38 weeks pregnant: Why I won’t be getting the swine flu vaccination.
Last week I brought Graham with me to my OB appointment. We had been talking at home a lot about…you guessed it…SWINE FLU. Since I’m over twenty weeks pregnant, I’m one of the people considered high risk who would be able to get an H1N1 vaccination if I want to, before the vaccination clinics open up to the general public here in our municipality.
I’ve been weirded out by all this swine flu business. I have mixed feelings about it. The vaccine is so new, and I’m a pretty healthy person, so do I really want to risk exposing the baby to a substance for which there is no guarantee there will not be any harmful long-term side effects, especially mere weeks away from his due date? No, not at all.
Now, if I worked in the health care industry, or in a school or even if I worked in my office, I might consider things in a different light. But I work here, in my home, where I can control who comes and goes, who I am exposed to. The odds of my catching this thing are slim.
Public health officials say that one of the common sense measures to take when dealing with this illness is to avoid crowds. So standing in a crowded line for three hours to actually get the vaccination seems pretty counterintuitive to me.
So back to our doctor’s visit…I brought Graham with me because I thought he would feel more comfortable being part of the conversation with my doctor. My doctor is fabulous, by the way. She was late getting to us and apologized, saying, “Guess what the topic of the day is?” and began the conversation with us about it by asking what our take on the whole situation is.
When I told her that I wasn’t keen on injecting the vaccine into my body when we don’t really know how it could affect the baby, she didn’t make me feel bad. She didn’t insist I march over to one of the immunization clinics to get the shot. She said that we have to make our own mind up about what is right for us, wrote me a prescription for Tamiflu, and explained that if I get swine flu-like symptoms, to get the script filled right away.
We talked about how children tend to be overprotected these days, how they are vaccinated for EVERYTHING, not allowed to develop their own little immune systems, and this was her personal theory about why younger people are being so horribly affected by this illness.
She agreed that it is perhaps a blessing in disguise that our baby is due so soon, and that I could go to the hospital, have our son, and then take him home. We can stay home with him and ask any visitors to stay away if they’ve been sick, if they’ve been exposed to other sick kids lately, and to wash their hands thoroughly before handling him.
We’ve stocked up on antibacterial soap and have little bottles of hand sanitizer in our vehicles, near the kitchen sink and in my purse and in the diaper bag.
As we drove home from the appointment, we passed by the location where the vaccination clinic is being held in our town. Cars lined the highway. Literally hundreds of people were lined up, waiting for their turn. It would be hours before they were all seen. I felt much better about the situation. I feel like we have made the right decision for us, for our family. “Common sense goes a LONG way,” our doctor told us, and I agree.
You sound very sensible, Amy! Your circumstances seem a good fit for waiting this out, at home, with clean hands.
However, I'm a little concerned at what your doctor said about childhood vaccinations: testing out their immune systems? Vaccines provoke the SAME immune response as actually getting ill, only since the virus is not live, you don't get symptoms of being sick. There is nothing morally or immunoligically superior to getting chicken pox, say, rather than the chicken pox vaccine.
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us>
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us>
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us>
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us>
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us>
IntenseDebate Notification <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I don't think she meant that it would be wise to \”test out\” their immune system, and she certainly made it clear that she wasn't giving us medical advice on that point, just speculating her own theory. </DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left></DIV> <DIV dir=ltr align=left>I'm not one of those crazy people who avoids all innoculations. I'm all for the mumps, measles, rubella, etc. vaccines. ALL FOR THEM. Butyou know, I got the chicken pox. It sucked. I'm still here. </DIV>
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Good for you for making the right choice for your family & your peace of mind. I like the way your doctor didn't make you feel bad.
A lot of good the shots did for my kids – doc says they already had the swine flu and it must have come on right after the shot. Nice huh? Still, because of Dylan's heart & how many people/little people the kids are exposed to, I would have made the same decision.
It's such a heated issue and the world needs more level-headed people as yourself.
KayTar and I will be getting the vaccine when we can, she is high risk and I work at the hospital and have patient contact. I don't know if the boys will, they typically don't get the regular flu vax either.
I'm 38 weeks tomorrow and I got the vaccine. I didn't have to go wait in an hours long line for it though. That might have swayed me. My midwife administered my preservative free dose in her office and that was that. I am a microbiologist so I did a lot of research and actually talked to a colleague at GSK who manufacture the vaccine. I think people are a little overly hesitant, but it is the same as getting a seasonal flu shot.
