My doctor has recommended that I get a Tdap and a Flu Shot at my next appointment...
Wondering if anyone has opted NOT to get these shots - and why?
I know, and have read a lot on everyone's reasoning for choosing to get the shots...so I am really just looking for insight from those that chose or are choosing NOT to get the shots...
Re: Anyone NOT planning to get the Tdap and Flu Shots??
I never get the flu shot...my kids do when they are over 1, but I never do. No good reason for that really except I always get aches, pains, flu symptoms for a couple days after when I get it so I avoid getting it.
I'm up on the Tdap booster already (before I was pregnant).
...baby #3 is here...
There are valid reasons to not get a flu shot, mainly history of Guillen Barr syndrome. I have a friend who did get it from a flu shot most likely. Howeverer it is extremely rare and I and my family continue to get the flu shot every year. As well post partum moms are extremly susseptible to viruses etc during first 6 weeks post partum it will protect you as well as baby. Pertussis is making a huge comeback. I highly recommned that shot.
We get both of these, and so will our children.
Saying, "I never get the flu so I'm not getting the shot" is the same as saying, "I've never been in a car accident so I don't wear my seat belt." They're both preventative measures. Wearing your seat belt doesn't guarantee you won't get hurt, but it makes the odds in your favor a lot better. That's the same opinion I have with vaccines.
FWIW, the CDC states there were 115 confirmed cases of infant deaths due to flu during the 2010-2011 flu season alone. To give this some sort of context, drop-side cribs were recalled after approximately 32 deaths over a decade. So while much has been made about flu deaths, I don't feel it's wildly exaggerated.
Not flaming...just giving differing opinion and info.
DD 12/20/99, DS 12/14/12, M/C 9/2014, M/C 1/2015
I disagree with you mostly because it's a guessing game with the flu shot. And the reason why it's a guessing game is because the flu virus keeps mutating. And why is that? Because of the flu shot. If you want to use your theory it's more like playing russian roulette and hoping that the time you shoot is the time you are protected. It's just a personal opinion, I don't get it because I've never had the flu everyone I've ever known who has gotten it has gotten sick within 24 hours of getting the shot. My niece even got so sick she stopped breathing and almost died. No thanks!
I will not be getting either. I was forced into getting the shot for h1n1 when that big hooplah happened, because I am a health care worker and I have never been more ill in my life.
When I started researching into vaccines there were too many things that I just couldn't agree with (such as ingredients). So I made the very personal decision not to receive any more and that my future children would not receive any.
I do not think I am selfish in any way for choosing to not inject these ingredients into my body or LO. I do not judge anyone for choosing to get them. It is a personal choice and those who opt out of vaccines have usually done much research as it is a hard decision to come to in a society where you are viewed so negatively to do so.
(for what it's worth, my MD has not vaccinated her children after her own children)
My phone won't let me do the little icon, so THUMBS UP!
There are 2 types of flu shots. One that is a weakened form of the virus and one that is a dead form. When people get sick from the flu shot, they get sick from the weakened form while their body builds up the immunity. However, this is NOT the one they give to pregnant women, because getting the flu while pregnant can be very dangerous. Unless you're one of those people who gets sick after needles in general (my sister is like this) there is no reason that you should get sick.
I never got a flu shot before last month. I have had a healthy immune system and saw little need. However, now that I'm pregnant it was different. For one, the immunity that the shot gives you will be passed on to the baby, who would not have a strong immune system. Plus, it is also super dangerous for infants to get the flu, and my baby is due in the middle of flu season. My doctor also recommended anyone in my household get it as well.
The main thing that made me get the shot more than anything else is when my doctor said that he also normally skipped getting the flu shot, however, his wife is pregnant and for the first season in years everyone in his house is getting the flu shot this year. It's hard to argue with the fact that a doctor who's been delivering healthy babies since the early 80s is following this same advice he's giving to patients.
I totally called this kind of craziness earlier...take a breath and THINK before you accuse anyone of being uneducated. You don't have the slightest idea as to whether or not anyone on this board is educated on a topic. And to be quite frank, you don't sound any more educated yourself, blindly following what a government agency tell you to do. Ever hear of Thalidomide? I hate to break it to you, but just because WHO, or CDC says something is safe, doesn't make it so. And just between us, I know its shocking, but, Gasp! they don't always have the purest of intentions.
Please don't make yourself look so ignorant, by assuming you know more than anyone else.
And yet here you are again, calling people uneducated who decide to vaccinate...
Just so you know, herd immunity is not for perfectly healthy people. Not vaccinating is making it easier for these diseases to become real threats again and people with compromised immune systems are the ones who will suffer the most, including EVERYONE'S newborn babies.
And yes, I have researched vaccines and what is in them. I've read both sides of the argument.
THIS. Everyone has an agenda, including government agencies who declare things to be perfectly safe, when in fact they are not.
DH and I both got tDap and flu shots. Originally, I was going to get the tDap once I delivered; however, my nurse (who is a seasoned nurse) advised me that it would be great to pass on immunity to my LO.
That did it for me.
ITA.
We will not get the flu shot and never have, DH had Guillan Barre and the flu shot and TdAP are not an option for him. There is 1 family member on either side of our family that has had Guillan Barre, which makes me very apprehensive with these vaccinations.
THIS!!!
