a child damaged by a vaccine.
To answer your question what freaks me out about vaxes well EVERY THING! No more poisons in our children. See, it isn’t just mercury (yes they are still in vaccines!). It’s the host of other KNOWN toxins and carcinogenic ingredients (aluminum, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, fetal stems cells, ANIMAL cells and more).NO VACCINE IS 100% GUARANTEED EFFECTIVE OR SAFE. So, just because you were immunized, you could/can still contract a disease. It may allow you a milder case, but it is still the disease.Ive seen it with friends who vax , she vaxed for chickenpox & guess what all her kids got chickenpox! And the dtap vaccine is worthless.It DOESNT prevent transmission thats why you are seeing outbreaks in school aged children.The outbreaks happen every 2-5 years regardless how many kids we vax! The vax is for the toxin not the bacteria so you still can carry the bacteria & spread it to others.You just wont have the typical symptoms like the whoop in the cough.Drs arent educated in vaccines to the fullest, they do not know enough for me to put that decision in my drs hands! I also was told they half to have a certain amount of patients vazxed or they lose their insurance.I could go on forever, but u i urge u if u vaccinate to look at the insert packets, they tell a whole different story!
Danielle says
Hello. I am your newest follower. I just wanted to drop in and say thanks for posting this. I am an anti-vaxer and get tons of negitive feed back… so I just wanted to let you know that I am a new supporter of yours 🙂
I have vaccine posts if you are interested: We Don’t Have It All Together, But Together We Have It All (Vaccines)
Darlene says
Kelly,
This Mama Bear just got started a few months ago and have serious regrets about having my two immunized. After reading this article, I am in tears because I have drawn the SAME conclusions as you after hours and hours of research. My husband is still on the fence about it all, but respects my opinion to stop vaccinating and listens when I present him with new evidence. What an awesome responsibility to be a parent and I must become more vigilent to protect my two against seen and unseen harms. I trust God to protect them from what I cannot, but I believe vaccines are definitely on my “take it and shove it” list. THANK YOU for sharing this with us.
Beck says
Kelly,
Thanks for all your great posts on healthy living.
We did not follow the usual vaccination schedule for these reasons:
1) mercury and other weird chemicals and ingredients
2) complete lack of studies on the effects of combined, repetitive vaccines on very young children and babies. Drug companies and government refusal to conduct such studies.
3) autism- 4 friends whose sons got aspergers around the age of 2- fully immunized.
4) too many vaccines- the chart from generation rescue shows the 200% increase in the number of vaccines since the 1980’s.
5) irrelevant vaccines ie Hep B for babies- yeah, my baby is sharing needles with druggies the day he is born
6) too young- a newborn baby doesn’t have an immune system to build antibodies for these shots
7) if a shot provides life time immunity- why do babies have to have the same shot over and over? Because the first ones are given when they are too young.
Thanks for bringing this issue up and sharing your research.
KitchenKop says
Beck, what a great, concise, well thought out list, thank you!
Nicole says
I wanted to add that your kids can go to school w/o vaccines! There are state waivers for it. We sent ours to school not up to date on vaccines (because we stopped around age 2) and didn’t have anyone question it.
https://www.momvaccines.org/html/vaccine_waiver.html
https://spktruth2power.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/state-by-state-vaccine-waiver-requirements/
Lori @ The Davidson Den says
I’m actually JUST getting into this research. My fourth child (like his siblings before him) has received vaccines all the way through 12 months (because I was too chicken to say anything based solely on “scared feelings), but as his 15-month check-up approaches I am arming myself with information so I’ll be ready. Thanks for this post! I had NO IDEA about the abortion connection!! UNbelievable!!
KitchenKop says
I’m loving this great discussion, look for part 2 tomorrow. 🙂
Sarah, I’ll email you with my doc’s name, but suggest she go to the WAP chapter meetings which begin again next month!
