|
Breastfeeding
|
|
|
|
Vaccination
|
|
|
|
Children's
health problems
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shouldn't the after effects of childhood
vaccinations be discussed before you give them?
It’d make sense wouldn’t it? Yet sadly, there’s a lot that parents aren’t told.
For instance, you might think that it was vaccination that eradicated many of the ailments, like whooping cough and measles, that used to plague us in the early years of this century.
However, it’s an established fact that improvements in nutrition, housing and public sanitation were chiefly responsible for bringing these diseases under control.
You might think that, apart from a few tragic cases, side effects from vaccinations are minor and short lived.
Again, this isn’t the case. A growing number of health professionals now believe that vaccination could be linked to a host of maladies including cot deaths, leukemia, debilitating neurological
illnesses and a drastic weakening of a child’s immune system.
You probably think that the one person you feel you can trust in this debate is your family doctor.
While no one is suggesting that he or she would deliberately mislead you over vaccinations, doctors are under a lot of pressure to toe the official line.
History has shown that the medical establishment is far from immune to making mistakes. Yet doctors who raise doubts about the effects of vaccination face official censure, or worse, from their professional bodies.
Then there’s the money. Doctors who achieve between 70% and 90% take-up rate for vaccinations qualify for a financial bonus. Below that and they get nothing.
Of course, big drug companies have an even bigger interest in vaccination. They make millions of pounds a year from it. Vaccination, in short, is big business.
At The Informed Parent we think you are entitled to the independent information that will help you make up your own mind.
And that vaccination should be no one’s business but your own.
Magda Taylor
The Informed Parent
return to
top
Vaccination - there is a choice
It is automatically assumed that every parent would wish to have their
child vaccinated. Balanced information on the pros and cons for vaccination are rarely presented.
The leaflets in the surgeries are extremely biased, and much of the literature is scare-mongering.
Parents are made to feel as if they are behaving irresponsibly, when all they are trying to do is take on the
responsibility for their child's health.
Parents have been called - wicked - uncaring - no right to their child -that their child could be taken away - etc
During the measles campaign in November 1998 many parents indicated how much pressure they were under to give consent - one parent wrote to enquire how she stood legally.
Some parents experience continual harassment from their GPs regarding this issue every time they attend the surgery.
One doctor recently stated in a local NCT newsletter that not having your child vaccinated was bordering on child abuse!
Parents have often commented that they have found their doctors to be very
patronizing and unwilling to discuss the matter. This can result in a breakdown in communication which can lead to the parents changing doctors or on occasions being struck off the
GP's list.
The growing number of parents who are questioning vaccination, are not making this difficult decision lightly. They are often well read on the subject, in many cases more than the GPs and health visitors.
Many GPs appear to have a limited knowledge on the subject.
During their medical training the case against vaccination is never discussed.
- Doctors are under pressure to toe the official line.
Also by following Dept of Health guidelines ,doctors are covered in case of any litigation.
- Doctors are under financial pressures, to meet targets In some situations GPs have openly admitted that their bonus will be affected if a particular child is not vaccinated, hence the pressure to vaccinate.
- GPs continue to advise parents to have their children vaccinated and yet for their own children they sometimes choose to opt out.
e.g. Dear Sir, I am interested in any information you can send me regarding the vaccination decision. Our daughter is now 3 months old and so far we have resisted the pressure to have her vaccinated despite the fact I am a GP.
- Doctors often use emotional blackmail - such as -Your child might die if they do not
receive the vaccination. ( However, the death rate of childhood illnesses was 95% in decline BEFORE vaccination introduced.)
The graphs in the Dept of Health ‘Immunisation against infectious diseases ‘ are very misleading. .Many of the graphs only go back to the last 40 years. This does not give a true picture of the rate of decline. Major declines were happening before vaccination.
Side effects
Most doctors are reluctant to acknowledge any reactions, even if they are
occur shortly after vaccination. Many reactions go unreported, so we are not getting a true picture of how many children are being affected.
There is a lack of controlled studies and trials conducted on reactions.
With many conditions linked with vaccination the experts don’t really know.
E.g. ‘The evidence is inadequate to accept or reject a causal relation between a particular vaccine and a particular
condition’ - is often stated in the literature investigating any possible links.
