Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Thank you doppler company.

Nothing is more unnerving than to not feel a usually active baby. His time to move and groove is usually in the afternoons/evenings, but he always lets me feel his presence a little bit each morning when I wake up. Today? Absolutely nothing. I wiggled. I jiggled. And still, nothing. I pulled out the doppler and heard the strong heartbeat immediately. Whew.

Thanks for all the comments (so far) on the vaccinations. Some people did get quite, um, "debatable" in the comments, but I won't be responding as I just have never done the research on the dangers of vaccines. I have read from reputable sources that the scientific community has debunked some of the issues, but that's all I know so I can't give my 2 cents. I'll give my opinion, but to speak to actual facts, I can't do it.

I did not main question answered at all though, which I am a little bummed about. There weren't that many people opposing vaccinations who answered though. Two people did say they don't depend on the vaccinations of other children to keep their child safe, but only one of them said they were worried about it. Another posed a hypothetical question while one anonymous just went on a dialog of his/her opinion that vaccinations don't really "work" and it does cause autism, but no mention of answering the question I posed.

I hope it's not a trend, but the people who are really against vaccinating their children seem to skip directly over the moral issues of their decision, instead spending their time to debunk the value of vaccinations themselves or on the side effects a vaccination can/could cause, including the supposed link to autism. Only one or two people left comments of this nature, but I'm also speaking from the experience of talking to people and reading some of the websites while doing my research yesterday. It just seems to me that many of these people gloss over the dangers of ~not~ vaccinating, instead focusing on the risks of the vaccination, although these risks are pale in comparison to the risk of the danger of their child contracting one of these quite deadly diseases. I really wanted to see how that was thought of in the anti vaccinations communities.

7 comments:

MrsSpock said...

After our "cessation of fetal movement" incident, I don't think I can ever go through another pregnancy without a doppler.

Molly said...

I am currently "counting on" other parents to vaccinate their kids because my son will not be able to receive any vaccinations until he has completed his chemotherapy regimen.

Were he able to receive his vaccinations, he'd get them. I am glad that they exist.

My major beef with some of the anti-vax camp is that they think that childhood diseases aren't such a big deal. Most of the time, you're right. We all had the chicken pox, sure, and most of us are fine. But it's not someone else's decision to bring these diseases back.

nancy said...

Mol, you are totally in a different category than a parent who chooses not to vaccinate but needs other parents to do what they refuse to do.

And you are so right about your beef! I totally agree. Sure, many people say "measles or the mumps aren't that bad, I know so-and-so who had it" but ask that to one of the .3% who died from it. Oh wait, you can't cause he's dead.

I'm following the story on your little man. Just wanted to say I read the updates!

Hollie said...

I don't think I've commented yet on this, but my memory might be failing me... I'm glad you have the doppler and can get that reassurance that Karl is ok.

Io said...

Oh Karl, you stinker. Move when your momma tells you.

Mareike said...

Nancy, this has been a wonderful discussion. The anti-vax folks can claim that they are not depending on others to vaccinate their children but in fact they are. Take us back to when no children were vaccinated and a significant number did die and these same people would likely be welcome a vaccine that could reduce that risk. There are horrible "childhood" diseases that we are now able to prevent with vaccines. Chicken Pox which is generally one of the milder of these illnesses is actually not so mild at all. Even if you get throught the bought with some annoying itching and maybe a few scars from where you couldn't resist scratching, the virus remains dormant in your system and comes alive in the form of shingles when your body is depleted by the trauma of a surgery or old age. Shingles is an extremely painful condition that is caused when the virus travels along nerves. I have a friend who works with autistic children and she is very upset with the continued suggestion that autism is caused by vaccination. The evidence isn't there. I feel for every child with autism and every family with an autistic child. I think that they look for any explanation and any possible help. Hopefully this will be understood sometime soon so that the proper help can be given and there will be less suffering.

Not in the Water said...

I don't have too much energy today but....I work with mainly autistic children. And here are my (and only my theories but SOME have been proven) theories on the causes of Autism

1) There is a genetic link - we have several siblings with the disease/disorder
2) Maternal age is an issue in the kids I see. One mom is the same age as mine and her oldest is 14 and I am over 28 ;)
3) The vaccinations MAY cause some autism but I think you have to have the gene and maybe the vaccine turns on the gene
4) The flu shot is NOT linked to Autism

I don't think it's totally the vaccines for autism but then again poor kids are bombarded with shots and Autism in on the rise.

But many parents with children who are autistic are a little quirky...(not all!!) and I think perhaps Autism is a disease that gets worse with each passing generation.

I think that's it. :)