Vaccinations???

Before our sweet baby girl was born, I was very curious about vaccinations.  Should I vaccinate or not vaccinate? I tried to do my research, but where does one even begin? Everyone seems to have such a strong opinion about it, one way or another. 

The first book I read was from a friend. Even the cover was scary. The book was a compilation of stories from parents and doctors about the drastic effects and fatalities caused by vaccinations, and what happened when they tried to expose "the truth". The book focused on each vaccine, its history and contents and what it can do to a child's body. It downplayed the diseases being immunized against and centered around the adverse reactions of individuals. I was sure, after reading that book that I would never vaccinate. After all, any parent who loves their child would never willingly inject formaldehyde and antifreeze into their sweet baby, right?

Then I was talking to a doctor about my thoughts and decisions and she recommended a book by Dr. Offit, the creator of the rotovirus vaccine. The book focused on immunizing every child for the sake of the greater good. I was told the grizzly details of each disease and how quickly each respective vaccine had nearly eradicated it until a rumor started that thimerisol in vaccines causes autism. The book felt like an info-mercial for vaccinations. When reading this book, I was left wondering why the only ill effects of the vaccines would be rashes or fevers. It seemed suspicious. Polio is pretty scary. So is pertussis.

What is a mother to do? It seems you have to choose between injecting poison into your baby or letting her get a horrific disease. What is a "good parent" supposed to do, when both options seem so dangerous? Who could I trust? Doctors? Other parents? Scientists? Vaccine manufacturers?

I started doing research for myself on the CDC website. On that website, they list the vaccines, the contents of each vaccine, the vaccination schedule, laws and purpose for each. I was shocked to see that the information from both of the books I had read appeared to be true, while still being slanted toward pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination. It seems that even if you do immunize your child, there is no guarantee that they won't get the disease in question, but if you immunize, he or she will definitely be injected with chemicals that are potentially quite dangerous. I printed off some charts of vaccination ingredients for my own use and continued my research.

I was back to square one.

It was around this time that I stumbled across the book Dancing cats, silent canaries, by Dr. David Denton Davis on amazon.com.  Intrigued by the description, I ordered the book. It was a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it. What Dr. Denton states is that while there is a lot of good that immunization has brought to our country, there has not yet been enough research to really test their safety. He recommends keeping things as natural as possible in the home and lifestyle. He wants parents to weigh the risks and benefits and make their own decision, but waiting at least a year before administering any immunizations. The book addresses SIDS, autism, immunizations and more.

We have decided to wait to vaccinate. After she is a year old, we will pick and choose which immunizations we will get for our sweet baby girl. After all - she is in God's hands anyway. I don't have to put her in a bubble or panic if she eats dirt. God is good. We don't have to make the decisions about everything now, and the research will continue. We will update as we do vaccinate, if we do.

What have you decided?