To vaccinate newborn or not

[confusedaboutclothes]

I know this is a very sensitive subject, but i’m asking please for FACTS only - I don’t want answers like ‘because the NHS recommends you to vaccinate your baby etc’

Id like to point out i’m not ‘anti vax’ as such, but covid really opened my eyes to researching vaccines etc i’ve done my own research on whether i should be vaccinating my newborn but it’s hard to find unbiased facts.

What I don’t like, is the pressure that is put on us to do as we’re told with our babies. I don’t like the constant reminders, the phone calls and the pressure to vaccinate - it all feels like a box ticking exercise not because the NHS are actually worried about my baby.

Please be kind, I really am confused about this and would love some different perspectives

Seriously?

Parents in some countries walk for hours to access life-saving vacinnations but you “don’t like the pressure” to provide your child with free, protective healthcare?

Don't be idiotic and protect your child.

Please don’t post until you’ve read all my replies - and then call me an idiot because you’ve not read them…

“Google is very vague and is kind of you absolutely should vaccinate, or you shouldn’t, there’s not a lot of grey area”

Because there isn’t a grey area. Sorry but anyone who doesn’t vaccinate (unless advised by a medically qualified specialist not to for a specific reason) is idiotic.

I recommend a wander round some old churchyards, looking at 19thC graves where 3, 4 or more children from the same family were buried within the same month - doubtless when some epidemic of e.g. measles was doing the rounds.

My dd2 was born in Abu Dhabi, where newborn babies were routinely vaccinated against TB, which was fairly common there. And at 12 months they were given the MMR, which happened only many years later in the U.K.
I didn’t know anyone whose babies were adversely affected at all.

The fear that the bad one induces is exactly why disinformation flourishes. You are doing the right thing in seeking information but make sure you get it from trusted sources. The NHS and healthcare staff just wants people to be healthy, they have no hidden agenda. We can’t say the same about randos on the internet that don’t have anyone to answer to. Medical research is VERY tightly regulated. @confusedaboutclothes

We are wired to focus on the negative, because threats require a response so you can return to safety. Our brains aren’t wired to focus on good news because they aren’t a threat, they don’t require responses

To everyone piling on the OP - no one has ever been convinced of anything by being told they’re an ‘idiot’! This is why the ‘other side’ wins at this game - they are empathetic, they respond to your concerns by vilifying ‘others’, look at the establishment or the mainstream calling you an idiot because you have questions, etc!
she’s asking questions! Answer them rather than push her away into the arms of QAnon and whoever else who will definitely cause harm!!!!

I have always vaccinated my children against anything that will give them immunity e.g. MMR etc...

I did NOT vaccinate my children against Covid, as this isn't a preventative vaccine, just one that will potentially lessen the symptoms.

I was given the BCG at three days old due to an outbreak of TB in the area of the uk I was living in at the time. I suffered no long term effects.

Reasons to get children vaccinated -

Pre vaccines, my Mum's sister died from diptheria, aged 12.

Best friend's sister contracted Polio before she was old enough for vaccination - has spent her life in a wheelchair.

Another acquaintance refused to get her daughter vaccinated because she played outside a lot, was vegetarian, so that meant her immune system was strong, right? Wrong. Her daughter contracted German Meales at 7 and has since been profoundly deaf. The daughter no longer speaks to her mother because she can't believe she could easily have been vaccinated and not spent her life disabled.

I am very pro vaccination but still felt nervous before taking my tiny baby for them! I did it because they do save lives, and the risk of an adverse effect from a vaccination is so slight compared to the risk of a serious illness or death from a preventable disease.

I think people calling you stupid are being really mean, its completely understandable to be worried about your baby and to want to learn more and hear other opinions. The information online can be overwhelming and you can likely find very convincing arguments for any opinion on the matter. I would stick to reputable websites and organisations and try not to get sucked into any rabbit holes- I'm sure some people have valid concerns about potential side effects but there is also a staggering amount of anti-vax nonsense about!

I'm glad you've decided to get the vaccinations done and I hope your little one is fine- mine was a bit sleepy after the first set but no temperature or any other side effects thankfully, we didn't need to give her any calpol just extra cuddles. Even if your little one does get a bit unwell, that's very normal so please don't panic. I'm sure the nurse will give you a leaflet with tips on what to expect and what to do if you're concerned. Remember that they have to mention really horrible side effects that are extremely unlikely, try not to worry too much and good luck- it will be worse for you than it will be for baba 😊

@Mynaddmawr Thank you for your lovely reply 🙂 x

I never stopped my children playing tag on the motorway. Two are now adults and one is a teenager. They all managed to avoid the cars and lorries. Never got run over. They are able to avoid risks on busy roads as adults if they choose to do so.

