How safe is the flu vaccine in pregnancy?
Ugh. I've been dreading this one because I don't think I'm going to be very helpful here. There could be an entire website devoted to the controversy surrounding vaccines (and there is) but I'm going to try and keep this as simple as possible.
I think vaccines are one of the most major health advances we have ever had and we should never lose sight of how horrible the diseases are that they prevent.
The flu kills approximately 36,000 people every year so it's worth being frightened. It doesn't look like the flu itself will harm your baby but treating you for influenza becomes complicated while you're pregnant and if you get really sick and kick it, well, that's not good for either of you.
On the flip side, the government puts a lot of cash into telling you how safe vaccines are but they aren't as benign as they claim. Since 1988, the US government has paid out $847 million for vaccine related injuries. Not to mention, thimerosal is still in flu shots along with other crap that doesn't sound like it should be injected into you.
It's also tricky when they have to guess which flu strains are coming around the bend to make the vaccines ahead of time so they may or may not have guessed correctly that year.
So do you get the shot and run the risk of neurological damage to your kid or do you skip the vaccine and leave yourself open to a preventable and possibly deadly disease? Charming choice.
I resent the fact that people are put in this position and that greed and ass covering over shadows the safety of everyone's health. All these politicians need to stop snorting coke off hookers and come out once and for all with the risks on both sides so people can make educated choices. The air is getting thin up here on my soap box so I think I'd better drag it back into the corner before someone asks me about the food industry and I pass out.
*editor's note: this post is about adult, pregnant women getting vaccinated for the flu and not about children getting vaccines so please don't leave horror stories about a 2-year old dying of the chicken pox here. Thanks.
search: unadjuvanted vaccine, thimerosal, influenza pregnancy, swine flu vaccine ingredients, vaccine injury compensation fund
40 Comments
Reader Comments (40)
My son was hospitalized with the flu when he was 7 weeks old and thus too young to have the flu shot. (I did have the shot when I was pregnant, but did come down with the flu myself 6 weeks postpartum. Such a lovely time of life...!)I do not know if your baby has been born yet, or what you've decided about the shot, but if you can imagine, picture yourself in the hospital with your little baby with tubes and wires all over him/her, not knowing what is wrong! I myself will take the THEORETICAL and UNPROVEN risks of the flu shot over the very real and well-documented risks of the flu any day. The flu has killed millions of people! Even the most anti-vaxers don't claim the vaccine has killed millions of people. I do not believe there are any respected scientists around today who believe vaccines cause autism. Further, you can't go by the facrt that medical companies have paid out to settle lawsuits. It's basic law economics 101 that it's often cheaper to settle lawsuits than it is to fight them, even if you know 100% that you are correct. A jury is likely to have done too much internet reading and award a parent because their sad story has tugged at their heart strings; not because they understand the intricacies of immunology and pathology. Get the shot! :) (Don't take any of this offensively, please. I have an inability to not comment when I see things like this about vaccines, which are undoubtedly one of the most major health advances of the 20th century or in history)
Thanks taking the time to post such a great response!
You are so right that vaccines are one of the (and I would argue the most) major health advances in history.
There are a few compelling arguments floating around there that vaccines don't cause, but can contribute to the rise in autism. That said, many people would prefer to run the risk of having an autistic child than a dead one.
The one thing I can tell you is that there is a TON of arguing and name calling going on about it and isn't very helpful for those of us steeped in the middle of a flu epidemic. I just wish somebody who wasn't making money from selling vaccines or suing the companies making money from vaccines would do a study to find out what the risks really are on both sides
More importantly, I can't even imagine how awful that experience must have been for you. It must have been both terrifying and heartbreaking and not something any mother should have to go through. I'm really glad the outcome was good.
Thanks again for the great post.
Hi!
