Its almost flu season. And this year is even scarier than other years due to the H1N1 strain. I'm pregnant and my OB has recommended I get the shot. He is pretty much insisted on it. And I guess I can see his point. With my reduced immune system, the flu can be especially dangerous to me, and my child. It hard enough to breath with a 9 lb baby sitting on your lungs, I cant imagine having the flu at the same time.
HOWEVER, I am very nervous to get the shot. I have never had a flu shot EVER. Not even when I was pregnant with my other two kids. Its not the needle part of it, that doesnt bother me at all. I dont like the idea of putting the chemicals into my body. I guess I dont trust it.
And I am very worried about any possible side effects the vaccine may have on my child. The medical field loves to tell us things are safe. I was prescribed Elidel 3 days before it was taken off the market. They are now saying Gardisil may not be as safe for young girls, as they once thought. There is no way for me to tell what is actually safe, and what isnt. We have all heard about medications being taken off the market for causing more harm than good.
I am scared of any long term effects this may have for my child. I dont want to be a guinea pig for these first round of H1N1 vaccines.
Am I being ridiculous? Or do other moms have the same worries?? I know that I am suppose to get the vaccine, but I am still on the fence. Any thoughts????
If you do get the flu shot, get one without Thimerisol. Most have the additive and I was not told that it was in the flu shot I got when I was pregnant. So far so good and my ped told me not to worry about it but I felt and still do feel betrayed.
P.s. There is no such thing as "Gray's Disease". There is such thing as "Grave's Disease" but it has nothing to do with the flu shot.
My name is B. Pariseau and I am the mother of two wonderful children. I am asking all of my friends, family, and all Americans to lower their United States flags to half mast in protest of the potential victims of the upcoming H1N1 Vaccines. I say this because of the potential ingredients that are as follows:
* aluminum hydroxide
* aluminum phosphate
* ammonium sulfate
* amphotericin B
* animal tissues: pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain,
* dog kidney, monkey kidney,
* chick embryo, chicken egg, duck egg
* calf (bovine) serum
* betapropiolactone
* fetal bovine serum
* formaldehyde
* formalin
* gelatin
* glycerol
* human diploid cells (originating from human aborted fetal tissue)
* hydrolyzed gelatin
* mercury thimerosol (thimerosol, Merthiolate(r))
* monosodium glutamate (MSG)
* neomycin
* neomycin sulfate
* phenol red indicator
* phenoxyethanol (antifreeze)
* potassium diphosphate
* potassium monophosphate
* polymyxin B
* polysorbate 20
* polysorbate 80
* porcine (pig) pancreatic hydrolysate of casein
* residual MRC5 proteins
* sorbitol
* tri(n)butyl phosphate,
* VERO cells, a continuous line of monkey kidney cells, and
* washed sheep red blood
*HCG-human sterilizing agent
*live H5N1-avian influenza-leads to DNA recombination when mixed with H1N1
*Squaline- Compromised Immune System
As many of you already know of the controversy between Autism and vaccination, please consider the things that could be pumped into our children. Please keep in mind that the CDC and WHO are reccomending that pregnant women and children will be the first to get the H1N1 vaccine.
I ask you do this because the potential is great that you and your children will have compromised immune systems as well as neurological damage. Please also consider the current controversy in regards to the Gaurdacil vaccine and the young lives that were lost and others that are terminally ill, their immune systems shattered.
This silent protest is to represent all of the mothers in the USA that are already and those that will be grieving their children as well as other family members because of the H1N1 vaccine.
Please help me to spread the word as quickly as possible as these vaccines will be distributed within the next five weeks. Please forward this to everyone in your address book even if you have not spoken to them in a while or do not remember the person that is there or remember whose address it is. In this case the more people we send this to the better.
I BEG OF YOU PLEASE SEND THIS OUT ASAP.
B. Pariseau
I'm going to keep my advise simple......trust your instincts.
I'm pregnant and not getting it. I dont trust it either, never have. I just am sure to wash hands often. Prevention is key!
