Our babies are already immunized – A Beautiful Design.

And a final note about vaccination (just because ‘they’ tell us our children need it…)

Drugging our babies – is it really an act of conscious parenting?

This can be a hotly debated topic, to vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Vitamin K or no vitamin K? The following is a brief look at the design that is already in place to ensure your child’s immunity, or rather general wellbeing and vitality.

Vitamin K

Vitamin K that occurs naturally is an essential component of blood clotting. It is naturally low in breastmilk, however it is very high in colostrum. 

Why? – The synthetic form of the vitamin is given either as an injection or as 2 oral doses. It is routinely offered to all newborns in the medical model of birth due to the concern over VKDB (Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding, also known as haemorrhagic disease in the newborn).  This disease occurs in 10 out of every 100,000 babies. It can occur up to 12 months of age & there are 3 forms;

1. ‘early’ (0-24 hours after the birth) –rare, mainly occurs in mothers who took anti-coagulant drugs during pregnancy.
2. ‘classical’ (1-7 days after)
3. ‘late’ (1-12 months after, although peak onset is before 8 weeks).

In any of its forms, VKDB is more likely to occur if there has been birth trauma (such as internal foetal monitoring and instrumental delivery), suffocation/asphyxia, or prematurity (if born in a medically managed birth). Antibiotics may also increase the risk due to disruption of bowel flora.

What happens naturally? -  Vitamin K1 is naturally transferred across the placenta in very low amounts. Vitamin K2 is manufactured by the infant bowel flora and therefore production is low until colonization occurs (during the birth process and with the consumption of colostrum). In a natural unhindered birth there is a rare likelihood of baby bleeding.  Colostrum is extremely rich in vitamin K.

Our babies are already immunized – A Beautiful Design.

“In the colostrum of the first few hours there are millions of immune-active cells per cubic millimeter..these neutralize and digest the most dangerous of germs. The most copious antibodies, called IgA, cannot be made by the newborn itself and are not brought by the placenta…Colostrum is in fact an army able to suppress any kind of infection..”  (Dr Michel Odent)

A baby’s immunity to the ‘germ warfare’ of the outside world is actually passed on in a beautiful continuum of symbiosis from the mother. Many antibodies such as the immunoglobulin IgG are passed through the placenta during pregnancy, however for the journey to the world beyond a child will eventually need her own defense. When we speak of the ‘immune system’, we acknowledge that there are specialized cells that control and subdue microbes that have ‘gone too far’, however we also acknowledge that the immune system by and large is a reference to the efficient functioning of the overall body and its ability to process and eliminate waste products and toxins through specific pathways of detoxification and elimination. In a word it refers to our general vitality. 

During birth as babe makes her way down the birth canal she literally swallows the beneficial flora living in her mother’s vagina which then begins to colonize her own gut and lays the foundation for defense in the outside world. As she then suckles that first liquid gold – Colostrum from her mother in those precious 48 hours after birth the nutrients and antibodies in that further work to build a healthy immune system. Despite the fact that we have numerous tissues, glands and organs which manufacture specific immune cells, the seat of our immunity largely resides in our gut.

A baby is born with a purposefully designed ‘leaky gut’ or perforated gut lining. This is to ensure that the antibodies and other immune cells in her mother’s colostrum and milk can pass directly through into her blood stream. These cells are proteins. When we introduce solids or formula (foreign proteins) before the gut has naturally sealed (as indicated by the eruption of teeth)  this sets up an allergic or immune response whereby the body tries to eliminate something it does not recognize. The ingredients in vaccines are also foreign proteins. 

With such a well-designed & ingenious establishment of immunity in our child we may be surprised to learn that the immune boosting properties of breastmilk actually continue for as long as the child breastfeed. If left to naturally wean this may mean for up to 4 years.

Clearly this design is reliant on instinctive parenting. It is also indicative of the fact that mother & baby are really two souls of the same being for at least the first 3 years of life.

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

Many parents are deciding not to vaccinate their children. Some due to increasing evidence of adverse reactions, often life changing, others for the following reasons;

• The immune system (and therefore the gut) is not fully developed, neither is the brain or nervous system. If a vaccine of such an amount is given, the baby’s immature immune system will be working tirelessly to sort it out, leaving itself vulnerable to other, potentially more dangerous infections.