I just wanted to throw this out there because, like you, I'm not entirely confident in our vaccines and yet, I believe in the good work they do in keeping the majority of us relatively healthy. I gave birth to my second child last year. It was smack in the middle of flu season AND during all the hullabaloo about H1N1. My family does not get the flu vaccine normally but because I had a newborn in the house, I wasn't sure if our usual policy of abstinence was the best course of action. I prefer a more holistic approach to health care and I felt like there had to be an alternative to the flu vaccince. In my own research, I came upon many studies that found Black Elderberry Extract to be an extremely effective deterant and treatment for the flu. In fact, a recent study was done in the fall of last year that identified two bioflavinoids in the elderberry extract that bind with the flu virus and stop it from being able to replicate. Flu patients that were given the extract made full recoveries within 48 hours. Patients that were given the anti-viral drug (can't recall the name off the top of my head) made complete recoveries within 5-7 days. The studies I read were compelling and convincing. Search for 'flu & elderberry' to take a look at the studies yourself. Just thought you might like to know... BTW - I put my whole family on the extract all flu season long and we remained healthy. Could be luck. But then again, maybe not. Who knows. Thanks for the great website!!
Please oh please tell me what you think about the domestic car industry! Your comment about politicians snorting coke off hookers had me laughing for an hour.
Love you blog and all of your posts, but really have say I was disappointed to see you make a reference to autism and vaccines on this.......if you were going to bring it up, I'd at least to hope to see you mention both sides of the controversy. I'm going to sound pro-vaccine by this, but I'm actually quite choosy about them. At any rate, the ONLY studies that have found a correlation (mind you, not even causation) between autism and vaccines were produced by Dr. Wakefield. The study design was flawed (in favor of finding the result he did), and he was funded by groups seeking that exact conclusion. Since the studies have been published, everyone involved with Dr. Wakefield has withdrawn their names, and the New England Journal of Medicine that published the findings has made an appeal to correct itself. But the damage was done, autism has not decreased even though some families are now choosing to go vaccine free. However, measles outbreaks HAVE increased, to a huge degree, with severe complications including encephalitis. The truth is, we don't know why autism is on the rise--that's one of the reasons The National Children's Study is underway--so we can find out! It's an individuals/parent/family choice whether or not to get vaccinated, but all of the information should be available to them to make an informed decision.
Thanks for your comment but most of all thank you for not going nuts on me here.
I'm sure you can appreciate how much I was dreading this post when you consider all the controversy surrounding vaccines.
I tried very hard to choose my wording carefully in this post so I didn't imply that vaccines cause autism but I think I'd be a little neglect if I didn't mention it as part of the controversy. Yes, the Dr. Wakefield study was debunked but there are a handful of cases where lawsuits surrounding vaccine injuries were awarded (Hannah Poling comes to mind) so I was just trying to illustrate the side of why they aren't as benign as some would suggest.
Like I said in the post, I think vaccines are one of the most major health advances we have ever had and we should never lose sight of how horrible the diseases are that they prevent.
I was merely trying to give a short explanation on both sides of the controversy so people can decide for themselves but as I said right off the top, a whole website could be dedicated to this topic.
Thank you again to everyone who has been posting on this post. I'm really grateful for the intelligent dialogue and I'm sure the people reading it appreciate it too.
Disappointing that you're treating both sides as if they have equally valid arguments. They don't and it's ok to admit it. You shouldn't put a lawsuit on the same standing as scientific research.
the point is, big pharma and the government hold back a great deal information from the public. the point is, the majority of the research done on vaccine safety is unreliable as a good bit of it is done uncontrolled and funded by and performed by the vaccine companies themselves instead of an unbiased, un-lobbied party.
the point is- vaccines make mega bucks for our country and none of the big guys upstairs want the public making 'educated decisions.' the point is, they spend countless dollars on propaganda to frighten the public into submission; it's much easier to make money off scared little lambs than clever lions.
We do not vaccinate at all and i have 6 kids 3 are not vaccinated at all 3 are fully (before i knew better) my oldest is 13 and they are fine and dandy and healthier than ever. Ha many people are vaccinating and yet not getting booster shots? If you have not had a booster shot in your adult life..than u are no longer immune. My fully vaccinated son just got over the mumps which he was vaccinated for. Also they have horrible ingrediants in them
http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.html
I think before people go and follow what some ped says about what to do with YOUR child..you need to stand up and be a mother first and stop letting doctors and the government tell you how to be a mom.. American women these days are acting like we are not in control of our own families.... They are your kids.. find out what THEY are putting in your kids...
I question vaccines for many reasons. This is just one. It is recommended to vaccinate a newborn for hepatitis b. http://www.immunizationinfo.org/vaccines/hepatitis-b
Hep b is transmitted by blood to blood contact or having sex with an infected person. http://www.stdservices.on.net/std/hepatitis_b/facts.htm
How many newborns are having sex and sharing needles?
