rant-any other closeted non-vaccinating mums out there?

[lou19]

sorry, just felt the need to rant a little as I am fed up being treated with ill-concealed contempt for choosing to delay SOME of my daughter's vaccinations!!We have decided to wait until she is 1yr old for the multiple 8 wks jabs as there is a family history of severe eczema, asthma and hayfever. we have gone ahead with the men C at 5 months and lo, she has developed eczema (her skin used to be perfect). we have decided not to talk about this choice as we know how controversial it is, however inevitably it has come up in some conversations and now everytime baby has a sniffle or a slight health problem I get grilled as to whether it's to do with the lack of vaccination. her yeh, cause conjunctivitis and polio are just the same thing. and if she gets a cold, of course it's because she isn't immunised against tetanus!!!as if I didn't have enough self doubt as it is!!and it's always me who gets the grilling, never my husband, even when it's his own dad bringing it up. have you been in a similar situation and if you have, how did you deal with it without being constantly annoyed??grrrrr

:) lou. It's a bit mad really isn't it. People are so convinced that your baby is going to contract tetanus despite them not being able to crawl and being constantly carried around! Or polio even thought there hasn't been a case in the UK since the early 80s. I think people are a bit brainwashed really and take the vaccine schedule as gospel without actually thinking about the diseases, their risks or why we actually vaccinate at the times we do when other countries do it differently. Chin up girl and just smile and nod :)

thank you bubbley. it's just infuriating sometimes. i think i will just tell people to do their own research from now on. i have nothing to justify :-)

I'd join your thread, but I'm not a closeted non-vaccinating mummy. I'm out in the open about it . Lots of people think me mad, but then I think they are mad for just going along with what their red book tells them to do.
Like you, I was going to delay all jabs until DS reached 12 mths. That was a year ago and he still hasn't had any.
As for Tetanus, ask people you know if they are up-to-date with their jabs. My last one was 20 years ago. I don't know anyone who keeps theirs up-to-date, yet we are supposed to worry about it for our children. DS liked to chew on a bit of dirt when he began crawling, but then that isn't how Tetanus is contracted anyway.

So true Tab! Mine was 16 years ago I think.

Oops - posted early!

I would hazard a guess that the majority of the UK haven't had a tetanus jab in well over 10 years and yet there are still only about 7 cases a year. Cases, not deaths. They are usually in the elderly as well. In fact, the last tetanus case in an under 15 was in 2000/01 iirc and she had been fully vaccinated!

it's good to know there are others out there. also all this "you have to vaccinate because there are lots of immigrants in London and they bring diseases, don't you know" is bordering on xenophobic I think. and it's a view promulgated by doctors!

Yes. Closetted non-vaccinator here. It's like being a Christian. You don't tell (unless asked directly, of course, in which case you can't lie ) because people think you're either a nutter or morally irresponsible.

Not a non vax person myself but your kids your choice

"As for Tetanus, ask people you know if they are up-to-date with their jabs. My last one was 20 years ago. I don't know anyone who keeps theirs up-to-date"

Isn't the last Tetanus vaccine injection scheduled for early teens?

So, without trying to make assumptions about your age, 20yrs could be about right?

Or have I misunderstood something, either your post or the vaccine schedule?

I think I am pretty adept now at changing the subject if I can't be arsed. When dd was little I found it harder -looking back I think I felt the need to articulate my reasons but now much less so.

But tbh I very rarely a person challenge me in real life. I must have a " it is my choice so why don't you mind your own fucking business" face.

We've not vaccinated 13 mo ds. My nct 'friends' excluded me from their group in case I put their dc's at risk.

My niece almost died after her baby jabs, hence, we made our decision.

It can be a lonely place, however, I joined a local group of non vaccinating parents which I've found very supportive.

DBennett. Methinks you know that I am referring to the fact that we are told that the Tetanus jab lasts only ten years, otherwise why would travellers be told to have one even if they've had five before?

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Tetanus/Pages/Causes.aspx

Let's go on to Polio. I know many people who have never, because of their age, had a Polio jab. They are not worried in the least about that.

Leonie Aha.

Shove over. Room for another? Travelled to very many places without them.

Hope you are all well and in good spirits

Hi Gooseberry. Have you ever had a problem with holiday insurance with children who are not vaccinated? I've heard that some companies refuse cover.

No, we've never been asked tbh. It's never occurred to me, plus we lived abroad: so some of it is living in countries where we had private (no nhs obv) and some of it is travel from those countries to other countries. Private health provider didn't ask either. All countries have diff vax programmes, though, maybe that's why.

If I had known 20 years ago what I know now about what was in childhood vaccines I would have run a mile and never had my children vaccinated. Did you know that human & bovine material goes into the manufacture of vaccines, bet the nurse won't show you this on the list of vaccine ingredients and I bet you your nurse will not be helpful if anything goes wrong with the vaccines or if they are withdrawn, you will not be given the reasons. What annoys me is that the parents are put under pressure to have their children vaccinated, but you start asking sensible questions and they treat you like an idiot. My advice to any parent would be to ask if the vaccine contains human/bovine material, has it be screened for the human form of mad cow's disease, are the vaccines suitable for vegans/ vegetarians, the answer will be they don't know. Many victims of vCJD are thought to have got it through their childhood vaccines during the 80's, 90's and early 2000. Some vaccines that should have been withdrawn were not, many contained BSE contaminated material. I do not trust our DOH to safeguard our vaccines from vCJD even today, think about it, NOBODY is screened for vCJD but human material is used in vaccines.
I have been reading the latest blog on the justiceforandy.com website and I have to say what this reveals about vaccines is quite frankly shocking.

Leonie: I always wondered about the US. I feared for a while we might be sent there and was very concerned about residence requirements.

I've delayed giving my children the MMR. Mine were 4yo before they got their first vaccinations. I feel babies get far too many injections, I hate thinking about all these chemicals being pumped into their tiny defenceless bodies.

But mention that to a nurse or doctor and you will be annihilated. Facts are written into a medical journal, and you're supposed to read and believe everything in it - yet these facts could change in the future. And where are you left if your child develops any disease as a result of the vaccination - discarded like a piece of rubbish!

I mean, if you have time read through this thread on a different website
www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056141013

www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056141013