Kelly
Elizabeth from The Nourished Life says
Kelly, thank you so much for taking the time you write about this! I think so many parents are on the fence about vaccines, and ultimately choose to get them because they just aren’t sure. I know because I was one of them. Both of my children got most of their vaccines, though I didn’t bother doing it exactly at the doctor’s schedule, and if my kids seemed the least bit ill I delayed it further.
They are due for their booster shots now but I will not be getting them, so at least I am able to spare their immune systems from some of that stuff. Plus, we have never had a flu shot. Ever. (And we’ve never had the flu. Ever.) I wish I’d had more information in the beginning and I would have chosen differently.
We aren’t going to have any more children, but if we did, I have read enough information now to convince me completely that I want to avoid vaccines. I would have no problem turning them down now.
I agree that whether you choose to get vaccines or not, it should be an informed personal choice. I would never tell someone not to vaccinate their children, but I don’t mind sharing the information from “the other side” so at least people can make more informed choices. It took a lot of information for me to become “informed,” so I understand why it is difficult to make the leap to side against vaccination. The new HPV vaccines and the HINI are really scary to me, though. I would avoid those like the plague.
Mike Adams with Natural News (and several other NN writers) write prolifically warning against vaccines. It’s worth taking a look for anyone who wants more information about why vaccines aren’t so great.
Sarah says
This is a fantastic post, Kelly! I’m sending it to my sister, who is due to have her baby in a week (or any day now, as the case may be!) I also referred her to Dr. Sears’ book on vaccinations.
By the way, (and please feel free to e-mail me back about this) do you have a referral for a good pediatrician in the Grand Rapids area? Believe it or not, she lives there now (just moved there!) and is searching for a pediatrician that is a bit more open to limited vaccinations and an extended or delayed schedule . . . we were just talking about it this morning on the phone and I realized that I knew TWO blogging friends in the area so thought I’d ask! When I saw you had written this post, I figured it was serendipitous!
I appreciate you Kelly, you’re a fantastic blogger and a resource to many!
Best,
Sarah
Carrie @ Organic and Thrifty says
Kelly,
This is such an awesome post; thank you for all of the work you put into this. I’ll be linking to this and sending folks your way when the subject comes up.
We got talked into a few vax for dd#1, the dTap (pertussins was going around) and Hib I think. Our pediatrician is very relaxed about it and believes in trusting a mom’s intuition. It’s a good thing that I didn’t do any more for her, though, because she has neuro-developmental “issues” resulting from oxygen depravation and prenatal malnutrition due to a disfunctional placenta. On top of that, she had to be on a course of prophylactic antibiotics for her first year of life due to kidney refux disorder. So….let’s just say her immune system was compromised. We have been dealing with gluten/grain sensitivities, behavioral problems, developmental delays, slow growth, yeast overgrowth, and heavy metal toxicity (with amazing imrpovements, thank God) for 4 years now. I can’t imagine what more vax would have added to that scenario.
My unvaxed son is the healthiest, sturdiest, happiest, most peaceful 2 year old I’ve ever seen (if I do say so myself). He never gets sick more than the sniffles, and always recovers within 24 hours.
In spite of a very relaxed ped, we have ultimately transitioned our care to naturopathic doctors who we don’t have to worry about “cornering” us into vaccines and support the notion of building immunity in other ways.
I think nutrition is foundational to immune-building. My kids eat no grains and no sugars (fruit is a treat and is eaten in moderation) or processed junk foods. Lots of veggies, greens, water, raw milk, grass-fed beef, seafood, cod liver oil, coconut oil, etc.) and I think this is key to helping children keep their immune systems running optimally.
Thanks again for this great post!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Kelly,
I’m def. looking forward to part 2. My oldest is fully vaxed, but I don’t love the idea of the boosters before KG (next year! Gahhhhhh!) so I’m anticipating learning from you about exemptions. Your research is fabulously sound, and I empathize w/yr dozens of hours. 🙁 If only all the info could be in one place AND make sense AND be accurate, right?
My babe is partially vaccinated, and hubby just got talked into the flu and pneumonia shots when he went in for a yearly physical. (If I had been there…!!) It’s a tough (12 tough!) decision.
Thank you!
