Baby Z turned 1 yesterday, alhamdulillah. He has one more immunization appointment to attend. I have been having a dilemma on whether to continue with Baby Z's vaccinations or not. I have read about its controversy back in 1997 or 1998 in Al Jumuah magazine, but I paid little attention to it, because it was too overwhelming. I was a new parent then, and well, let's just say that sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Years later, here I am, ready to take on all the controversies regarding the world of medicine, but this issue of vaccination still has me in tight grips. I am really torn. What increased my worries is Baby Z's multiple allergies. I would never have thought I would have a child with multiple allergies, as I've never even heard of it in my family or my husband's before. But, lo and behold, there comes Baby Z with his own sets of challenges for me. I really think it's the combination of his genetic make up and my eating habits. Genetically modified food is not the same as all natural food. We have come 'a long way' from the way our ancestors lived. (Both good and bad).
So autism worries me. I mean, if multiple allergies like this is possible, why not autism? You don't really know how the chemicals in the vaccines will react in your child's body. Some children might not react much to it and thus produce no ill effects. Others, depending on the genetic make up in their bodies, might react very badly. So do you vaccinate or do you not vaccinate?
As a parent, it's highly imperative that we arm ourselves with knowledge on both sides of the matter and making an informed decision. But, as Muslim parents, we have one constant factor in any decision-making equation.
I have been thinking about this for such a long time, that I recently asked hubby and he said,
"Just do istikharah."
Growing up, what I know about istikharah includes a sunnah prayer and a dream. I know that is not totally true though. So far the istikharah I've been doing are not really in reference to how it should actually be, though I never really waited for a dream after the istikharahs. I know there is a lecture I need to listen to. I never got around to listening to it until last weekend. Alhamdulillah.
My dilemma is solved, alhamdulillah. Tawakkalna 'alla Allahi ta'aala.
Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. Surah Ar-ra'd [13:28]
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21 comments:
Have you read Child Health Guide: Holistic Pediatrics for Parents?
LOL umm layth,, seriously I have a huge stack of books waiting to be read right now LOL...no i haven't read that..gatto oh yes I realized I do know about him..LOL...right now my immediate problem is N, and how to give her back motivation that was lost, so I'm reading books related to that...but jazakillah khair I will add that to my wish list :) right now i'm reading books on children development, learning style, homeschooling..and the vaccine issue, because I haven't had time to listen to that 2 hour clip a sister gave me, and read up on it, and now 'time is up' lol...but alhamdulillah you know i was thinking..what if I have him vaccinated and he gets autism or other lasting side effects(remember that I have three other kids who are fine, so it's not like this is my first experience), I would feel so bad, but what if I don't vaccinate him and he gets sick, and that video clip also talks about prevention and wellness, but my energy right now is spent so much on quran and my kids(and their individuality-mostly I've just been ruminating and doing a little bit ) that I don't have any more left to study that area..so I will eave that till later and put my whole trust in allah (which shoud have the been the thing done in the first place, duh!) ..why don't you share some stuff with me? ;)
ooh umm layth i just googled it and saw the Table of contents..hmm I might just do some speed reading vie google book :) jazakillah khair!!!
Well, I had to say, all of us, me and my two brothers and sisters never been immunize. I had bcg in primary school, that's it. As I homeschool after, I never had rubella as well. Everytime I was pregnant, I been as if I had rubella, I said Yes. When I told a friend whose a doctor that I never had rubeela injection and I had 4 children, well at the moment, alhamdulillah.
I had to say,all mu children been immunize and the last one was quiet late as I'm also confuse. After consultation with malaysian doctor which is someone quiet religious, she told me it's better to take it and I follow her advise.
I had multiple allergies, and I never been immunize before. My children been immunize, they look fine. For me to immunize, just more for bureaucracy. At the end of the day, everything in Allah's hand.
Asalaam Alaikum,
Em has had all of her immunizations. But I have a friend who is holding off on her son getting the MMR (because it seems to be the one that stands out as possibly helping along autism), until he is 3. They will be getting all the immunizations, just spreading them further apart, and giving his immune system time to get stronger.
As for myself, I haven't looked at it much, there are so many issues to be concerned with as parents, and honestly I just didn't think about it much at the time. I think I would have if she was having other problems. But alhamdulilah Em is very healthy.