How much money does the company producing the vaccine make from vaccinating all those newborns?
I can't resist commenting on posts like this... People who are against vaccination often will say things about how greedy pharmaceutical companies are and how they just want to make money and don't care about the damage their products could do. Well that is pretty illogical, dead people are not return customers but their estate could sure sue them. And how come it is that if the government promotes a vaccine after it has been tested by scientists to ensure that the risks are minimal and the vaccine effective it is propaganda but if someone decides that vaccines are the cause of all the problems in the world they can write all kinds of false claims and people believe and cite them as if they knew what they were talking about? I've spent the past nine years of my life in college and am currently working on a graduate degree in microbiology, if I even thought about making unsubstantiated claims like the anti-vaccination groups do I would be out of a career field.
The fact is that there is no such thing as a risk-free vaccine, BUT the diseases that vaccines are developed for have significant risks associated with them, more so than the vaccine. That is part of the testing process for a vaccine, finding out what the side effects could be and comparing them to the severity of the disease they protect against. With the flu vaccine there are literally millions of people in the US alone who get vaccinated, I am one of them (I won't advocate something I would not have for myself). Generally people tend to have some localized pain at the injection site, some people might get a slight fever and feel a little crappy, that is caused by their body's immune system fighting the vaccine (many symptoms of diseases are actually caused by the immune system fighting off the infection and not directly by the pathogen itself). Compared to getting the flu those side effects are nothing, I know as I have had the flu twice before I started getting vaccinated. The risk of having complications from the flu far exceeds those of the vaccine and they are much more serious. Unless the person is allergic to eggs getting vaccinated is a good idea. I actually helped a friend of a friend figure out that her egg allergy was the reason she got very sick after getting the flu vaccine, apparently no one told her that the vaccine is produced in eggs and therefore not safe for those allergic to eggs. (How messed up is it that there were several years between it happening and my posting on my friend's wall that people allergic to eggs shouldn't get the vaccine and that making her realize what happened?! Her doctors should have figured it out and told her!)
As for the fear of there being a link between vaccination and autism that was pretty well discussed, large peer reviewed studies have shown that there is no correlation between them. It reminds me of something my slightly nutty grandma read, it was trying to suggest there being a link between deodorant use and breast cancer because so many women who had breast cancer use deodorant. They neglected to mention that most people wear deodorant and never develop breast cancer. Most claims I come across are of that nature, people trying to connect the dots. I can definitely understand why they do, especially in the case of autism where there is little known about what causes it and all a parent cares about is the health and well-being of their child and figuring out what caused it and what they can do about it. Unfortunately the anti-vaccination crowd seems to prey on these people to further their agenda, because it is not enough to put their own children at risk apparently. I think you worded it well, bringing it up without saying that it is fact.
An issue that came up during the H1N1 pandemic was that of an influenza vaccine that was produced in 1976 that caused some people much harm and was recalled. That was over 30 years ago, to say the least technology has changed since then. Currently I am working on writing up my first research project for publication, if I were to use only 30+ year old references there is no way it would get published in any respectable journal and I'd probably have to work hard to get a disrespectable journal to accept it.
In contemplating the issue of why there seems to be an increase in people listening to the anti-vaccination groups I think that it is partly due to how well vaccines work and the ease of information sharing brought on by the internet. Before vaccines were developed people, especially small children, died of these diseases. It was a tragic fact of life, my great aunt was one of these children and as a result my grandma never knew her sister. Parents lived in fear that their child would get one of these diseases and there was pretty much nothing they could do to help them. Now that there are vaccines against such diseases they very rarely cripple or kill our children and therefore do not seem very serious. And with the internet it can be hard to tell the difference between the corn and the bull shit (nice farm reference from my daddy for you). Example, I once made a very intelligent sounding argument that chocolate iced donuts were a health food, enough so that a fellow grad student thought I was serious until she read the ending. If you didn't know that donuts are not necessarily super healthy would you question someone saying they are? Just look at soy, there are people who claim that it is the ultimate health food that will cure what ails you and those that claim it causes homosexuality when fed to young boys (I kid you not, I read a crack pot article making that claim). The truth is that there are benefits to soy but like everything it has its drawbacks (though the homosexuality thing is not one of them, haha). I wish that there were a way to filter out the crap on the internet but between freedom of speech and the vastness of the world wide web it is impossible.
