Choosing Not to Delay Vaccination

By: Rachel, mother, Portland, OR

When my husband and I had our first child, we talked heavily about vaccines. In our Portland community, this was a much-debated topic often fueled by emotion, rather than science or facts. My husband was pretty pro-vaccine, as he works in the travel industry and often sees the importance of vaccines globally.  I, on the other hand, wanted to take as “gentle” an approach as possible.  As a new mom, I consulted mid-wives before doctors, breastfed both babies past 16 months, and attempted to avoid as much Western medical interventions as possible. 

I thought a lot about every decision, including vaccines.  For our first child, we gave him most (not all) of the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] recommended course, on a delayed schedule, one at a time.  As he grew older and he was more afraid of shots, it became a huge challenge and inconvenience to go back and forth to the doctor. 

Due to my exhaustion of schlepping the kids to the doctor on multiple occasions, my son’s emotional fear of needles as he grew, and the fact that I had yet to read any current medical evidence that routine vaccine schedules were dangerous (in fact, I started hearing about local outbreaks of preventable diseases in our city), we decided to follow the CDC guidelines for our daughter.  I have cut my trips to the doctor by more than half, and I also have peace of mind when I let her play and interact with children of all geographic locations, both at home and when we travel.