Hi Crystal --
I so understand your concerns - not that I'm preganant, those days are long gone... LOL
A couple of years ago, my DD's pediatrician, really pushed me to give her the Gardisil shot. I was hesitant and felt I should wait another year or so, and he was OK with that. Now he no longer pushes the shot due to the reactions that some girls are having and I'm happy I waited.
My concerns are the same with the H1N1 shot. The last time we had a swine flu vaccine in 1976 many people had bad reactions - 60 Minutes did a story on it.
My doctor feels that even though the H1N1 vaccine is being tested, the groups are small, and we won't really know if there's a concern with reactions until thousands get vaccinated. I've never had the flu, nor has anyone in my home, so because I have concerns and my doctor isn't all for it, we'll take our chance on the flu and skip the shot.
As for my advice to you -- follow your instincts. :)
You are pregnant and probably more intuitive than ever- trust your gut feeling.
Just because you go to a physician who has a western medical perspective doesn't mean you have to agree or incorporate his opnions in your life without question- you can embrace a variety of perspectives (in some parts fo the world, they are more "mainstream" than how your doctor thinks) and use them to augment your own inner wisdom.
I am 7 months pregnant and am not taking the vaccine. Instead, my "swine flu" protocol involves lots of homemade soups, elderberry (excellent for flu & a proven safety record, many midwives offer it to pregnant women), and limited contact- when I do go out I'll spray my hands with antibacterial essential oils (peppermint, tea tree diluted in water).
If I were pregnant, yes I would get the vaccine. Yes, I would be a little scared, but really, what is the difference between the regular flu vaccine and this one, in terms of production? Same way of developing as the others...there is a different flu strain every year and that is why there is a different flu vaccine manufactured every year. They are all made rather quickly. These are not medications that take years and years to get to the market. There is a risk with everything you do! Am I a little afraid to get my son the vaccine, yes, but he is 4 and therefore in a risk group. Honestly, I chose his pediatrician because I trust him so I will see what he says. And to the post below, I really do hope this is blown out of proportion...i think it is and i pray it is!
I'm confused at the first response. Multiple vaccines made by multiple companies are in testing right now. There are many different companies making different vaccines. To my knowledge there is no way to publish evidence of any side effects when they haven't even completed the tests and evaluated the data. Specifically which of the 8 companie's version of the vaccine has published results of that? We have seen that pregnant women have died at a much higher rate from H1N1 with no prior health problems and children are more susceptible to this flu than the elderly- that is the difference. It's a wild card too. It changes daily, so we can't be complacent and say that it is mild, when it can mutate any day to a more deadlier strain. I can't imagine why doctors and midwives would want anyone to die. The college of obstetrics has studied the risk and your ob has studied the risk. They have reviewed all the data and are in consensus of how critical it is to protect pregnant moms from this flu that as it is now, most can survive, but sadly pregnant moms don't always. There's something to be said for respecting the years of education collectively that gets a national consensus on an issue. Unless there is a massive conspiracy among ob's and midwives to harm pregnant women- but really, does that make sense?
Is this for swine flu? I am not pregnant so I don't know what I would do in your situation. This vaccines has just been developed, if we're talking about the swine flu vaccine. As for me and my children, we're not getting it. Last year we all got the flu shot. Well one of my daughters and I got the flu twice last year. We have never had the flu before. And the flu symptoms were pretty severe. So that has taken care of my decision about getting the flu vaccine this year unless they're mandatory for school-age children, otherwise no shots for us.
As for someone commenting we need to respect years of education that the doctors have. alright, lets just think about how lead paint was safe at one point, let's think about put babies to sleep on their tummies, then on their backs then on their sides. so every time the number of infant deaths went up they said ok backs now, and the other way around. So, no, I am not putting my children's health and future in nobody's hands but mine. these years of education you're talking about have put us, I am talking specifically about my family, have put us in hospitals too many times with wrong diagnosis et al. Plus this vaccine has JUST been developed. Right? how do we know the side effects, i mean long term side effects? I'd rather wait, wait a few (read 10+) years before I load my kids up with that.
Read literature, discuss it with your husband, inform yourself, then make a decision.
Good luck