And it is true that there are vaccines that most adults do not get boosters of and therefore lose immunity to the disease it protects against, whooping cough is one that made the news when an outbreak of it was discovered. In normal healthy adults it just causes a persistent cough that most people figure is just a cold and eventually they get over it. It is in small children that whooping cough is very dangerous. Because of the risk of an infected adult coming into contact with a baby who has not been vaccinated they now have tested and had approved an adult version of the vaccine and it is now included in the tetanus shot. The mumps outbreak seems to have been isolated to people who missed their booster shot due to it not being required for a short amount of time in certain areas. I was in the area of the outbreak but since I am from Chicago I had both doses of the vaccine I was not at risk of contracting it like the locals and probably some of the international students.
Not to offend but the argument that a parent knows what is best for their child is just not 100% true. Look at those people who don't believe in any medical intervention and let their children die of easily treatable illnesses/conditions. Parents are put in a very difficult position of making decisions for their children that can possibly have serious consequences. And you get bombarded with conflicting information that can sometimes be difficult for people in the field to sort through let alone someone who knows little about the issue but is now expected to make informed decisions. Like will letting them play violent video games turn them into serial killers or will giving them juice with high fructose corn syrup make them fat? And of course there are those wonderful claims that all-natural remedies effective and safe. Many of them have nothing to back those claims and some of them can actually be dangerous but they neglect to tell you that part. My advice, vaccinate the kiddies and yourself as recommended by your doctor and try not to sweat the small stuff too much.
I, too, was a bit sad to see the position you took here. I love love love your blog, and I totally understand that it is a whole lot of responsiblity to be putting out information on every-possible-preggers-thing out there. Since so many awesome loving parents are trying to find good information online, I am really demanding of any vaccination posts. I think my points come down to the following:
1) Not everything needs to have two sides. The anti-vaccination movement is not based on science, it is based on fear. That is a horrible position to come from - especially as a parent. But, in all, the fear is not about facts. And there is a whole lot of good scientific information supporting vaccination programs being put out by non-pharma sources. There are tonnes of excellent scientists and medical professionals with no links to the money side who support vaccination. The major anti-vaccination people ARE tied to money via patents, books, research dollars, etc.
2) Money - big pharma companies make WAY more money off of diseases than they do off of vaccinations. If you believe that doctors are in on it, too - they also don't make any real money off of vaccinations (especially since most are administered by nurses). A doctor would bill way more hours if we had an outbreak of polio than they do now. Vaccinations are so cheap that it is tough sometimes to convince pharma to bother making them (when trying to treat various outbreaks in developing countries). Again, with R&D, treatment drugs, etc - diseases are the money-maker.
3) Lawsuits make some things worse. Because of the willingness to take everything to court, there is currently an excellent anti-morning-sickness drug no longer available in the States. Everyone and their dog is taking it in Canada and the UK, but not in the States. Doctors and midwives tell women how to 'make it themselves' (pretty much an anti-histamine plus vit B) but the actual drug was better because it was time-released. My point - it is here - is that people started thinking it made mutant babies. No matter how many studies were done that said it didn't, people caught wind and started gathering up their pitchforks. The pharma company decided it wasn't worth it to battle it out every time someone wanted to take them to court and try their luck at this case. So they pulled it from the US. Now pregnant women who suffer from life-threatening (baby-threatening) levels of morning sickness cannot get this drug.
Sometimes the mob-mentality coupled with a specific legal system makes people suffer.
Yeah, but I still love your blog. I just had my little bits I had to share. It does make your brain hurt, hey?
In efforts to make this quick & not a story.
1). The goverment was, has & always will be under-pressure by the majority of people to step in & fix things (i.e. diseases), so they have to come up with something.
2.) Vaccinations are not guaranteed nor are they 100% safe.
3) Have you ever read what goes into vaccinations?
4) All diseases like this have life cycles. It's not necessarily that people didn't vaccinate or not, more about the cycle hitting again. It's up to us as individuals & parents to educate ourselves on the pro's, con's & alternatives. Simple things like good diet, hygiene, and simple washing of the hands goes a long way.
5) If treated properly, the flu can be harmless if the proper steps are taken. I've had it several times throughout my life & I've been able to take care of myself.