I would have to argue from a Natural Hygiene perspective, are we ever ready, even as adults, for such a bombardment of toxin to our systems? Is this in the best interest of our health at any age?

• In accordance with Natural Hygiene, we know that ‘germs’ themselves do not cause disease or illness. The expression of childhood and other disease is that of the body attempting to cleanse itself of accumulated waste due to poor lifestyle habits. Specific viruses and bacteria found in proliferation at the scene of the crime are in fact acting as scavengers, such as flies at a rubbish dump. If we consume a healthful diet and practice a healthful lifestyle and raise our children likewise then illness will be minimal and in accordance with the body’s ability to heal itself.  The mode of entry of all vaccines, except perhaps the Oral Polio vaccine is certainly not how we acquire new microbes nor is it how disease occurs naturally.

• Vegan and kosher parents baulk at the idea of vaccination due to the fact that some of the vaccines have been cultured on chicken embryos or passed through animals such as cows, horses and monkeys. In 1966 the rubella component of the MMRII vaccine was cultured from ‘human foetal lung tissue obtained from a foetus aborted at approximately 3 months gestation’.

Along with these concerns are concerns as to the effects that different preservatives in the vaccines such as mercury and aluminium have on children in the short or long-term. Even if the preservatives are considered ‘inactive’, these heavy metals have been found lodged in brain and gut tissue of susceptible individuals who experience Autism and other developmental disorders and unfortunately these cannot be so readily excreted from the body.

• The theory is well meaning but in the current push for mass vaccination, many parents would like to know ‘why a vaccinated and therefore supposedly ‘protected’ child be kept away from an unvaccinated child? Who is at risk here- surely not the one who is vaccinated?’ if vaccination gave the protection it is claimed to give, no person vaccinated against a disease can get that disease from an unvaccinated person.’

• Another problem arises in the fact that most of the vaccines given to children contain ‘attenuated’ live viruses. This means that the virus has been diluted through physical or chemical processes, often by the repeated passage through cells of another species. The concern here is that the virus (or cell debris), whether this be man-made or of animal origin contained in the vaccines can often be different from the wild strain encountered in nature and therefore different to the strain that a child would naturally acquire.

• There is also the environmental impact to consider. Most pharmaceuticals including vaccines have relatively long ‘half-lives’ meaning that they don’t readily break down and their constituent chemicals continue to be active long after they have been excreted from the body. There is a warning that should be (but mostly isn’t) issued for children who have received vaccines for the measles, mumps, and rubella as well as pertussin (whooping cough) and polio, that these children should be kept in quarantine for up to two weeks after the vaccine is administered because as these are considered ‘live’ or attenuated viruses the children are therefore considered ‘contageous’. In society groups that largely live the same lifestyle we can then see how ‘epidemics’ occur. Now imagine all of those soiled disposable nappies going into landfill. With the rain and the continual piling up of waste these chemicals and activated tissue often then leach into the water table. Once these get into the waterways they then go on to cause untold damage to fragile ecosystems. 

Even if you choose not to vaccinate, what are you intending to feed your children when they wean? Please be aware that animal products whether flesh or dairy will also contain vaccines as well other pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and growth hormones which are typically stored in their tissue and milk.

An informed choice begins with having the knowledge of your child’s development, knowing what your child is being subject to and knowing all of your options.

I personally chose not to vaccinate my children. I believe firmly in the exquisite design of the birth process and breastfeeding as well as practising a healthy Natural Hygiene-based lifestyle. My children have experienced only robust health & vitality with minimal seasonal head colds that lasted no more than 36 hours. Please see the resource section for further information on raising healthy children.

If you would like further detailed information on vaccination, including the manufacturer’s guidelines, study results, and ingredient listings, as well as alternatives please follow-up the resources listed. Please be aware that the manufacturer’s guidelines, ingredients, clinical studies and side-effects of ALL pharmaceuticals including vaccines are available to the public. Your state or local university library and your local GP all have copies of the MIMS Annual. This is a book that details every pharmaceutical currently available in Australia (international equivalents are also available). Do some research, ask to see this reference at your local library or doctor’s office and make an informed choice.