It is now accepted that whooping cough vaccine can cause severe to mild brain damage.
E.g. A small 8 week old baby may experience 1% brain damage from the vaccine, which goes unnoticed. When that same child a few years later is diagnosed as having learning difficulties or
behavioral problems, no-one will be even thinking about a link with the early vaccinations it received.
What long term effects do vaccinations have on the health of children? There does not appear to be any studies.
There needs to be more independent studies made, where there are no vested interests involved.
This growing awareness is not just happening here in the UK. Throughout the world groups are setting up because of the growing concerns of parents and health professionals.
Magda Taylor
The Informed Parent
return to
top
Breastfeeding
Boosts IQ
Evidence continues
to mount that breast milk is the best milk for babies. A recent
meta-analysis concludes that breastfeeding gives babies a three-point
advantage in IQ over bottle-feed babies (Am
J Clin Nutri, 1999; 70:433-4). The
advantage is greatest in those babies born before term - another good
argument for kangaroo-type care - where the premature infant is carried in
a sling close to warmth and the mothers breast.
WDDTY, January 2000 Vol 10 no
10
return to
top
Breastfeeding
& Leukaemia
Another study has
shown that breast feeding can also reduce the risk of developing childhood
leukaemia. A large study of over 2000 children with leukaemia suggests that
breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing cancer by 20%. The effect was
strongest in those children who were breastfed for more than six months (J
Nat Cancer Inst, 1999; 91: 1765-72).
WDDTY, January 2000 Vol 10 no
10
return to
top
Breastfeeding
Fights Fat
Putting your baby to
the breast may also reduce the risk of childhood obesity, according to
German researchers. Data showed that bottledfed children were nearly twice
as likely to be obese when compared with breastfed children. In children who
breastfed exclusively for at least six months, the risk of being overweight
was reduced by more than 30% and the risk of obesity, by more than 40 %.
WDDTY, January 2000 Vol 10 no
10
return to
top
Chewing
gum can cause health problems in children if swallowed
If a small
child swallows chewing gum it can lead to a variety of health problems,
including constipation, dental problem, throat ulcers, and coughing fits.
Nemours Children’s Clinic in Orlando, USA have
isolated "dozens" of cases which they attribute to swallowed
gum, not least of which is blocked intestines.
Dr David Milov from the clinic suggests that
children should not be allowed to chew gum until they are of an age to
appreciate the risk involved in swallowing.
However, should your brand of chewing gum contain
the artificial sweetener xylitol, research by Professor Matti Uhari of
University of Oulu shows children who chewed gum (and other products) with
xylitol as a sweetener five times a day suffered 40% fewer middle ear
infections due to fewer bacteria being present at the back of the throat,
from where the infection can spread to the middle ear.
Times 5.8.98,p10
Environment and Health News 1998;3:3,p4
American Journal of Pediatrics
Express 10.12.98
return to
top
TV
makes children accident prone
There is a direct
link between the number of hours a child watches television and their
likelihood of getting physically injured, claim scientists at the Santa
Ana Hospital in Motril (Spain).
Researchers suggest that
the more time a child watches television, the less time they are
developing their physical co-ordination skills. The less physical risk
they are experiencing gives them a false idea of physical activities, and
their impression of these activities may be distorted from the images they
see.
This effect could also be
attributed to Electromagnetic Fields from the television set.
Aisling Irwin, Daily
Telegraph 15.7.98,p1
Environment & Health News 1998,3:3,p4
return to
top
Fluoride
in baby foods
Us scientists fear
that many babies are at risk of fluorosis (fluoride poisoning - first
symptoms are white flecks or permanent brown or yellow stains on the teeth)
from baby foods containing high fluoride-content chicken, particularly if
they live in areas with fluoridated tap water. They also warn against using
fluoride water to reconstitute dry baby foods and giving babies fluoridated
toothpastes or water.
Heilman et al., Journal of
the American Dental Association, July 1997.
Former Health Secretary and
keen fluoridation supporter Frank Dobson has announced that a panel of
experts will independently review all the evidence for and against
fluoridation and make a "once and for all" recommendation.
The water companies have
agreed to stop blocking Health Authority requests for fluoridation provided
the Government indemnifies them against any resulting claims for damages.
David Brindle. Guardian.
29.5.99 p7
return to
top
|
