Moms trend towards the idea that vaccinations are optional
The “Moms’ Eye View” series highlights timely parenting themes and issues that emerge from the Circle of Moms community. The topics and questions that fascinate moms the most are the fodder for this space; for each Moms’ Eye post, we select one particularly lively thread and attempt to capture the consensus (or lack of consensus) that percolates through the thread.
Immunizations are a consistently hot topic in our most popular and diverse community on Circle of Moms, and a consensus–that they are a matter of personal choice rather than public health–seems to be emerging in these conversations.
While most of the 200+ moms who responded to a recent question on the subject had opted to have their children immunized, they tended to prefer alternative schedules, such as waiting until their children were older, over the standard schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Gina, a mother of one, said , “I am not opposed to the immunizations. I know they have been created for a reason…However, I am opposed to giving so many shots at one time.”
Charlene, mother of one, agrees with Gina saying, “For me, the pros outweighed the cons, and if I hadn’t vaccinated and my daughter had gotten one of the preventable diseases, I would feel extremely guilty for that.”
Eight moms cited the phenomenon of “herd immunity” or community immunity as an important reason to immunize. As Alzena, mother of two, explained, it’s “a type of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population provides protection to unprotected individuals,” and Roxy, mother of one, added, “That seems to be something no one considers in the whole immunization debate; the overall community health.”
On the other hand, about 10% of respondents were completely against immunizations, some of them insisting on the efficacy of more natural methods to boost their children’s immune systems. Several of these moms cited a possible connection to autism, although this connection has recently been disproven.
As Monica, mother of four, explained, “I’m personally against it just because it’s unnatural and I believe in natural living and healing.”
Maj-Britt, mother of two, added, “If you decide not to vaccinate I would suggest also looking into some natural ways to boost your natural defenses to infections.”
In the end, most moms seemed to agree that it is your personal choice to vaccinate or not vaccinate your child. As Faye, mother of three, said, “Do your research and make a decision when you are fully informed and when you are secure and comfortable with your choice. It is YOUR choice.”
For more information:
-“Immunizations: For or Against” Thread
-“Welcome to Circle of Moms” Community
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Vaccines
-National Institute of Health/U.S. National Library of Medicine
-National Vaccine Information Center (Anti-Immunization)
-Connection between Autism and immunizations
-Herd Immunity (Community Immunity)
If anybody wants to do a case study they can start right away with my kids. My first one was vaccinated and my second one was, and both were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I strongly believe they both had all the systems even in utero, it just came out with a bang much more so after the vaccinations. In family courts and matters of divorce, that the courts will be biased to a mother who keeps stressing how much she has done for the child. The more occupied you are with that, the more chances that they will TAKE AWAY your parental rights, due to being ‘harmful’ to your child! This is happening to mothers across the world where Autism is involved in the custody case. I wrote about this on my blog http://autismcustodybattles.wordpress.com/ and I urge you to read it carefully before asking the courts for anything for your child. You may be saying all the right things, but shooting yourself in the foot.