An Alternative Vaccine Schedule

I thought I would spend some time talking about why Jon and I have decided to use an alternative vaccine schedule for Aedan.

First off I should start by saying that I am not anti-vaccines.  The whole subject of vaccines is a touchy one and I think ultimately it is up to parents to research the issue and make a decision for their baby.

I will admit that I was turned onto the whole vaccine issue while working as a therapist for the company I worked for when I first came to Austin. Let me be clear and say that I do not think that vaccines cause all, or any for that matter, cases of autism. I think it is pretty clear that while there is a genetic predisposition to the disorder, there must be some environmental trigger. However no one knows what that trigger is. Since autism is such a wide spectrum disorder it may not even be the same trigger for each case.

Okay, back to vaccines. Since I have been hearing about vaccines and their safety for a few years now, I knew that when it came time to make the decision for my baby I would be doing lots of research on the issue. Recently I read this book and would recommend it to anyone expecting a baby. It is straight forward and logical. The author does not take sides, but simply presents the facts. He looks into each vaccine and lets you know what research has been done on it, what is in it, and why some people choose to get and others choose not to.

Why have we chosen to do an alternative schedule? Because I do not think there has been enough research done on the cumulative effects on giving so many vaccines at such a young age. We are going to use a schedule that eliminates some (but not very many) vaccines, delays some, and separates some others.

So that is my two sense on why we are doing an alternative vaccine schedule. Again, I want to stress that it is something each parent has to choose for themselves. I would highly recommend The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears (see the link above). It is an easy read and very informative. The book also gives some tips to increase vaccine safety, such as not giving vaccines when a child is sick or taking antibiotics. And just to reiterate I am not anti-vaccines and Aedan will be getting vaccinated just on a slightly different schedule.

-Lauren-

P.S. I can’t believe it is already Friday! This week has flown by!! Only 50 more days until my due date! :)