To Be Vaccinated Against H1N1, or Not

M.,

You are a wise mama to research.

Please watch this for more info on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1K74Tnrrok

I have an 8 week old baby - my doctor told me NOT to get the vaccination. My pediatrician also recommended NOT getting my children vaccinated. They both said it is too new and all of the effects are not known.

One of the first things that struck me that you said was that you won't get h1n1 and you won't die...wow, has the media got YOU scared! It is NOT guaranteed that you won't get h1n1 if you have the shot and not everybody who is getting h1n1 is dying (believe it or not, no matter what the media is telling us). I understand that pregnant women are at an increased risk for complications of the flu...any flu or any illness as a matter of fact. Yes, there is thimerasol in these shots (except for the nasal mist which they won't give to pregnant women). Thimerasol is a form of mercury called ethyl mercury. They tell pregnant women to stay away from fish & other things containing mercury because it is dangerous, so I don't understand why they think mercury in a vaccine is safe but no other mercury is safe...hmmm...all I can tell you is, talk to your doctor. Get their advice; also remember, don't take their word as law - they are only human & their job is about pushing vaccines & medications (it's called PRACTICING medicine for a reason...they don't have all the answers). INFORM yourself, then make your choices on what is best for your family. The reason the age group under 25 is showing more cases of h1n1 may possibly be because this is the age group that is exposed to more people on a daily basis (college students, grade school students, etc.).

Someone mentioned that studies have shown thimerasol doesn't cause autism...for every one of those studies I can show you one that shows it does...truth is, we'll never have an UNBIASED study becuase the people doing the studies have something to gain. All the studies done showing it is harmless is done by people with an investment in the vaccines; all the studies done showing that it causes harm are done by people who already believe it. These are hard choices - and I commend you for wanting ALL the facts before making your decision.

First of all, you CAN request a H1N1 SHOT that does not have thimerisol (mercury) in it. Secondly, most pregnancy guides do not tell you to completely avoid fish, but to limit your intake due to mercury content.

As far as what I am doing. I have spent many hours in tears in prayer trying to decide what is the best option for my family. I have a husband with asthma and two children with severe respiratory problems. And I am 20 weeks pregnant. All of those factors put all of us into the high risk categories. My pediatrician was not recommending the vaccination due to the amount of testing that it has gone through (one of my biggest concerns also), but my OB did highly recommend the vaccine. You can listen to people on teh news and different "experts" all day long, but it all boils down to everyone has a different opinion and they all seem to be operating on different THEORIES. What it comes down to is that you have to do what you are the most comfortable with. We did choose to get the vaccinations for myself and our two other children. For me the possible side effects of the vaccine (autism, gillian-barre, and whatever), while not good, were not nearly as scary as the possible side effects of actually catching the H1N1 flu (death for many people who have our same health issues). I will say that I weren't pregnant and if one of our children hadn't started in public school this year I would have been more inclined to not get the vaccine. If I had the abilty to just stay home and limit our exposure to the outside world for a few months I would have probably have not worried as much. But it isn't always possible to just avoid the outside world, and in our situation it just made more sense to get the vaccines. I am a big believer in following my mother's intuition. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut instincts. I personally feel a lot more at ease and peaceful, now that I have already had the vaccine. I hope that you can come to a decision that makes you have that same sense of peace.

Hi M.,

What does your OB doctor recommend? I would not vaccinate myself with the H1N1 vaccine if I were pregnant or not. There has not been enough studies done on this to determine if it is safe for pregnant women. Check out DrSears.com, they have current info on vaccines and their safety. I am not even sure that I want to vaccinate my son for the regular flu! I have not decided. The flu vaccine has the most chemicals in it than any other vaccine. Good luck.

S.

Hi M.,
I haven't decided if I will get it or not. I may, because i am nursing a young infant and I want to protect her. I'm not concerned really about me getting it, but I am about her. I probaly won't vaccinate my 4 year-old. That being said, if I were pregnant, I would be running to the OB to get the shot. The problems are 1) that pregnant women have weakened immune systems so your body doesn't reject the baby and 2) as the baby grows larger, it presses on your lungs, making it easier to get pneumonia and harder to treat the H1N1. That's why they think 1 out of 6 prenant women who get H1N1 end up in the ICU and many of those are dying. It's really scary numbers. I don't normally get the regular flu shot (but I did when I worked in hospitals and a children's clinic). However, there really should not be any difference with the H1N1 shot and the regular flu shot because they were made exactly the same. H1N1 is simply a different strain of flu and would have been in the ordinary flu shot if they knew it would pop up like this. All they did was turn around and make a new flu shot the same old way. Study after study has NOT shown that thimerosal causes any birth defects, such as autism. If you are still nervous about it, they are making shots without thimerosal, but you have to ask your doctor to order it. Good luck! It's a tough choice.