6) Most diseases, when caught as a child, can be mild, again if treated properly. They will also build up an immune to it for the future. For example, if a child never gets chicken pox they are not immune to it. If they get it as an adult, it is 5x worse & more harmful.
We are in such a pescription saturated life. What drug do you know of that doesn't have a lengthy list of side effects? There's other choices. I'm not against conventional medicine, but it's not the only answer.
Anyways ~ just a few things I wanted to throw out there. Believe me, I could go on & on. Whatever people decide on is THEIR choice, not some doctors. To say that we should just do what our doctors tell us is ridiculous!!! Don't get me wrong, doctors are wonderful & have a plethora of knowledge & of course we want to hear their thoughts, ideas, suggestions etc. but it's important & key word here is important, to do our own research as well and then make an educated decision.
When I was pregnant with my 3rd earlier this year, my husband got on the anti vaccine bandwagon. I convinced hime that he should at least do some of his own research, rather than just listening to his friend. While working that out, we also decided early on that we wanted a natural, water birth with a midwife. And then I had my 20 week ultrasound and found out our little bundle had a very rare heart defect. Bam! Our natural, stress free delivery seemed a distant memory. And vaccines! Least of my worries.
Initially our idea was that we didn't like the idea of a newborn getting so many drugs so young. Instead we were worrying about our newborn needing immediate heart surgery. Uggh.
We did get to have a natural delivery with our midwife. However it took place in th OR so our baby could go straight to the NICU. (stress free? Ha! I was screaming "I can't do this!" and trying to close my legs. Quite humorous now!) And immediately he was poked, prodded, given ivs, etc. After 3 hours they brought him to me in an incubator before taking him to the Children's hospital. Anyway- vaccines.
Our little man has all of his vaccines, 100% up to date. Our 2 others have all of theirs. We all get the FLU shot. And our little guy also gets a special (read:expensive!) RSV vaccine once a month. It is just way to risky for us to expose him to these illnesses with his compromised immune system. But if he had been born a normal healthy little baby? I don't know. We never finished looking into vaccines once his problem was diagnosed.
Side note- my baby is doing well now. He is 7.5 months old, had 2 open heart surgeries, and is developing like any other baby. Just started crawling! But every 2-5 years he will need surgery, so staying healthy and vaccinated is a way of life for us.
Autism does not kill. Whooping cough (and several other vaccine-related diseases) does.
Thanks for not vaccinating your kids. Someone like you did not vaccinate their child, who got whooping cough, who passed it on, and almost killed my 3 week old baby. I hope you never have to get several Code Blues called on YOUR child over something that should not even be prevalent anymore.
Please don't be ignorant...vaccines were created for a reason.
i came across your site because i looked up the flu vaccine for pregnancy, my friend who just had a baby is very natural and is telling me not to, her baby is only 1 but very healthy, and my sister who has a 2 year old who has had all her shots is constantly sick. it's a very hard decision i can understand why you were weary about the subject. from certain stand points i can agree on the shot but for the most part i dont feel it is needed. however i am still doing my own research and agree with your statement, "I just wish somebody who wasn't making money from selling vaccines or suing the companies making money from vaccines would do a study to find out what the risks really are on both sides"
I'm 12 weeks pregnant and got my first flu vaccine ever during this pregnancy. My doctor gave me a vaccine with no preservatives that is specific to pregnant women.
I'm not anti vaccine I do think that tiny babies get too many too quickly now. Also chickenpox? If you get vaccinated you have to get boosters every 10 years for the rest of your life. If you get chickenpox (most people) are itchy and miserable for a week and then they are good to go.
I'm sincerely sorry to hear about your baby getting whooping cough. However, just because one gets a shoot, does not guarantee that they will not catch the illness they are vaccinated for. It's important to keep sick children away from other children, vaccinated or not, especially newborns! My babies have always stayed at home for several months before leaving the house. My children have not been vaccinated & they have never been sick. Just in case though, I have done my research on how to treat particular children diseases/illness if they catch one. I am also strict about diet & good hygiene which I know helps.
Here's a good read on someone who received the flu vaccine & what can happen.
http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/12/adult-flu-shot-vaccine-injury-nightmare-drug-store-disability-could-happen-to-you.html
This blog was written as one persons opinion, pregnant chicken is entitled to believe whatever she wants, so are all you readers. But attacking someones beliefs is ridiculous.