It's a personal choice and you will get strong opinions either way.

Some people say I was a bad parent to put my children at risk like that even though they survived my poor choices. I am stupid and ignorant so I ignore them.

Did you ever see your children playing tag on a motorway and refuse to intervene?

Or are you making a false equivalence?

What's the source of your info about the covid vaccine?

By what mechanism can it lesson the symptoms but not also make you less likely to catch it.

I wonder whether the temptation to not vaccinate comes from how humans perceive threats.

If we are actively choosing something (a vaccine) it can seem a more risky activity than the do nothing option, just because we are an active agent.

If we do nothing (don't vaccinate) and something bad happens (disease is contracted) we can kid ourselves that it wasn't our responsibility. It doesn't feel so much like our fault.

If we actively do something, and the teeny tiny microscopic chance of an adverse outcome happens, we know for sure that it was partly due to our decision. Our brains can take this and use it to skew how we perceive risks (just like we perceive new things as more risky, or things we do frequently as less risky than they actually are).

I think it might be that sense of responsibility that weighs heavily on parents. But this interpretation is massively skewed because all the evidence is there in black and white, that vaccinating saves lives and is one of the safest choices you can make for your kids.

Everything we do comes with a risk attached - every time you take your kids out in the car you're taking a risk - but it's a small one and it's almost certainly worth taking.

Vaccination is similar.

Much like getting into a car or crossing a road. Nothing is ever 100% safe. But it's clear the benefits outweigh the risks.

Neither. There is another possibility ...

(I am reminded of that special circle of hell reserved for ironists, where they sit, condemned to be taken literally for all eternity .)

My youngest DD could not have vaccinations on strong hospital medical advice. She has no choice but to rely on herd immunity from others.
Whilst under ortho-oncology (benign but large bone tumours) she caught measles. No idea where or how but she did. (I have attached a photo of her arm showing a typical measles rash)

She was very poorly and spent nearly three weeks with a very high fever in a dark room (doctors advised). Trouble was her slightly odd immune system amped up the virus and she then gave it to her dad. He HAD had measles before so offered to look after our DD at night so I could grab some sleep.
He caught measles from her and OMG a I have never seen anyone become so ill so fast.
He was so ill the GP wanted to send an ambulance. Our family was already on home isolation as my DD was a confirmed case and I did not want to take an ambulance and team out of circulation for a deep clean. I drove him through the night to the regional hospital and refused to take him into A&E to avoid causing a serious regional outbreak.
He was admitted to the regional isolation unit and placed in to negative pressure isolation. His oxygen sats crashed, his liver started to fail, blood pooled under his skin, he lost his sight and his fever stayed well over 42C no matter what the hospital tried to bring it down. All they could do was offer supportive care. He was not expected to make it and I was called in to say that goodbye. His life hung for a week before his fever dropped down to 40c. No one could be sure if that fever would leave him with a brain injury.
His recovery was slow. He could not do any work for six months. All he could do once home was sleep and cry. I had to do everything for him. After six months he started to improve. He regained some sight but his eyes are still damaged and he lives with the longer term effects of measles on his internal organs.

This is why the NHS advises vaccination for those who can have vaccinations. Yes vaccinations carry a small potential risk but it’s one hell of a lot less than the risks of the nasty viruses they aim to give us all some protection from.

@triballeader I am so sorry your dh went through that. sounds terrifying. was your dd able to recover fully?

Great way of putting things!!

@triballeader so sorry you all went through such a horrible thing as a family, i’m glad
they have both recovered (or in a very slow recovery) x

@Fidgety31 "I chose not to vaccinate as my first was born in the midst of the MMR controversy- which unless you had a baby at that time - it’s hard to explain how difficult it was ."

Why didn't you have your children vaccinated when Andrew Wakefield was proved to be a charlatan? That's what I did at the same time.

OP I hope you get some clarity. Being a mum to a tiny little being is hard (just because lots of us have been there, doesn't mean it isn't hard) and the responsibly can weigh so heavily.

You know what often happened before childhood vaccinations? This.