Well i am 31 weeks pregnant, and have not had the shot. At my last dr apt my OB told me that when their office gets it in he would like me to get the shot. He also told me that he will be getting it as well. We talked for a while about it, and basically he said the benefits outweigh the risks of not getting it. This is my second pregnancy with this doctor and i fully trust him and his advice.
Good luck with what ever decision you make!

I haven't taken a seasonal flu shot in over a decade, and have only had the flu twice since I quit taking it, but I got the flu every year when I was taking the vaccine. Go figure.
I do not plan to get the H1N1 shot either. It was rushed onto the market, and I am just not one to run out and get the lastest drug or vaccine, no matter what it's for. I want to see long-term test results first.
If I were pregnant, I would definitely not take it.

M.,

Well, you already have a lot to chew on, but I just wanted to reinterate that you can get flu shots (both kinds) without thimeresol--you just have to ask for the indivdual rather than the multi-dose shots. Also, the risk of complications for pregnant women with swine flu are higher. If not pregnant, I think it would be easier to decide not to get it, but do you want to risk a life-threatening illness as a mom and mom-to-be? This flu may not be much worse for the average person, but given how much earlier it's hit, so many more people will be exposed, and this one seems to hit the young and the pregnant much harder, unlike the seasonal flu, which is typically more risky for the elderly.

Anyway, that's more than I planned to say, but I mostly just wanted to spread the word about the thimeresol-free shots. I already got a regular thimeresol-free shot. If your doc doesn't get them, you might ask around.

Good luck!

I'm not pregnant, but I'm breastfeeding my infant and I received the H1N1. After talking to a few trusted physician friends, it was the best option. The flu cases they see in their offices are horrible. One told me the h1n1 would have been in the seasonal flu shot if they had realized early enough how rampant it would be. They also vaccinated themselves and their kids. I think the benefits outweigh the risks.

This is just my personal feelings on the flu vaccines in general...I don't believe that a person with a healthy immune system should mess with it by taking vaccines. I do not get a flu vaccine and my husband and my 8 yr old and 15 yr old children don't either. However, my 7 yr old has had the flu vaccine for this reason...he has a very low resistance to illnesses. The rest of us remain relatively healthy. We typically do not pick up viruses and infections, and if we do we seem to get over it pretty fast. My 7 yr old, on the other hand seems to get EVERYTHING that goes around. He has a very weak respiratory system too. So when he gets sick he is very susceptible to getting pneumonia. Therefore, we have made the decision in the past to have him vaccinated for the seasonal flu. None of us have been vaccinated for the H1H1, though and we do not plan on it. We are trying to make wise decisions in our eating habits, take plenty of vitamin C (we drink LOTS of OJ), wash our hands often, stay away from people who are sick or have cold or flu symptoms, and get plenty of rest. So, my belief on the matter is that if you have a healthy immune system and you follow those precautionary measures then your body should be able to resist infection the way God designed it to. Please note that I am NOT a medical professional and this is my own personal views on the subject. But I have to agree that the risks outweigh the benefits and that being smart and taking care of yourself is the better choice.

I want to add this...my 7 year old that we had vaccinated (and we only did this once--last year)...he still got the flu that year. Funny thing, he has been perfectly healthy this year. I think that has more to do with out awareness, and talking to the kids about precautions, and our changes in eating and vitamin intake. And we do take our kids for their regular immunizations. I have had mixed feelings about those too but most of those have had much longer time in the market and research so I am more comfortable with them.

First of all, let me stress that this is completely you & your husband's decision & that you know what is best for your family. I personally am 18 weeks pregnant & have a 2 yr. old son. I will not get the seasonal flu or H1N1 vaccine & will not give either to my son. I personally do not believe in giving these vaccines to developing brains. I did not get the seasonal flu shot when I was pregnant with my first either. Also autism is present in my family & I am not convinced that vaccines do not contribute to autism. Because of all of the chemicals in the vaccine that is dangerous to developing brains, I personally only would take the seasonal flu vaccine if I were a non-pregnant, healthy adult. I took it 5 yrs consecutively while working at a nursing home & had no side effects from it & have only had the flu twice in my adult life (zero in those particular years). I would not recommend the H1N1 vaccine period for anyone b/c I do not trust the lack of research & in 1976 there were many bad side effects from the vaccine. Also, I heard of an incidence of an uneducated nurse actually giving the H1N1 nasal mist to a pregnant woman, this is totally unacceptable, pregnant women should NOT get the live virus. Talk to your doctors & your husband & make the decision that you can live with.