Also there were several cases of pertussis and mumps in my county this year. The cases of mumps were in children who were not immunized against it. Pertussis evidently wears off after awhile and so it is more common.
Insha'Allah, istikara will lead you to what is right for you and your family.
May Allah guide us all,
Aeryn
Nadia, I have a huge pile also. Actually, I got 6 to add today. Two of them are newer books I found in the new books section on vaccines. I started reading one and I'm already benefiting tremendously. It seems pretty balanced. I left it in the bedroom and I'm too lazy to get it right now to share the title, though.
I'll have to share some excerpts of the other book with you insha'Allah. I've been taking some notes on the important stuff I need to remember after I return the book (once they make me return it). Maybe I'll post those notes up or something insha'Allah.
salam nadia...
i know autism is quite a scary thing for every parents. But inshaAllah, just tawakkal to Allah. Don't worry too much about it. My uncle has an autistic son, and he discovered about it when the child was about 3-4 years old. But in Singapore, there are abundant of support from community centers as well as the government for the autistic children. alhamdulillah, after getting a series of therapy and being sent to special school for autistic kids, now, by the age of 8, he is able to read, write, do mathematical sums and has some basic and essential practical daily skills, except communication skills.
It's ok, and I think, if u are worried too much, you'll end up being so stressed out. just leave it to Allah. I hope baby Z will be ok and May Allah protect him from all sorts of illness, including autistsm.
I think that nowadays, the world is n longer a healthy and safe place to live. With all the new viruses every now and then, humans are no longer able to protect themselves. So, I suggest, immunization may be cnsidered as a way of our'ikhtiar' to protect ourselves. Wallahu a'lam.
Assalamualaikum, sister , I've been teaching children with autism for several years now. MMR and autism, macam mana nak cakap eh? A talk with few parents, said that the tell tale signs of their children having autism, were already seen when they were babies before MMR.I figure some of the students didn't even go through MMR. BUt i really understand how u feel, even as a teacher for children with autism, I am also sceptical about this MMR jab after reading articles about the controversies... i hope Allah give u the guidance ...
Salams, I advise you to hold off on the vaccines for another year at least. They will only make the food allergies worse or more numerous, as my son's holistic pediatrician (MD) told me. He said the only important vaccines for the US are tetanus and diptheria, as long as you don't live in crowded or unsanitary or poor conditions. If you travel overseas, check what diseases are occurring there and get just those before travel - usually polio and meningitis.
Do not let anyone scare you about the diseases - they do not occur here anymore except the ones i mentioned. The gov't pushes vaccines on infants because that's the only time they can get parents to take their kids to the doctor on a frequent basis - because parents want to check their child's growth and get support on the struggles they are going through. But it is not the best time for the child to get vaccines. Japan's program starts at age 2 and they have almost eliminated the adverse reactions to vaccines that occurred before when they started at birth.
Babies' immune systems are still developing - so there is a chance that vaccines could confuse the baby - that's why so many kids have food allergies and environment allergies because the immune system is mixed up and starts reacting to things that it shouldn't like nuts and milk.
It's also because in the last 20 years the number of vaccines have doubled and it just became too much for most kids. It's hard to find a kid these days that doesn't have some sort of health problem. I recommend you read The Vaccine Guide by Randall Neustaedter ,
Autism as i have researched is caused by heavy metal toxicity - not just mercury, but aluminum (also in vaccines), lead, tin, etc. Heavy metals these days are found in the air, the water, dental fillings, and food (canned goods, fish). So, our environment is more toxic than before (cannot do anything about), our food is more toxic than before (can do a little about it), and theres more vaccines than ever (can do something about it). Until the gov't does a major overhaul and fix of the vaccines and the industry, we have no choice but to avoid vaccines for our babies.
waalaikumsalam warahmatullah wabarakaatuh
JAZAKUM ALLAH KHAIR everyone! Subhanallah...when I was listening to the lecture,he said to consult people about the matter either before or after the istikhara..and mashaallah, I posted this post, and people have offered advice, comments and suggestions. I truly truly appreciate all this. HUGS all around.
Mona, does your son have food allergies too? Thing is I did take the vaccines before this..each time I felt bad, but I made dua for allah to bless it and make it ok..but for this last one (for now)..that heavy feeling just intensified.
