Given our most recent blog posts, this one probably seems somewhat out of the ordinary. I can assure you that it's not. This is something that has been on my mind for months now. What to do? Do I take the vaccine as a pregnant women? Do we chose to give it to Addie? What are the risks of the illness vs the risks of the vaccine?
I'm not anti-vaccinations. I know the staggering statistics of how easily these deadly diseases will reappear if too many refuse to vaccinate their children. I'm not a vaccination delayer either. Addie's my first though, and watching the huge number of vaccines that they give to our children at one time, I may opt for an additional visit or two to the pediatrician in order to spread some of these out with our next two kiddos. But I'm not here to start a vaccination debate...
I can tell you that I 1.) am no medical professional, 2.) don't have an answer, and 3.) am not here to tell you what to do or not do!
But we've talked to several medical professionals about the H1N1 vaccine specifically: my fertility doctor, twice; my regular OB; and Addie's pediatrician.
One thing we know for sure is that we will not be taking for ourselves or giving Addie the nasal version of this vaccine, F1uMist, even though it does not contain thimerosal/mercury. The reason being: it's a live virus. All single dose versions of the vaccine, which are apparently the ones given to children, are thimerosal/mercury free. I just wish I could find one for myself!
Another thing we know: I don't have much of a choice as to whether I take it or not. I'm pregnant. Now I'm pregnant with twins. And on top of that, I'm pregnant after emergency surgery. So to some extent, my immune system has been challenged.
I've read a lot of articles on this. Some of them were just pointless and told me nothing concrete. But I finally linked to one from a blog written by a fellow mother, Safe Mama, that seems to make the most sense. It's from the New York Times and you can find it here. It is very matter of fact vs. using scare tactics. The thing I found the most interesting was the comparison it made to children dying from the seasonal flu (last year) to the current numbers of children who have died from the H1N1 flu.
We all hear about washing our hands and keeping them away from our eyes and mouth. My mother-in-law sent us a great email about preventative measures. I've found the link to the article here. It not only had those duh things in it but some good points that I sure hadn't thought about as well.
We haven't decided whether to give this one to Addie or not. But I've pretty much been told, I'll have it. I am waiting until the end of my first trimester, which is soon!
Again, I'm not here to preach or tell you what to do or not to do. I would LOVE to know what you have decided to do about the seasonal flu vaccine and/or the H1N1 vaccine for yourself or your children...and even what brought you to that decision!!!
Hope you have a great week! Ours has certainly started off better than last week! :)
