Oh, really? That’s interesting. Way to misquote me, Gillian. I would never say breastfeeding is “gross”…it’s just not for me. I have no desire to ever breastfeed (I would be uncomfortable with it and have no desire to be tied down in that way, especially with my career as it is) but I wouldn’t call it gross. And what do my (misquoted) personal views about using my boobs to feed my child (or not) have anything to do with this conversation? I find formula to be an acceptable alternative. A happy and mentally stable mom who uses formula and lovingly feeds her child is better than an unhappy mother who possibly resents having to feed her baby.

My child, by the way, is 7.5 years old. NO ONE CARES about whether or not your child was breastfed when they’re 7.5 or 6 or even 5. Moms seem to snap out of that BREASTFEED OR YOUR CHILD WILL DIE mindset when their kids are a bit older and they get some perspective.

Also note that breastfeeding or not breastfeeding only has an impact on me and my child, unlike your choice not to vaccinate, which impacts everyone around you, especially those most vulnerable (infants too young to be vaccinated, pregnant women and their fetuses, people with compromised immune systems, the elderly, and those for whom immunization did not produce sufficient immune response). I have made a career out of examining parental beliefs and attitudes and the ways they impact the health care interventions they choose for themselves and their children. Hopefully my research will have the end result of more families trusting science and doing what is best for their children and society as a whole.

Formaldehyde is an ORGANIC CHEMICAL comprised of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. It is also PRODUCED BY the human body. The amount of formaldehyde contained in a vaccine is tiny compared to the amount of self-produced formaldehyde in the bloodstream of a baby/child.

It’s interesting that many antivaxxers i’ve encountered have been smokers. And thus are imbibing more KILLER FORMALDEHYDE than they’d ever receive from a vaccine.

The actual science behind vaccines is quite mature, starting with cowpox more than 200 years ago. I won’t quote you the Wikipedia page, but vaccines do work best when given at the recommended ages — very young children have extremely powerful immune systems. One example is the polio vaccine, which is made up of live virus. It would kill you or me if we hadn’t already been exposed to it.

At her age, Nefarious might need an attenuated vaccine, and I’d definitely consult with the physician about available options. (if she hasn’t already had that one)

Neat.

I’m done.

(It was more of a “fuck society” where gays and lesbians don’t have the same rights as other people, people with tattoos and piercings aren’t considered professional, where anorexic-looking women are the height of beauty, where McDonald’s food is considered a meal, where no one knows where their food comes from, where obesity is prevalent. FUCK THAT SOCIETY, and I’ll say it 100x over. Go back to your herd.

Thanks everyone for the discussion, but I won’t be back. I’ll continue to make the best choice for my family and you can make the best choice for yours.

Explain why. Show your working.

I really expected to have to to try and express to you how fragile society is, how it’s made up of so many unspoken agreements between so many strangers to not fuck each other over and that yes, sometimes we’ve just got to take one for the team, for the herd, because that’s what society does for us every day, and you get that, right? It’s not like your whole argument could possibly boil down to something so inarticulately selfish, so base, so indefensibly wrong as “fuck society”. “Fuck society”!

Apparently I gave you way, way too much credit. “Fuck society”. The attitude of an anti-vaxer laid bare, that is. That’s your argument? Go and live on a goddamn rock with your pox, then. I’m with Joanne, you people make me furious.

“Fuck YOUR children”, says Gillian. “Fuck YOU”.

Absolutely unbelievable.

Ash has about a DOZEN food sensitivities and I don’t doubt that it’s lowering his immune system so that he’d be more susceptible to side effects of vaccinations. This is not a risk I’m willing to take.

And Joanne, I have mentioned before that my decision not to vaccinate my child has NOTHING to do with autism. Before you get furious with me, please don’t think that I’ve expressed all of my views and knowledge about vaccinating in Shannon’s blog comments, and please do read what I’ve said. I KNOW how vaccines work, I’ve said in here before that it’s NOT a magic wand that will protect you from an illness- they’re not as effective as what people are lead to believe.

If anything I just recommend DELAYING vaccinating until the children are older, not avoiding them altogether. As I’ve said, I MAY VACCINATE my child now that he’s bigger!

(And ignorance like yours, about when/how chicken pox are spread- (ie THAT CHILD WAS NO LONGER CONTAGIOUS WHEN YOU HAD A PART IN HAVING IN HER BARRED) is exactly why people need to do their fucking research.

You have no clue. No clue how herd immunity works. No clue how. You don’t even understand the PURPOSE of a vaccine! A vaccine is not a magic wand that prevents you from contracting an illness. At best it prevents you contracting an illness, at worst it drastically reduces the severity of that illness.

Last week I was in a pub in London and a “yummy mummy” wandered in with her toddler and older son. The toddler was in a pram and was absolutely riddled with chicken pox. I overheard her telling her friend she was hoping the other child would catch it “so he will become immune”. In addition to this, there was a pregnant woman standing very close to her (I don’t think she had seen the very ill child nearby). I was so furious I didn’t trust myself to say something to her myself, so I went to the landlord and told him I was leaving because I was so disgusted this woman was permitted in his pub.

I went back there a few days ago and found out he’d asked her to leave and barred her. Victory for common sense.