Vaccines, Religion, Philosophy, and Science

I'm still trying to sort out this whole vaccine business, trying to find a happy medium between "do whatever the nice doctor tells you" and "don't let anyone near your kid with a syringe, it's all a scam."

Here's what I thought was a reasonable approach to deciding whether to get a particular vaccination for the Treefrog:

I will do some research. If the vaccine is shown to be safe (ie, the side effects are less likely and milder than contracting the disease it's supposed to protect against) and effective (ie, people who have been vaccinated don't subsequently get sick) then I will say "yes" to it.

Then I find out that most of the vaccinations have aluminum in them. In some cases, pretty large amounts. In studies done on metal toxicity, a safe amount is something like 5 micrograms per 2 lbs or so of body weight. Let's say a two month old baby weighs about 12 lbs... that would put the "safe" amount of aluminum at about 60 mcg.

The vaccines scheduled to be administered at two months old have anywhere between 130 to 640 mcg of aluminum. Each.

I'm not a doctor or a medical researcher or or a genius, but, WHAT THE SHIT?

Then when you look for justification for such large amounts of aluminum, you're told that they help the vaccines work better (which I'm sure is true). Look for reassurance that there are no long-term side effects, and you find that there haven't been any studies done to measure them. (Edit: Or have there?)

When I raises these questions with educated friends, they insisted that since the introduction of the various vaccines, the disease-related deaths have dropped dramatically, and continue to drop. That NOT vaccinating your kid is an irresponsible thing that only a Bad Parent would do.

So I did some more research... and I found that yes, the mortality rates for these diseases have been dropping ever since the introduction of the vaccine. But... they had been dropping at the same rate long BEFORE the vaccines were introduced:





So that tells me that it's not the vaccines themselves that are causing the mortality rate to decline, but something else, like maybe improved hygiene & medical care overall. (Remember soap?)

Then there are the vaccines against things which are not deadly. And this, I believe, is a gross misuse of the technology. Polio, yes. Hepatitis B? Maybe not for a newborn, but sure. But a vaccine for chickenpox? Seriously? Chickenpox is annoying, but not deadly. Hell, when I was a kid it was practically a right of passage. But now it's part of the standard vaccination schedule and it seems that we've traded the relatively benign Chickenpox for the much more serious Shingles.

Then I started looking into the implications are of refusing vaccines altogether, at least until I'm reasonably convinced that each one is safe, effective, and necessary.

If I want to send my child to school, my only option would be to try to claim a religious exemption. Some states have philosophical exemptions as well, but not New York.

So let me get this straight. My neighbor can walk into a school and say, "My religion forbids vaccines" and she's clear. But I can do hours upon hours of research, crunch numbers, gain as thorough an understanding of the manufacturing process and final ingredients of each vaccine as my limited training and background will allow and make an informed determination that it's not in my daughter's best interest to get them, and THAT'S NOT FUCKING GOOD ENOUGH???

AAAARRRRGHH!!!!

Pumpin' in the Girl's Room

I had an interesting first-day-back-in-the-office today.

I'd forgotten how much commuting sucks. People who push, people who don't shower, people who listen to their music so loud it defeats the purpose of headphones, people who say stupid, offensive things loud enough for everyone to hear, people who hand out religious literature, and people who wear huge backpacks but move as though they don't. Oh, how I haven't missed you fuckers.

The Challenge of the Day was to figure out the logistics of pumping at work. I'd never been separated from Kayla for so long before, and I'd previously only pumped in comfort of my own home (and a few times in the car). The conference rooms were being used and I don't have an office with a door that closes, so I locked myself in the over-sized handicap-accessible stall in the lady's room and went to work.

It wasn't as disgusting as I'd anticipated. The bathrooms at my office are quite nice and well-maintained. They were renovated a few months ago and are extremely clean, unlike some of the nasty ghetto bathrooms of offices past. I was fairly self-conscious coming out of the stall with two bottles of milk & rinsing the pump parts off in the sink, but I figured, if whoever sees me has kids they'll sympathize, and if they don't, fuck 'em. (Yeah, I'm one of those people now.)

Toward the end of the day I had a discussion with my boss about the long-term telecommuting arrangement. We agreed on two days per week in the office, three days working from home, for the next 6 months. I am pleased.