I'm glad your doctor didn't try to hard sell you on the vaccine though. We all have the right to make our own decisions regarding our health care and no one should strong arm us into something we aren't comfortable with.
That sounds like a great decision for you and your family. With me having an 8 year old and a 4 year old (both in the public school system) I am not able to hide away from virus contact. So I decided the shot was the way to go.
It wasn't available at my doctor yet at my last appointment, and since then I have had a coworker who i work in close -proximity come down with it. Luckily I have not had any symptoms, so it doesn't look like I will be getting it from him. I agree that in yoru situation you dont need it as it is unlikely you will be exposed, but I wish that people would stop the scare tactics around the vaccine itself. Its just a normal flu shot -t he only thing that is different is the strain of virus that they have in it – and that is not live anyway.
Only YOU know what is right for you.
Sounds like you made the best choice for you and your family. Not an easy thing to do these days.
And we're waiting until the hype dies down before we go and stand in line for hours on end. Because like you, I worry about being exposed to the virus will waiting. Tho I do know that the vaccine isn't 100% fool proof; we still could get sick. But even if it helps to lessen the impact, I'll do what I can to protect my little girls.
I was glad, too, Karen, because a certain someone we both know had a different experience with her doctor.
I hope your kids are feeling better!
Kyla I was thinking of you while I wrote this post, and your exposure, etc. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your shoes!
I'm glad you didn't have to wait in line! We drove past the clinic again today and there was a similar line-up.
Our due dates are only a few days apart!
That's exactly the point, isn't it…that we all have to do what is right for our own family, our own kids, our own situation.
Lots of kids in our area have had some kind of flu in the last little while, so your decision totally makes sense.
Raanne, the scare tactics make me crazy, too! We watched a show on National Geographic about swine flu the other night and the rhetoric being used was that of terrorism. It was so awful. We hate to admit it, but we live in a real culture of fear.
That's something else that my doctor said: the vaccine might not prevent you from getting sick but it will probably help the symptoms be less severe if you do.
I am struggling with the decision about whether to vaccinate my two kids. I was 50-50, but once I read the ingredients I am thinking no. But I find vaccinations in general to be one of the hardest decisions about being a parent.
Mountain Momma, did you read the actual ingredients, or the ones purported online? Because there's a lot of misinformation out there. I read the packaging itself, and it's the same as the regular flu shot, no different.
Good for you for making the decision that is best for you. That is the most important thing. It is awful the scare tactics being used – I also don't enjoy the other end of the spectrum who merely laugh at those who are concerned and call us foolish. From both those sides though, I have found grains of truth – it is all about not believing any one person or medium but weeding through it all to find what is true.
On one other note (like some others have already stated) this vaccine is in no way new – the only "new" thing about it is the actual virus.
Again you have to decide what is best for you – and I applaud you for doing just that – as scary at that can be at times when facing the professionals
Sounds like you made the decision that was right for you, and based on your situation, I would probably do the same. And, you're lucky that your doctor is so supportive of your decision.
I personally will get the flu shot, but I'm still undecided about what to do for my 6 mo. I'm hoping my doctor presents some options during our upcoming appt.
~ humps
The scare tactics and general sense of panic I see in the news are what get to me.
What I don't understand is why they will vaccinate a pregnant woman but not a child under 6 months? Granted I haven't done any research on that front, but it doesn't make much sense to me.
I hope you get some good advice from your doctor, too.
I went ahead and got the vaccine, but I don't think I would have if I was due sooner. But with two months left to go, and a close call with flu of some kind last week, and advice from a friend at the Mayo Clinic whom I trust, I decided to go ahead. I was lucky, though…my OB's office had the vaccine and I was able to drive there, wait ten minutes in a nearly-empty waiting room, and then go on my way.
My poor husband is currently waiting in line at a vax clinic…I wish I knew for sure if he needed to go through all that, but with a winter baby and me working with school kids at my job, it just seems like a good idea.
I believe that too. Here's to healthy being our common
Actually, thats not true at all.
Can you please be more specific, Anna?
There is a reason why older cemeteries dating back to the early 1900s are littered with graves of children under 5. It is because they had no vaccines.
I'm sure the mothers of those children would have been the first in line at the clinic to get vaccinated if they had the choice.
I'll post the same information to my blog, thanks for ideas and great article.