Katie
Sara says
Oh, I meant to mention that Dr. Sears has links to doctors that a ok with vaccine delay ….here is the link
https://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/Vaccine_Friendly_Doctors.asp
Sara says
Thank you for writing this. I have a 2 1/2 y/o little boy and we decided to slow down with the vaccs for a while because I had a terribly bad feeling about them. While our doctor did not agree I am truly blessed to have the support of my husband and most of our family. I, too, did a lot of research and finally came to the conclusion that there was risk involved on both sides, some we know of and some we don’t. I can say that I lay my head down at night comfortable with my decision stop vaccinating for now. I am thankful we are still able to make that decision for our children, I am uneasy about mandated vaccines but thankful that time has not yet come!
Bonnie says
Many naturopathic physicians will see children and they can advise you about vaccinations (or not). Often they are well versed in the whys and why nots and also the state regulations once the children are to be enrolled in school.
I do not have children. My husband would absolutely vaccinate them. There are certain things that I would vaccinate for, but I would spread them out, like someone else mentioned. I can’t imagine HOW it could possibly be okay to have the immune system overwhelmed by being forced to suddenly recognized a dozen different diseases (many of which can be deadly).
I never do the flu shot. My husband does. I rarely get sick with small things like that–he tends to though (but he LOVES his carbs and soda when he’s at work).
One thing about the traditional medical doctors and the stance on vaccinations: there is a potential legal liability there if they recommend against them and your child gets sick with one of the diseases that could have been prevented. Given that, many probably prefer to say nothing at all. Even naturopathic physicians must be careful giving such advice, but because they are more naturally oriented and their time slots are filled differently, they can take the time to educate you and allow you to come to your own decisions. However, most NDs do not vaccinate in their offices (at least around here). There just isn’t enough call for them to do that.
Lanise says
This is a very personal issue for us, as it is I am sure for everyone. We decided after our 2nd was born to stop vaccinating. It was for a number of reasons, all which you mentioned above. Also, my dh had been newly diagnosed with ADD (which he had all his life, but was not diagnosed until he was an adult). Because of that, I just for some reason felt that I didn’t want to mess with these little bodies or brains. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I just felt like there may be a connection between vaccines and any emotional/behavioral/mental problems. Now, I obviously can’t say what could have happened, but I do know we are now struggling with our 2 older boys (7 and 5) and some of their ADD like symptons. I feel like it could have been a lot worse had we put all that poison in thier bodies.
After our 4th was born we were still not giving any vaccinations. When our 4th was almost 2 months old he ended up in the hospital with HIB (a disease that kids are vaccinated for and causes meningitis and/or death). He was seriously ill and we were very blessed to have caught it early. He was in the hospital for 10 days and had an antibiotic IV line for a month after that. I hated giving him the antibiotics, but they absolutely saved his life. No, the vaccine would not have helped him because he was just under 2 months old so he wasn’t even scheduled to have it yet. So, the question is, did we continue to not vaccinate? Well, we had one more son, and no he is not vaccinated.
I could go on about vaccinations forever, but the most important thing I think in making that decision is to research, read and educate yourself. Don’t just do it because the doctor tells you. After you have learned all you can about it then pray about it and listen to the holy spirit/still small voice/mother’s intuition/whatever you want to call it. And continue listening to that as you make future decisions about your children’s health. Do what’s best for you family, which may be to vaccinate and it may not be. But do it because YOU have made the decision, not the doctors.
The day my son got sick I thought is was just an eye infection, like pink eye (his eye had gotten swollen). He had no fever, nothing. I was not at all planning on taking him to the doctor, much less the emergency room. I can remember exactly where I was in the house and what I was doing when I had the most overwhelming feeling that my sweet baby needed to be at the emergency right then, there was no time to lose. It felt like something was practically pushing me towards the door. Within the hour at the emergency room his fever spiked to 104.3 and the infection was already in his bloodstream. He is now a healthy 3 year old and I am so grateful that I have a loving Heavenly Father that was looking after my son and family.
