Just Another Controversial Post...

Somewhere in my vast amounts of pregnancy/parenting research, I stumbled upon the controversial topic of vaccinations. Prior to coming across this, I honestly hadn't put much thought into the topic. I had always just accepted that immunizations were a "normal" part of a child's healthcare. But the more I look into the statistics, the more leery I become. Now that's not to say I've become some "hippie" who completely opposes all forms of medicine and won't get my child vaccinated at all. There are certain illnesses I would never want to put Dominic at risk for, and as such I will have him vaccinated against them. I'm simply stating, I think the subject at least warrants some more research before I just consent to whatever the doctor recommends. I spent some time today talking to two different and very educated friends on the subject and I've come to the conclusion that although some immunizations do have more benefit than harm, there are others that might be unnecessary. For example, how many children actually carry a risk of contracting Hepatitis B? Is the number of children who have a reaction from the immunization higher than the rate of infection? What, if any, is the correlation between certain vaccinations and autism? Is there any link between vaccines and an increased rate of SIDS? And what's with the chicken pox vaccine? I never had it, I did get chicken pox as a child and I survived just fine. Some might argue that not getting your child vaccinated is "wrong" or neglectful, but I beg to differ. The only thing that would be "wrong" or neglectful is to not conduct your own research and just blindly accept what your doctor is telling you as fact. How reliable are the pharmaceutical companies anyway? There's a damn pill or shot for EVERYTHING these days. Ever stop to think some of these are just money making machines and might be unnecessary, if not harmful? Being a parent is challenging and scary enough as it is. The least we can do as parents is dedicate a little bit of our time to decide what's best for our children and individual situations. If you're a parent who does the research and you end up deciding you want your child to get all the vaccinations, more power to you. But at least educate yourself so you can make an informed decision. I know I'm going to...

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.”