Breastfeeding & Vaccinations

there was a similar thread to this - so i just copied and pasted my response. sorry it is not an 'original' but time is short!! :-)
(as for breastfeeding - i nursed my son for 3 years - he never took a bottle - and there were never any concerns with an imbalance - i just made sure to nurse him. you might want to check out www.kellymom.com - it's a great bf support website!)

this is a really personal decision as so many other moms have said. i just believe everyone should make an educated decision. i am posting my list of resources below - feel free to ask me any questions or add to my 'collection'!!! as for us - we have chosen to wait. it's a daily consideration - and one we have been happy with so far. my 3 1/2 year old has never had antibiotics, tylenol, tradtional medicines. most kids i know who are not vaxed - are very healthy but they also have parents who make sure they are eating healthy which definitely makes a difference to one's immune system. we treat all of our illnesses with homeopathic remedies, traditional osteopathy, accupuncture and chinese herbs and supplements. we are not anti western med at all - see a time and place for it - but view medicine as preventitive rather than reactive. if you do decide to vaccinate - just make sure your child is not sick and hasn't been for a few days before. if you can - make sure they are as calm as can be for the actual shot. and if you notice any reaction - report it and keep note of it for future reference.
hope this helps!
J.

Vaccination Information

Books:
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations By Stephanie Cave, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. (pro vaccine)

Vaccines: Are They Really Safe And Effective? By Neil Miller.
The Vaccine Guide By Randall Neustaedter (non vaxer).

Natural Family Living By Peggy O'Mara, the publisher of Mothering Magazine.

I village has some great message boards – for vax debate, non-vax support and many other boards (breastfeeding, etc)

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/main.asp?webtag=iv-pp...

Article:
Deadly Immunity by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – EXCELLENT article!!! I have a copy I can email to you.

Video:
Dr. Jay Gordon’s seminar at the Skirball Cultural Center – the first event in the “Well Loved Baby” series called “Vaccinations?” - www.childcaremedia.com/dvdproducts.php

Websites:
www.mothering.com
www.drfeder.com
www.drjaygordon.com

http://www.whale.to/a/hoax.html

www.909shot.com

http://www.909shot.com/state-site/state-exemptions.htm - state exemption laws

www.tetrahedron.org

www.vaclib.org

www.thinktwice.com.

http://www.mmrfacts.nhs.uk/library/timeline.php?t=showall or search NHS

http://www.cispimmunize.org/fam/thimrosal.html

http://www.cispimmunize.org/fam/mmr/a_faq.html

http://www.cispimmunize.org/fam/mmr/a_report.html

http;//www.aap.org/advocacy/archives/julvacc.htm

http://www.medalerts.org/ (where also is found an online, searchable version of the VAERS database. Just have a look at what that thing is saying about the Hepatitis B vaccine! )

http://www.nmaseminars.com/

http://www.whale.to/vaccines.html

http://www.mercola.com/

http://www.mercola.com/article/vaccines/immune_suppressio...
http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/list01.htm

http://www.proliberty.com/observer/

And, the following article on the Hep B vaccine is excellent:
http://www.insightmag.com/news/438502.html
"The EPA limit is 0.1 micrograms of mercury per kilogram body weight per day. It doesn't take a genius to do the calculations when on their day of birth children are given the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 12.5 micrograms of mercury. The average newborn weighs between 6 and 7 pounds, so they would be allowed 0.3 micrograms of mercury - but in this one shot they are getting 12.5 micrograms. That's 39 times more than allowed by law. And it gets worse when you consider that children are getting multiple vaccinations at 2 months. And this limit is for *oral ingestion* and not injection, which is much worse."

http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm (the vaccines shaded in grey are no longer produced)

In response to an earlier request today regarding vaccines, here is my response to another mom...one of the current debates with MMRs relates to its connection or lackthereof to autism...this is where my response comes from...

I work daily with students with severe autism and write children's books on autism...so I hear a lot of talk on both sides of the conversation through my research for my books and just talk among parents. Suffice it to say, after all that I have read and heard, I am still not convinced one way or another. Autism is a neurological disorder with a genetic predisposition and some sort of environmental trigger sets it off. What that trigger is and how it affects different kids is unknown at this time. There are parents who have seen autism indicators prior to the shots and there are kids (obviously) who have received the shots with no problems. The importance of the shots is also relavent.

However, I would suggest looking onto more specific discussion sites related to autism to get a more in depth answer to your question from moms who are in the situation. http://www.autismspeaks.org/ (autism speaks) or www.autism-society.org (Autism Society of America) or look up some discussion boards relating to the topic. I must warn you that you will see fierce debate on both sides of this subject. I kind of stay neutral because my goal currently is to increase autism awareness to provide a more welcoming community to our brothers and sisters who are already diagnosed.