I have my own personal views and after seeing a friends child become permanently paralysed from the chest down because of having a cyst lanced off his backside whilst the polio vaccine was still alive in his feces and infected him with the full blown virus.
Every parent should do what they believe is the best for their child, rightly or wrongly at least you care enough to make a choice.
My curiosity actually lies with Chiropractors, they don't vaccinate their children but adjust them instead...wonder what everyone thinks of that?
The flu vaccine doesn't work, it never has according to a new collaborative study:
http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/12/10/no-value-in-any-influenza-vaccine-cochrane-collaboration-study/
Pregnant women can get a thimerasol-free flu vaccine.
All I'm saying is, don't give a little itty bitty baby something that he or she could be allergic to. The immune system is designed to fight things that are entering in through our mouths, eyes, nose, etc...not our bloodstream. My severely egg-allergic daughter would have DIED from the flu shot, several doctors have told me I am lucky I decided not to vaccinate her. I wouldn't call it luck. The FDA is full of s(%* with just about everything they do...someone is out to make a buck. I'll take my chances with the flu, and god forbid any of us gets it while pregnant, teensy, or otherwise.
First, I love your blog, and I thought that your post on the subject seemed very fair.
If you are going to get the flu shot, get the thermosil free single vile vaccine. I got this one per my doctor, as he explained, mercury can cross the placenta. He also told me that there have been studies that have found the flu vaccine to be somewhat ineffective. I got it anyway and took the chance (mercury isn’t the only terrible ingredient in vaccines). He also explained the risks; the EPA's legal limit of mercury exposure per day is 0.1 mcg per kilogram of body weight. The regular flu vaccine has approximately 25 mcg's of mercury, which is why I got the thermosil free version.
I agree that there is a place for vaccines; I will vaccinate my son at a certain age. There were four pregnant women who died last year from H1N1 at the hospital where I delivered. This is a very scary fact. I just believe that many vaccines are ridiculous. Hepatitis B, which they give to a newborn baby in the hospital has 12mcg of mercury, this is 30 times the legal limit established by the EPA. Is it really necessary? Is a newborn really going to contract hepatitis B?
Chances are nothing will happen if you vaccinate your child to the recommended schedule, but what are the long-term effects of all of these cumulative vaccines... I don't think we know yet.
i applaud your response to this situation and i can say some of the responses to it also have me a bit in awe. firstly... the decision to vaccinate or not is a highly personal thing in my opinion.. much like choosing a religion. you can pick the strict catholic, follow all the rules, never ask questions approach... or the free thinking, non denominational, question all authority approach. but the bottom line is... nobody knows 100% either way. there is no solid proof from either side to let you know what is "SAFE" and what isnt. this is something that i started researching THE moment i saw two pink lines on a plastic stick... and there a few facts that everyone i think should consider when they pick a position on this issue:
1. this is YOUR issue.. and at the end of the day this is about YOU and YOUR family. you have to do what is right in YOUR eyes and what is going to let YOU sleep better at night. lord knows you dont need anything else contributing to loss of sleep when youre a new mom.
2.the threat of vaccinations ARE REAL. if that was the case.. there wouldnt be an entire (secret) judicial system devoted to handing out settlements to families who have been on the downside of them.
3. the protection vaccinations offer are REAL. the work that doctors have done in this industry have eradicated polio... made measles, mumps, and rubella a thing of the past... and kept millions of kids free of a range of illnesses.
4. anyone who says the drug companies ARENT out for money.. are complete babbling idiots. this world (as much is saddens and disgusts me) is run by it... and i assure you drug companies are just as much out for your money as the fast food joints and tele-evangelists are.
5. do your OWN research... yes.. YOU. because this is something i researched to the point of near exhaustion.. i have had several mothers who just want to follow what i say... and i quickly remind them that how i feel about this.. is how I feel about this.. and they need to make up their own mind. i dont want anyone blaming me if their kid comes down sick... or if their child has a reaction. this is a situation you need to be educated on... so get to reading.
i know this is rather long winded... and i thank those of you who read my thoughts... but my genuine hope is that this is something that is studied more and looked at more by our government. we as a society, as a nation, as mothers... NEED more clear answers. NOT guesses, not persecution and definitely not a blanket and hush put over our thoughts and fears. and mother to mother.. please be respectful of other mothers decisions about whats best for their children. at the end of the day... we all just want healthy babies.