I believe with prayer, education, and meditation parents can make these decisions better than any “establishment”.
Brandy Afterthoughts says
Thank you for writing this! I love seeing folks think through this issue. I’d like to especially thank you for bringing up the abortion issue. It is so little talked about that my doctor thought I was LYING when I mentioned it!
We, like you, blindly immunized our first two children. Our other two are not immunized. Our first two had autistic-like symptoms, and it took us a year to recover from the constant ear infections, multiple severe food allergies, and tic disorders that came along with that. I feel so blessed that my children were not permanently damaged! I cannot say that it was vaccines ALONE, because I believe being given lots of antibiotics + mercury poisoning from breaking one of those “green” lightbulbs on top of my oldest child (I am stocking up on the old incandescents before they are completely outlawed!) also contributed. But vaccines certainly did not help the situation.
Now when I think about it, it seems so obvious: if I would never let my child EAT anything on the list of ingredients, why would I allow someone to shoot those things into their life’s blood?
Leigh Anne says
Hi Kelly,
I too researched this topic like crazy…but was still left a bit confused on how vaccines actually work. Dr. Thomas Cowan M.D. had the best explanation that I have found and really helped me understand what happens when you get a vaccine in your body.
Basically how he explains it is our immune system has two “arms”. When you naturally get an illness both arms are activated. One arm makes the antibodies and remembers (builds immunity for the future if you encounter it again), and the 2nd arm flushes the illness out- through fever, rash, mucus etc. Vaccines only activate the first arm- to create antibodies and to allow our system to remember the illness- but vaccines bypass the second arm- the arm that flushes the toxins out of our system! So the vaccine with all the lovely things they contain are in our bodies to stay. This can cause auto-immune diseases, lowered immunity, and cancer.
For the full article: https://fourfoldhealing.com/articles
Thanks for your research!
-Leigh Anne
Megan says
We have a 6 month old daughter and are constantly struggling with these issues. We finally decided that with the information we currently had, we would rather go ahead with the vaccinations and put as much effort as possible into making sure our children have a healthy immune system. At first we thought we forgo most of the shots, but I just couldn’t figure out which would be okay. Chicken Pox especially seemed ridiculous, but it’s required where we live and if every other child is getting the shot, where is my daughter going to get it from? I worry she won’t get it naturally when she’s young and will have to be fearful of it as an adult (it’s much worse getting it when older.)
Every doctor’s appointment we will probably reevaluate, but it’s such a scary thing. We’ll continue to pray about and also pray that God will protect our children whichever decision we make.
Rachel says
Kelly,
Your posts are a lifesaver. My husband and I ditched the traditional American diet back in May and now I’m pregnant with our first child. Your posts have given me the inspiration and courage to question the doctors on their “recommendations”. I just had my first prenatal appointment where both the seasonal flu vaccine and H1N1 vaccine were pushed on me and received very disapproving looks when I said that I didn’t trust the vaccines. I’ve switched over to a midwife and am hoping that they will not be as pushy when it comes to tests and vaccines.
I never really questioned the doctors or the vaccines until last year when I contracted whooping cough. The minute I received my diagnosis, I called my father and asked, “Didn’t I have that vaccine?” Yep, I did as a child. What they failed to mention was that there is a booster shot because before the late 1990s, the doctors didn’t know the shot wore off. Yeah, that makes me feel real trusting.
Flo says
Kelly,
As usual, you’ve done a superb job of research and sharing what you’ve learned and how you’ve gone about learning it! You’re so lucky that your husband is so on board, too. I’m fortunate that my husband isn’t adamantly against my ideas — but it IS a foreign way of thinking to him.
My 13-year-old son (our one and only) has had all his vaccinations up until 7th grade, except for the Chickenpox. It hadn’t been mandatory at first, but then became so. Now we were supposed to get two chickenpox vaccines and a tetanus booster to be caught up. I called around to my friends and neighbors who I thought might have thought through the issue and found very little. I also spent a lot of time, online, to try and educate myself. This was my on-and-off dilemma all summer and into the fall. I finally had to go with my gut feeling, based on many websites and a book or two. In Minnesota, we are able to sign a conscientious exemption, which is what I finally did.