I know I haven't answered your question directly, but hope to have shed some light on where you might find more answers...or more questions.

Yes, currently autism is diagnosed 80% male, however, further research is finding that girls are undiagnosed due to gender issues related to diagnosis. So there likely are more than 1 out of 150 diagnosed in the future. The MMR debate just sparked again last week as ELI STONE premiered on ABC which highlighted a caes between a mother and a pharmaceutical company regarding autism/shots. Fictional of course, but sparked debate nonetheless.

Good luck in your hunt for answers,
J. Keating-Velasco
www.AisForAutism.net

read Dr. Sears' "the vaccination book"

I'm not sure what you mean about foremilk/hindmilk IMBALANCE. You want to make sure that you look at your baby and not the clock. She (you didn't specify if you have a girl or boy) can tell you whether or not she's satisfied.

You want to make sure that you empty one breast before offering the next. If she still wants to nurse on the second breast but doesn't empty it, start with that breast at the next feed.

feel free to email me ANY time you have questions.

M.
Certified Lactation Educator

HI,

We have chosen to not vaccinate our children until they are older. After the research that we have done, we believe that it makes more sense to stimulate the immune system after it has matured - after age 1. And then we will decide on an individual basis which shots are necessary. For example, as far as I have read, no known cases of polio since about 1960s except for those contracted via the shot itself.

It looks like you have asked a great question and there are lots of resources to consider - I thank you for asking this question because now I will have more information to make a better decision for my 4 and 2 year old!

Hi-

What makes you think there may be an imbalance? If you're worried you can do single-side feeding to make sure your baby gets the hind milk. If one breast isn't enough for the feeding, you can start the next feeding on the last side (e.g., if you end left, start left). La Leche League has some articles on their website that discuss this issue.

As for vaccinations I found Dr. Bob Sears book very balanced and helpful- he even gives suggested schedules for parents who want to delay or leave out some vaccinations, and tips for parents who don't want to vaccinate at all. He has a website too, www.thevaccinebook.com.

Good luck!

1. I never thought about the foremilk/hindmilk really. I just made sure my child nursed about 15min on each side to get both. So, no help here, sorry. I may not understand the question, what makes you think you are imbalanced, or do you mean your child seems to be getting more of one and not the other? I'd need more info here.

2. The Vaccine Book by Dr. Bob Sears has been helpful. For the most part, I delay and/or only give one or two at a time, depending on the vaccine. I don't vaccinate for chicken pox but will if they haven't gotten the disease by age 13 or so. With all the debate on the MMR, I have chosen to delay until about 5 or 6 years old and when my kids do get them, they will get one at a time, one year apart.

Of course, all this could change, depending on what "new" info I come across later down the road! The vaccine debate is definetly not boring!

Hope this helps.
M.

Hello - Well, not to sure about the breastmilk issue. I highly recommend LLL. I was having some terrible latch issues with my first child and looked them up on the web, made a call to someone local and she spent a good half an hour talking with me. I have seen that kellymom was recommended and I second that site.

Regarding the vaccinations. After researching this issue for many years, I am strongly against vaccinations. I have not vaccinated my children and they will never get one shot. Obviously, I have strong feelings on the issue. This comes after countless hours of research. The reasons not to vaccinate are so many that there is no way I could just type in an email. I applaud your willingness to research the issue! As far as books, I understand your need to read something balanced. I felt the same way when I began my research. I can honestly say that from what I know now, there really is no good side to vaccines. Of course, that is my opinion, but I am confident that it is a well-educated opinion. A few books to recommend: "Vaccines, Are they really safe and effective?" by Neil Miller (forewards by two MD's), "The Sanctity of Human Blood" by Tim O'Shea (he is definitely against, but each and every statement/fact is well cited - not just opinion. You can get some quick info on his site:

http://thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=articles/san...)

and finally the first book I read "What your doctor may not tell you about children's vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave M.D. and Deborah Mitchell. Happy to recommend more or talk further with you if you would like... Good luck!

P.S. Just wanted to add, the autism/mercury issue is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dangers of vaccinations. I know that if you were to ask a doctor, they will just say they have not found a link between mercury and autism and leave it at that. For one, that isn't true, it depends on who is doing the study and the outcome they are looking for. But more importantly, that is just a small portion of the bigger picture. The books I have mentioned and some of the others I see in the responses will explain this further.