Ibu, what are the symptoms of autism in children. I thought they are only apparent later on, not when they're babies. That is interesting..care to share?
finie, that reminds me..I also didn't take the BCG in standard 6... hmmm...
ummwafi,
i thought about it like that too, except my reason was more to avoid all the hassle.
aeryn,
ameen!!
ummlayth,
yes do share,,you need to share with me your readings on living green too! we can swap ya know ;)I am writing a post about the hidden gifts of the introverted child. not done yet though.
The book I'm currently reading on Vaccinations is What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations by Stephanie Cave, M.D., F.A.A.F.Q. with Deborah Mitchell. The other one is a smaller one called The Parent's Concise Guide to Childhood Vaccinations. I think that may just be summarizing this bigger book (the first) but I'm not sure yet. The one that Mona recommended I haven't read yet. I'm reading another by Randall's and that is the one I recommended in my first comment: Child Health Guide.
I'll try to share my notes from that book with you pertaining to vaccinations, along with this one I am currently reading if you'd like.
Green books... are you a part of goodreads.com? If not, sign up and add me Umm Layth. A lot of the books I have read, am reading are on there. I need to update it more because I have many more I have finished and currently am reading. You can see reviews, ratings, etc... and make friends with people. It's a pretty cool site. Be careful with becoming addicted, though!
F.A.A.F.P.**
yes, tawakkal to Allah is my motto now; and it should be deep within!
psssttt... have finally done the tag!
ah umm layth..not another thing i have to register with?? lol i am already with shelfari, gurl...even that i don't check that often lol...but maybe i should, eh?
Kak D,
i checked it...awesome! :D yeah i like your bit about tawakkal...mashaallah!
btw...for people who read this post, did you listen to the lectuer at all? lol my main intent was actually sharing the lecture, not my worries :P lol...
salam Nadia, my 4 yr old has eczema/food allergies since he was a little over two months (after the 2 mo shots). I didn't know it was from food allergies until he was 8 mo then i had him tested at 12 mo. I delayed the 4 mo shots until he was 6 mo (there was so much pressure around me) and then i would only allow two at a time. After the 12 mo shots i stopped taking him to the doctor (i was afraid of the MMR) and stopped all shots. At 3 yrs old it developed into asthma triggered by any virus/illness/cold.
i just watched the video clip in the post, mashaAllah it looks interesting. jazaki Allahu khair. Your not the only one worried about vaccines - we all are :)
Assalaamu 'alaikum Sis.
Junayd had all vaccinations at the 'required' times, but I delayed the MMR until he was well over 3... and, I must say he has only had one dose (there's supposed to be TWO?!), although there is an 'outbreak' of Measles here in the UK.
His sister has not had the MMR done - she's not two yet.
Mona, you're a strong woman, mashaa`Allaah - I'm impressed by your determination to keep your baby as immunisation free as possible. Junayd also has 'asthma', although the doctors refuse to diagnose him, and is now on steroid inhalers alongside homoeopathic remedies.
May Allaah grant our children good health, aameen.
~ Umm J.
mona,
i was just reading your blog..ibrahim..has food allergies..did he outgrow them yet? May Allah heal him of the food allergies, asthma, eczema (the three headed monsters) ameen.
Umm Junayd,
jazakilah khair for dropping by. Nice to 'see' you again :) subhanallah..Allah keeps bringing me people like you gals aieh these info and sharing of experiences. alhamdulillah...
i read somewhere that the MMR now doesn't use egg embryo anymore..so it's ok for kids with allergies to eggs. Is that the only concern regarding MMR? (we should have a forum for this, huh? :D)
Asalaam Alaikum Sister,
I am glad we are talking about this, I have learned so much already, lol. Perhaps we should start a forum, one more thing for me to fall behind on because I am busy. :-P
May we all receive the blessings of motherhood, it is the hardest job I know. Ameen.
Aeryn
Nadia, goodreads seems better than shelfari. :P
About the forum... you know I was going to start a forum for health and natural eating, to kind of encourage us to get in shape. Reading your forum things makes me want to make it more general like holistic muslim women. What do you guys think?
Nadia,
Done the tag. At last!
umm layth
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......i don't wanna register on a new thing anymore! waaaaaaaaaaaaa lol
oh holistic muslim women! GREAT IDEA!! yes please do it oo umm layth!! a great way to share our expertise for sure inshaallah...(i mean, not my expertise..in this area, I am the one needing to learn a lot from others :))
finie,
read it! amazing subhanallah! jazakilah khair!
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