I’m still upset that he did have the Hepatitis-B series of three. He had to have them to get into school — also after not being mandatory when he was born in 1996. Fortunately, he was going on six at that point, not an infant. Like so many others, I didn’t feel like I had very much of a choice back at that point.
He has so many rather insidious health issues, it’s frustrating. He’s had tons of ear infections and colic (as a baby), digestive, immune and behavioral issues, weight gain, etc. He’s a very good student, so that is something to be thankful for. I have no idea how many of his issues are from my rather poor health when he was born and how many are from vaccines, etc.
Anyway, I’m so thankful for your website, and others like it that offer other viewpoints on health maintenance to round out my education. Thanks for all your work! I look forward to reading part 2!
KitchenKop says
Wendy, I just fixed that (and made sure my other Gardasil post was all good, too) – THANK YOU for catching it and taking the time to let me know!
Amanda, I have an idea for you: go to your next local Weston Price chapter meeting and ask around there. Or call some local chiropractors, they may know who to suggest.
Kelly
Amanda says
Kelly, I was wondering if you or any other readers might know of any resources for finding pediatricians inclined to work with parents to figure out vaccine choices??? Besides the tried-and-true method of taking an unvaccinated child in for an appointment and being berated for your parenting decisions.
The thought of another “shoot-out” with a doctor is sickening.
Wendy Piper says
Kelly, I must apologize – I said Karla in my message above. Meant Kelly.
Wendy
Wendy Piper says
Hi Karla,
As an ovarian cancer survivor, I need to correct the information you have above about Gardasil. That is the immunization for cervical cancer (actually HPV) NOT OVARIAN CANCER. There is no immunization available for ovarian cancer – I truly wish there was. Please, please, please write a correction as this is such a lethal gyn cancer that we just can’t have people think that if they get Gardasil, they are protected from ovarian cancer. They are not. I am concerned about where you got your information as it is very inaccurate and if there is another place out there that is saying ovarian cancer, that needs to be corrected too.
Thanks.
Wendy Piper
Motherhen68 says
When my oldest was born, I was debating w/myself over whether to get the Hep B. I actually had someone online tell me I should give it to him “because he might be sexual molested”. Yeah, ok, let me pump poison into his body on the “might be sexually molested”. I guess I should get Gardasil “because I might get raped”.
Needless to say, no Hep B and no sexual molestation!
Living A Whole Life says
Great post! I’m just delving into this subject. A little late in life as I’m pregnant with my third child! I am leaning more toward selective vaccination. As a nurse in a neo-natal ICU I have seen small children die from whooping cough in our own country; but I can’t get on board with vaccinating for Hep B, chicken pox, the flu and other normally non-life threatening diseases. It’s great to read your research and info and get more details!
Karla
Jen says
What freaks me about about vaccines? Hmmm, let me think… oh yeah, EVERYTHING! I so regret that my son received Hep B at birth, and however many are ridiculously recommended for a 2 month old. He hasn’t had any since then though, and he’s almost 2 years old. He’s only been sick once, after a visit to Sears to get his pictures taken, and exposed to a scary number of germs from other children on the props they used – everything went into his mouth 🙂 . We got through that at home just fine, and he’s never had an antibiotic… YAY!
Great post, Kelly! Wow, I’ve done my research, but that article you linked to in your first point had some frightening information that I haven’t seen before. It doesn’t surprise me though, and just reinforces my decision that my son will never have another vaccine. Ever.
Ursula says
We decided to to do vaccinations with our son, but they were very spread out. We didn’t want him being injected with more than one at any given time.
However, we will not be getting the H1N1 vaccination because it hasn’t been around long enough to have any idea what side effects there might be down the road…especially, when there is so much controversy about the vaccinations that have been around for a while.
Also, I think a body should be given the chance to build up immunity naturally instead of relying heavily on medications and vaccinations.
The Orange Chiropractor says
To make a long story short