Thursday, February 28, 2008

I'll take these vacines

In my descent to motherhood, I've been encountered with topics that I had never considered, let alone questioned before. One of which is immunizations for my child. I'm finding more and more evidence that is making my distrusting of the recommended immunization schedule. My husband and I decided at birth to delay the first vacines and then have since decided to use a delayed schedule and selecting which immunizations our child would not receive.

However, I found a list of vacines and a schedule that makes more sense to me, and one that I'm on board for. It is Dr. Bob Sears's "The 12 Childhood Vaccines." His list includes extended breastfeeding (2 years), eating organic and unrefined foods, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, omega-3 supplements, and probiotics as well as adequate intake of Vitamins A, C and D.

Another I would like to see added to this list is limitting the usage of antibiotics for childhood diseases. Frequent antibiotic usage can perpetuate recurrences of childhood illness like ear infections, sinus infections, and UTIs. I found that I had to stop the cycle of illness by not taking antibiotics when I had the above illnesses. Simply waiting for them to resolve themselves, while maintaining proper health and diet and using appropriate comfort measures meant fewer illnesses in the long run and none of the complications of prolonged antibiotic usage (i.e. resistant bacteria, yeast infections, etc).

I am constantly learning more about the topic of immunizations and will share any more insights I learn.

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