Then he informed me that we have not one, not three, but TWO lactation rooms in the building! Super special secret rooms just for nursing moms so they don't have to do what I just stupidly did! With their own refrigerators so I don't have to store my breast milk next to Tony the maintenance guy's ham sandwich!

I don't expect it to be in the company newsletter, but I'd been in contact with HR at least a dozen times regarding my pregnancy, maternity leave, and return to work. You'd think they'd mention the lactation rooms at some point. But whatever, I'm thrilled that they exist and look forward to NOT having to pump in the bathroom stall ever again. And, with only having to go into the office two days a week for the next six months, I'm confident I can keep the babe 100% breast fed until she starts solids.

Feelin' good, feelin' good.

Girls & Boys According to Catalogs

Some facts about a children's clothing & fantasy/dress up catalog I got in the mail:

Dress-up/Pretend Themes featured:
astronauts, beach, clowns, cowboy/cowgirl, dinosaurs, eco-adventure/rugged terrain, fairy, fire fighter, monsters, pirate, princess, auto racing, rock band, tea party

Total images of Boys in the catalog:
55

Total images of Girls in the catalog:
62

Percent of Girls in skirts or dresses:
87

Themes which featured NO boys at all:
fairy, tea party

Themes which featured NO girls at all:
astronauts, dinosaurs, fire fighters, monsters, auto racing


Just sayin'.

Relationship Genetics

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/09/study-for-men-g.html

According to a study published by Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, men with one or more varients of a particular gene are more likely to have relationship problems.

One of the most interesting and terrifying things about the potential for genetic engineering and genetic behavioral decoding has been tapped into by Hollywood in movies such as Gattaca and Brave New World.

They always address it on a macro level. Big government decides your worth after evaluating your genes. More terrifying than this, to me, is what it would mean on a micro level. For example, a woman using the behavior of a man's father to judge how worthy he is of a relationship. ("His father left his mother 10 years ago. He's probably got The Gene.")

Unsolicited Advice for First Time Moms

Read at least as much material on the moments and days immediately after childbirth as you do about preparing for the birth itself. You won't have time to catch up when the time comes.

Don't watch the birth shows on the medical cable channels. They are designed for ratings. That means that of the hundreds of births they film, they will air the most "dramatic" ones, giving you a very distorted view of what a typical birth is like. Instead, watch births (especially home births & natural births) on YouTube. I know it sounds gross, but you'll get a much better idea of the reality of what childbirth is like than the edited-for-maximum-advertising-revenue version.

Try to witness at least one mother breastfeeding successfully before you give birth. Talk to people who are successful at it and ignore those who weren't. Hire a lactation consultant to come visit you in the hospital the day after the birth, even if you're sure you won't need one.

Room in. Keeping your baby with you in the hospital while you recover may seem like extra work that you're not up for, but the confidence it gives you when you're back home is well worth it. You'll want to be there the first time your baby has a coughing fit or screams suddenly or does any number of scary things so that you can get first hand experience handling it in the presence of professionals.

Prepare your partner for the worst, but be your best. Apologize in advance for all the horrible things you will do and say to him (or her), and then do your best to NOT live up to that picture.

Be nice to the nurses, even if they're annoying the shit out of you. To do a job like that every day it's easiest to just turn off your compassion, but it's harder to do that when they actually empathize with you and like you.

At some point during labor, even if you're not drugged up beyond coherence, you will feel like you are. Don't be afraid of that feeling; relish in it. It's what will get you through the next couple of hours and leave you wondering why you were so worried about giving birth.

If possible, have someone there to take pictures, if not during, then immediately after the birth. Later you won't believe how beautiful that slimey, wrinkly little thing was, and wonder if you're remembering it correctly.

If the hospital offers the option of a private recovery room at an extra expense, and it won't break the bank, go for it. Or, ask friends to contribute money toward a private recovery room at your baby shower. (Much more useful than the 20th through 80th pink or blue size NB onesies.)

Have a birth plan. Those who say that the term "birth plan" is an oxymoron don't understand the definition of the word "plan," and probably aren't very good at "planning." Don't you look up directions to a place you've never been before, even though there's a possibility that some of those roads will be closed? More on birth plans in a future post.

Irony:

Swearing never to feed your daughter formula again because it makes her smell like parmesan cheese, and then accidentally spilling some on her while simultaneously nursing and eating spaghetti.