I have had the flu once, and I was eight. I have never had a flu shot. I'm getting mine next week. The dead one. When I was eight, I was sick for a week, then I got better. No harm done. But flu is potentially fatal in pregnant women and infants.
As far as the tdap, I am undecided, but leaning toward doing it. I need the booster anyway, and I can't find a good reason not to get it, but a zillion reasons to do it.
I think both camps are cray cray...those who dismiss everything the medical community says and those who just listen to them blindly because they are doctors. We are parents...we have to be personally responsible for our children's health, not to mention our own, and that means hearing both sides.
First Child born
5/5/14 and 6/5/14
11/14
Chemical Pregnancy
9/5/15
Second after severe bleeding for 18 weeks due to subchorionic hematoma
Expecting Number 3 due 10/31/2020
*My Blog*
10/50 Read
my read shelf:
I get what you're trying to say, but thalidomide was on the market for less than 4 years (for pregnant women that is because it's still being used today for other purposes) and caused birth defects in over 10,000 children worldwide. The flu shot has been used with rare adverse effects for decades on millions of people worldwide.
However, I do agree with BLuvs. People who are adamantly anti-vaccine/medicine or blindly believe anything the government tells them are both crazy. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
DD 12/20/99, DS 12/14/12, M/C 9/2014, M/C 1/2015
I travel out of the country a lot. I HAVE to get shots otherwise I can't travel to certain countries. I've had my shots up to date for over a decade. So the tdap is no big deal. I mean. Honestly... you couldn't enroll in college without the Tdap, MMR and other stuff. I don't see what the difference is now that you're out of school and in my case, many many moons out of school.
Plus I had no interest in getting tetanus, pertussis or diptheria - all diseases which do kill people. So my TDAP experience is for ME.
As far as flu. I had the flu once as an adult. OMFG OMFG OMFG. I don't ever want to go through that again. I got the flu shot two weeks ago at my OBs office. I didnt get sick. I got the flu shot last year because my mom has cancer and her doctor wanted to be sure that my mom's primary caregivers don't get ill. I didn't get sick.
So it's not always about the baby. Sometimes things make good sense.
That said, I respect the decisions of those who don't get shots. I just don't want those people coming to visit my mother. She's got even less of an immune system than a newborn baby will have...
These arguments are just ridiculous.
People should just leave it at, if people want to get vaccinated (not matter for what) then so be it, it's their body, their choice. Same should go for people who choose not to.
IF the person who chose not to get vaccinated ends up passing something onto other people, then that's on their conscience.
Bickering over shiit like this is dumb. No one is going to change anyone's stance on it either way.
Yeah, not why there are different strains of the flu. There were always, have always and will always be different strains of the flu virus just like many viruses.
Agreed!
I am choosing both but for personal reasons based on history.
I used to get the flu every year followed by a horrible case of bronchitis. I was down for at least 3-4 weeks. Then I started getting flu shots every year and now I don't get the flu anymore and never experienced any side effects. Therefore, based on my personal experience and evidence, I know the flu shot works for me so I am pretty sure even the anti-vaxers would tell me I am dumb for not getting it when I have a proven history.
I will also be opting for the Tdap, but in the hospital after delivery, not while pregnant.
I have a good history with vaccines though. I have received everything I should have and have never had a reaction, so I am a good candiate as are my children. I also don't put a lot of other drugs in my system on a regular basis which I think impacts how my body responds. Right now, due to pregnancy, I am taking both allergy and heartburn meds. They did not affect my flu shot, but I would rather they get out of my system after birth before I receive anything else.
This is laughable. Why don't you provide proven scientific research that shows not vaccinating is more beneficial than protecting you and your child against deadly communicable diseases. You better believe I do research and don't "blindly follow government organizations". How many scientific proven studies would you like me to list? I could list dozens.
There aren't two sides to this debate. People who vaccinate are making the right decision for their children and public health in general. People who do not are jeopardizing their children and public health in general.
Unless of course you can cite resources that prove your point. Of course we all know none exist. Go ahead...prove me wrong! Post something valid.
Here is the thing, I don't require a scientific study to make me feel as if injecting aluminum, mercury, bovine cells, or monkey kidney cells into my or LO's body is not something I want to do. I choose not to vaccinate not for personal reason, and as I said in pp, it's a hard long fought decision to come to because people like you are on attack mode. I would feel like I am jeopardizing my child by injecting those ingredients into them. I have done research on both sides, but there are just some big issues I still have with vaccines.
I agree with the vaccines in theory, I DON'T agree with how they are carried out.
But, I would never tell someone they are wrong for vaccinating. We all come to the decisions we do for personal reasons. I dont think in this day in age anyone is uneducated about this topic. But like any big decision there are many ways to look at it. At the end of the day, it's what you feel good about.
Did you respond to the wrong person? I never called anyone uneducated and was telling someone else not to do so. I also said that I do vaccinate. My kids are both up to date on all vaccines. The only ones we don't do are flu shots and the newborn hep b. I've never said anything about herd immunity or suggested that other's shouldn't vaccinate. I did say it's wrong to assume that someone who chooses not to vaccinate is uneducated, and that blindly doing what a government agency says is safe is not always the best thing. I don't get you saying "here you are again calling people uneducated who decide to vaccinate" That would be me calling myself uneducated, wtf?