Half of Babies Are on a Slower Vaccination Schedule – Should Yours Be?
Half of Babies Are on a Slower Vaccination Schedule – Should Yours Be?
Are you delaying vaccinations for your baby? If so, you're part of a growing trend. Vaccination delay (not following the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended schedule), or under-vaccination, is something parents are doing more and more lately. It seems like we want more say in our kids' vaccination schedules, and we want those schedules to slow the hell down.
A recent study took a look at the under-vaccination trend and confirmed that it's building momentum. Nearly half of the 300,000 children in the study were under-vaccinated by at least one day by the time they reached their second birthday. What's especially interesting is that the study looked at children who were under-vaccinated because the parents chose that, and children who were under-vaccinated for any reason.
So there's the major finding that under-vaccination is a growing trend, the study also looked at what kinds of visits these babies had while they were under-vaccinated.
- Under-vaccinated children do fewer outpatient visits than on-schedule kids. (This means visits to clinics, doctors' offices, and short hospital appointments.)
- Under-vaccinated children have more inpatient visits than on-schedule kids. (This means hospital stays.)
- Children who are under-vaccinated because of parental choice do fewer outpatient visits and have fewer emergency encounters.
In other words, under-vaccinated kids go longer between doctors' visits. But here's the worrying part -- under-immunized babies also check into the hospital more often. Other studies show that children who don't get vaccinations at all are nine times more likely to get chicken pox and 23 times more likely to get whopping cough than immunized kids.
So there you go -- some information to mull over while you decide whether you want to follow the ACIP schedule or an alternative schedule -- or none at all. Every parent who made a decision about this has their unique story to tell. My son followed the ACIP schedule (more or less) and has never needed a hospital stay. But that's just my story. We're all a special case and you can't generalize from one person's experience. All I know is, I'm glad I never had to check my baby into the hospital.
And if I had to do it all over again, I might delay the schedule for my child just a little bit more, but I'd still do all those immunizations pretty much on schedule. Except that chicken pox! Damn you, chicken pox vaccine. I had the chicken pox when I was five and I was just fine. Oops -- there I go, generalizing from my unique experience.
Have you chosen to delay vaccinations? Why or why not?
We delay vaccs. We are not on a particular delayed schedule, kind of what we feel like when we feel like it! My 7mo old has had 4 vaccs now I believe (she would've had 12 at least if we went off their schedule). We only give one combination vacc at a time (MMR, Dtap, etc) but will sometimes do 2 single vaccs at a time (polio & hep b). We didn't give any vaccine at all until 4 months old. At this time we don't do flu shots and I don't intend to do the HPV vaccine either.
I've noticed a night and day difference in my children doing it this way, my first DD was vaccinated per schedule and EVERY time she was fussy, feverish, tired but couldn't sleep, etc. Doing it this way they act like nothing happened.
Quoting KaysMom06:I, personally, do not start vaccinating until my children are 3-4 years old and their immune system has time to work on its own so it can deal with the vaccinations. When I do get them vaccinated, they are spread out. One vaccine at a time. Not this combo crap. Yes it takes a while, but its what I feel is best. Their doctor totally understands, as she has done that with her kids. Shes very helpful and makes it so much easier to spread them out over a year time instead of getting them all done in a few months.
You are lucky to have that Dr. Every time I go to the Dr with my LOs I have to fight for my right to make informed decisions for my children. We do a delayed/selective schedule starting after 4mo old - we intend to have all our children fully covered by school age so I don't understand what the big deal is, but they make me sign things saying essentially that I'm trying to kill my kids by not vaxing on time :(
"Under-vaccinated" is such a negative term. I prefer to use "over-vaccinated" for those who follow the normal schedule.
I also think it's interesting that the author emboldened the negatives of delayed vaccine schedules and did not emphasize the benefits.
I think the next time I may delay some of them. my kid did not really have an adverse reaction till he started getting the hep a and mmr but I do think that with my next one I will try to selectively vax.
There are reasons why the schedules are created. Delaying leaves windows to become ill from the real diseases.
Quoting Emilytrademark:"Under-vaccinated" is such a negative term. I prefer to use "over-vaccinated" for those who follow the normal schedule.
I also think it's interesting that the author emboldened the negatives of delayed vaccine schedules and did not emphasize the benefits.
Yep and that reason is mega money.
Quoting mom_3.0:
There are reasons why the schedules are created. Delaying leaves windows to become ill from the real diseases.
Quoting Emilytrademark:
"Under-vaccinated" is such a negative term. I prefer to use "over-vaccinated" for those who follow the normal schedule.
I also think it's interesting that the author emboldened the negatives of delayed vaccine schedules and did not emphasize the benefits.
KaysMom, with all do respect, your reasoning is incorrect. The vaccines are much, much, MUCH milder than the actual diseases that they would encounter. By the time they are 3-4, many diseases they would normally be protected against by the vaccines could kill a child before that age.
Quoting ILoveMyFam:
Quoting KaysMom06:I, personally, do not start vaccinating until my children are 3-4 years old and their immune system has time to work on its own so it can deal with the vaccinations. When I do get them vaccinated, they are spread out. One vaccine at a time. Not this combo crap. Yes it takes a while, but its what I feel is best. Their doctor totally understands, as she has done that with her kids. Shes very helpful and makes it so much easier to spread them out over a year time instead of getting them all done in a few months.
You are lucky to have that Dr. Every time I go to the Dr with my LOs I have to fight for my right to make informed decisions for my children. We do a delayed/selective schedule starting after 4mo old - we intend to have all our children fully covered by school age so I don't understand what the big deal is, but they make me sign things saying essentially that I'm trying to kill my kids by not vaxing on time :(
When should I potty train her?
- Cafe Steph
on Jan. 24, 2013 at 1:52 PM