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Whenever I get chatting with parents about babies and health, one of the biggest jaw dropping topics always involves my decision to opt out of having my child vaccinated.

I’d like to explore further the reasons why I made this choice, not to justify but rather to inform and iron out any doubts you may have when faced with this decision for your own child.

Firstly, my research covered all the usual NHS and pro-vaccination information which I will not cover here, primarily because you will surely have easy access to this as long as you are registered with a doctor.

The information I will present comes from a culmination of reading from the likes of Henry Lindlahr in ‘The philosophy of natural therapeutics’ and also ‘A shot in the dark’ by Harris L Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher. You won’t find these books in your NHS sponsored bumpf.

The conventional argument for the wonders of vaccinations will now be considered in order to give the counter arguments.

1. Vaccinations are responsible for wiping out deadly diseases in the past, thereby saving many lives.

Diseases which have been wiped out in developed countries include: the bubonic plague, yellow fever and cholera. It is interesting to note that these diseases never had vaccination programmes put in place to help eliminate the problem. They began to disappear alongside the advent of improved sanitation and hygiene. On the other hand diseases such as chickenpox and measles still occur frequently today despite vaccination programmes administered to high percentages of the population for quite some time now. The mentality which blames those unvaccinated few for spread of the disease is an interesting phenomenon in itself, if the vaccine is so effective for protection against the disease surely it is unnecessary to be concerned about ‘catching’ the disease from the ‘unprotected’.

2. Vaccinations work on the same principles as Homeopathy and function to strengthen the immune system

Homeopathic principals use small doses to ‘treat like for like’. There is such a minute amount of the disease taint administered in order that the body recognise the blue print for what protection it needs to take without being overwhelmed by toxins in such a quantity that it may seriously compromise the immune system. On the other hand vaccinations use like to prevent like, rather than to treat the invader before it has naturally entered the body. Furthermore, doses are many hundreds of times higher than used in homeopathy which has the knock on effect of compromising the immune systems overall protection capabilities against other potential invaders and diseases. This is why so many children suffer negative side effects such as skin eruptions and fevers soon after they have been vaccinated.

3. Vaccinations are suitable for all including vegetarians and vegans.

There has been much publicity in recent years surrounding the possible links with autism and the highly poisonous vaccination preservative, Thimerosal aka Mercury, a known toxin to the human body. Despite knowing this ingredient as a potential hazard you may be blissfully unaware of the other delights incorporated into the ingredients of your little one’s many jabs. Here’s what’s not written on your doctor’s appointment card or immunization leaflet…

(excerpt taken from http://www.opitslinkfest.blogspot.com)

Aluminium has been found to be toxic to the human body, Formaldehyde is a component of carpet glue, and Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is a flavour enhancer which often causes food intolerance reactions such as migraine headaches.

4. Statistics support the safety of vaccines.

Statistics show that 97 per cent of all infants who die from SIDS had a vaccination within 24 hours.

(extracted from The book of herbal wisdom by Matthew Wood, p.431)

5. Vaccines do not cause allergic reactions in a large percentage of individuals.

My child is a ‘highly sensitive child’ as are at least 20% of the population. These children are highly susceptable to allergic reactions from environmental and other toxins entering their systems, often culminating in severe allergic reactions. If at least one fifth of the population are at a higher risk of suffering severe side effects then this in my opinion is an unacceptable risk. Here is just one of many tragic stories of an infant who lost their life to a vaccine: http://www.iansvoice.org/

See link for possible vaccine side effects: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm

One final point to note specific to parents of daughters. In recent times there has been a steady increase of numbers of women unable to successfully breastfeed their babies. This true story which can be read in Henry Lindlahr’s book under the section on vaccination may be of interest to those who wish that their daughters grow up and have a healthy feeding relationship with their young…

‘When smallpox broke out in sheep in parts of Scotland some time ago the sheep were mass vaccinated. Over the course of the following few years the ewes (female sheep) were unable to nourish their lambs sufficiently. With discontinuance of the vaccination, this phenomenon ceased to exist. This incident suggests a strong correlation between the incidence of female mammary gland atrophy (milk ducts drying up) and vaccination usage.

Another interesting Henry Linddlahr fact which you may find useful when considering vaccination for your children: ‘The blood of children is hereditarily contaminated with vaccines back to the third and sometimes fourth generations’….that’s a lot of vaccine in one body don’t you think!

So there’s just a few reasons why I said no to vaccination. Along with my heart-felt instinct that I’d be somehow cheating my child who trusts me dearly. I simply could not ignore the warning bells sounding in my head and arising as a vague and uncomfortable feeling of dread and fear.

What may you ask would I do then if my child contracted one of these diseases?

Well firstly I would visit a homeopathic practitioner to ease the symptoms using a ‘like CURES like’ principal and secondly I rest assured in the knowledge that because of the general advancement in health care, it is now very rare that anyone is permanently damaged from contracting such childhood diseases. Furthermore, I continue to do my utmost to build his immune system using natural, raw living foods, juices and herbs and steer clear of food chemicals, refined sugars, dairy, meat and processed grains…more about diet and natural health promotion to follow in other blogs.

NB: since writing this blog my child has contracted both Scarlet fever and Chicken Pox. We used solely natural methods for managing the symptoms whilst his body healed itself and this resulted in a non-traumatic and speedy recovery. Since then his health has been exceptionally good.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical practitioner and do not intend to give medical advice or give medical diagnosis. If you want medical opinions on this subject I suggest you watch the following documentary which features many qualified doctors.