Immunizations. Yikes. Here we go.

Parenting is hard.  It is so hard.  I'm aware that it's very cliche to write that in a parenting blog but it's the truth.  When God suddenly charges you with the well being and survival of a small human being and you alone are responsible for their care and development, even the most laid back parent is bombarded with conflicted decisions and personal judgment calls.  The judgement call I'm going to address in this article is probably the most controversial topic I will ever address.  Anyone who knows, or is even acquainted with me knows that I am somewhat apolitical.  I dont want to talk politics with you I dont think any more or less of you if your a liberal or a conservative, I dont give a hoot if you feel compelled to label yourself as a Democrat or a Republican.  This is my blog, thus, my personal opinions and research.  The only quantifiable value in my opinions is my own research which can be argued to be bias or cynical I fervently welcome and encourage every mother to research these topics on your own because, in my opinion, the determining factor in your family's well being is you.  I intend only to present my personal research as a point of reference, or maybe a a different spin on things for your consideration.  I am by no means an authority on anything ( outside of my own home anyway). I would have probably never written about anything like what I will write on this evening if I hadn't felt moved to by the events in my own realm of existence these days.  So I'll get to it, consider this introduction my disclosure, an admission (if you will) that this is merely the meandering of a modern housewife.

A young woman and first time mother with whom I am well acquainted called me this morning.  Her precious child is the picture of health, every milestone being hit right on time and with enthusiastic gusto.  The biggest hurdle she's been faced with has been chronic ear infections.  I am able to offer insight on alot of parenting conundrums, things like sleep training, constipation, colic, breastfeeding and the like, yet I never had to deal with ear infections,  not once until last year in my four year old.  I am able to offer advise based on my own experience, the personal wisdom that I have acquired from the esteemed school of hard knocks, reinforced four times over by my experience with each of my four children.  In the past this young mother and I had discussed our views on vaccinations, a huge hot button issue.  In the interest of honesty and complete transparency, I am not a fan.  I make that statement carefully as, just like any other mother, I certainly am not interested in one of my children contracting a God awful disease that could have been prevented thru scheduled immunizations.   I cant say that I am opposed to the idea of immunization entirely, my personal stance was that I wanted to hold off until I could gauge my children's reaction to the shots and really decipher beyond even a shadow of a doubt if something had regressed socially or developmentally, I wish I were strong enough or committed enough to my own reluctance to stand against vaccines completely, however it is not an easy thing to ask yourself with every fever or runny nose if your child has been infected with something that the vaccine compliant parents of the world needn't worry with.  But I am not strong enough to stand firm against ever vaccinating, I compromise by delaying immunization vaccines as long as possible, rationalizing that the older my children are, the more apt their immune systems would be to metabolize the bombardment of components in the vaccines they were given.  This is not to say that I didnt struggle, because believe me I did.  Every check up, every encounter with my parents and Inlaws.  I was vaccinated, my husband had been vaccinated, why was I bucking the norm?  Who was I to try and reinvent the wheel?  Their concerns did not fall of deaf ears, I got it, I really did, but i had read a book during my first pregnancy that had opened my eyes to the possibility of the negative side effects of vaccines...well, two books actually,and imagine how appalled my friends and family were to find that I was basing this huge decision on the account I read from not a doctor or scientist but the quirky, crude, and certainly nonacademic tv personality, Jenny McCarthy.  Something about her account and experience felt both genuine and foreboding.  At the end of the day maternal instincts are the most valuable tool at our disposal.  The books prompted me to begin my own research and in 2006, before the world was at our fingertips on our phones I was up late into the night reading everything I could.  I was assured by doctors time and again to vaccinate, however I knew I would never forgive myself if I shut down that voice within me that begged that I think it through, and God forbid unimaginable had happened as a result .

Back to my conversation with a new mother in the year 2018.  She has been following a strict suggested immunization schedule, again not without feeling the same nagging concerns I think we all really feel given the information available to us now, but weighing all of the information available and taking into account the professional opinions of their trusted physicians and health professional friends,  she and her husband decided that the classic immunization schedule was the right choice for them.  It wasnt until chronic ear infections had paved the way to an ent specialist, when she was staring down the barrel of the "ear tubes" gun that the inspiration for this pros was born.  It's not even rare that children that experience frequent ear infections have to get tubes to aid in the drainage of their sinuses, but being the diligent and concerned parent that she is this young woman did some researching and found that some parents were able to stop the infections by seeing a chiropractor so naturally she took her child to see if she could circumvent the traditional fate of tubes.  She happened to call me after the appointment (I suggest you follow her blog to find out if the treatment was successful, there is a link in the references at the end of this article to the "life with Bristyl" blog) and told me that her chiropractor was anti vaccine and had given her a flyer.  I asked that she please send it to me and she did (see attached photo).  This flyer has ignited something within me.  I always resist the urge to banter on social media but often see the posts pleading with parents to immunize.  I never post my opinions, if someone wants my opinion they can ask directly and I'll respond as honestly as I can, but I cant help but notice that the government unabashedly stands behind the current immunization schedule and eagerly points a finger at anyone who raises an eyebrow and labels them in a round about way as an uneducated radical, I believe...wholeheartedly that there are exceptions to every rule.  That while an immunization may be completely safe for one baby that it is entirely possible that it is equally unsafe for another.

This little flyer has inspired me to dig into the specifics of just the questionable ingredients of the vaccines.  I intend to research just what is stated here and present the research what the CDC ( our authority on immunizations) has to say about them, I'll be doing this in several posts over the next few weeks, I will not be injecting my opinion at all but rather letting this flyer and the CDC statements speak for themselves.

Like I stated before, everyone has a right to make their own decisions and I dont think for a moment that there is a mother out there who makes a decision that intentionally puts their precious child at risk, but I think things on this issue tend to be very one sided and if you are interested (as I was) about the ingredients on this flyer I welcome you to read on, if you are not, please don't.  I'm not interested in a debate, if you have a blog that offers insight on the subject I would be glad to read it and to give my audience an opportunity to read it, just leave the link in the comments, I wish nothing more than for our readers to have all of the information available, not just one side but both. Knowledge is power.  Just please refrain from hostile comments or remarks we all know nothing productive is accomplished that way, we all want the s as me thing in the end, happy, healthy children.

Life with Bristyl blog 

http://lifewithbristyl.simplesite.com