I would ask your OB about it. I personally am not getting it nor am I giving it to my 3 kids, but I also don't give them the flu shot. (I do get the vaccinated though.) Like you I have done a lot of research and it doesn't seem to be worth it. We have just turned into vigilant hand washers and avoiding situations with sick kids. To me it seems if you know the symptoms to look for and get proper medical treatment you should be fine. 5 of my Aunts are nurses and work in hospitals, all of them choose not to get the shot and have suggested we do the same. If you are feeling like you don't want it, then go with your gut. If you are still wanting more info I would ask your OB since they would know the most about the benefits and risks.

What does your OB say? My husband is a physician and we are not being vaccinated. We have a 2.5 year old and a 2 month old baby. Mommy, Daddy and toddler received the seasonal vaccination. Baby is not old enough. None, including Daddy will receive H1N1. My husband sees it (is exposed) almost daily and isn't concerned. We were exposed to H1N1 (one of our friends at church was fine on Sunday night when she played with my girls. On Monday she appeared at my husband's office with a rather high temperature. She had H1N1.) At that point, the toddler took 10 days of tamaflu (spelling?) to try to prevent her and the baby from getting it. That's all we plan to do at this point. Since it is more dangerous for small children, I would definitely ask my OB and pediatrician for their opinions. Sorry, I'm not advising one way or another...just wanted to let you know what we're doing! Congratulations on the new baby!

Hello my name is J. im a stay at home mom of 2 and i highly disagree with the shot my own doc also is against it, ive nwver in my life had the flu shot or any of my children fir that matter who r 6 and 4 and they have been perfectly fine and as for u being pregnant, that shot contains things that can hurt u and the baby there is a website i read almost every day iTs called mercola.com he warns against the shot also it was only tested fir a couple of weeks and thrown at us to scare everyone into taking it also please think about this more people have died from the tradional flu than h1n1and how in the world could they vaccinate u with something that hasnt even mutated please do the research before u decide i am saying this bc im a mother and if i were pregnant i wouldnt have any such thing done to my baby or myself and there is also lottle to no proof the vaccination even protects against the virus please please do more research against it before u decide

I would talk to your doctor. A friend of my neice's who has a five-year-old daughter was pregnant and contracted H1N1. She became very sick, and they put her on a respirator and took her baby - 8 weeks early. The baby is in NICU in Texas, and the sick woman's mom is watching the five-year-old, while the woman lies in intensive care with a respirator with her husband by her side. They are going to try taking her off the respirator this week, but they don't even know if she has brain damage yet from lack of oxygen. She is 25 years old. So the virus is definately not something to mess around with when you are pregnant.
At the very least, be diligent about keeping your hands away from your face, and wash your hands frequently and carry and use germ x.

M.,
I have not personally decided if my children will get the H1N1 vaccine, but i wanted to share with you what my pediatrician and ashthma doctor thought about it.
Both of my kids, 4 yrs and 18 mo, will receive the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time this year, mainly because they started daycare for the first time and my 18 mo old has asthma. My pediatrician and asthma doctor recommended that they both get the H1N1 Vaccine as well. They told me that it is made up of pretty much the same thing and that next year they will be combined into one shot, so everyone who gets the seasonal vaccine will also be getting H1N1.
I would also ask all your doctors their opinion and then follow your instincts on whether or not you vaccinate. Good Luck!

Hi M., well I just began my search for an answer on whether or not to get the vaccine. I too have never had a flu shot, never believed in them. I checked out this site and some of the others that were suggested in your responses.
http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/shocking-h1n1-sw...
Thanks so much for asking questions we all need to ask. I appreciate it greatly as I too have decided to not get vaccinated I am now 15 weeks along.
Thank you to everyone for the info too!
A. A.

First of all I do not beleave in putting something in your body that you really do not need. I have not and will not take flu shots of any kind. God has blessed me in this, I have not gotten sick so far, and if I do then I will still trust God to take care of me. Now I do go to the doctors and make my choices of what I will take and not take. But when it comes to vaccinating I do not do that. Why take a healthy body and put things into it that you do not need. You said the president even was not going to do his daughters, that should tell you something there! I really believe it is not safe! I have done some reading on the vaccines, it is not good. Why take a chance of having some kind of problem with it any way. This is just my thought! Good bless, B. A