Q. What are your thoughts on the Swine Flu vaccine for pregnant women?

Q. What are your thoughts on the Swine Flu vaccine for pregnant women? -Jason

My wife is pregnant with our first baby (therefore we are both nervous wrecks) and we are concerned about the swine flu vaccine and any problems that may occur with it. My wife’s ob/gyn wants her to get the vaccine and says it is not a “live” vaccine and won’t do any harm to her or the fetus. Any thoughts would be appreciated. -Jason

Dear Jason,

I can’t emphasize strongly enough that whether a pregnant woman gets a vaccine is a personal decision. I would strongly encourage you to consider ALL relevant factors.

The AMA and the entire traditional medical system as we know it is in favor of vaccines for all people all the time. It is a huge money maker and many of these well intended folks are poorly informed about the real dangers of vaccines and the reality of their effectiveness. Many of the so called “vaccine cures” that are proclaimed in medical folk lore are not completely true.

Yes, vaccines were a great tool in eliminating small pox but when you look at the history of other proposed victories such as the reduction of diphtheria, pertussis, rubella, these entities were retreating due to better hygiene, better sewer systems, improved food sources and other health related issues long before vaccines came along.

Vaccines do NOT work 100% of the time as many people are blindly lead to believe. The effectiveness of vaccines is still hotly debated today with many good quality studies showing severe issues.

And would someone please tell me why we keep saying that vaccines are safe when we obviously see life altering or life ending consequences directly related to vaccines each and every year? Thirty thousand (30,000!) adverse events reported yearly and millions of dollars set aside to pay for injury secondary to vaccines and yet we preach that these things are SAFE???? We put the single most toxic substance known to man into vaccines on purpose and than tell people “oh that little bit of neuro toxin won’t hurt you”. Why can’t we just be honest and open?

Sorry to rant but allow me to sum up my position. Vaccines can be very helpful and do have a place in our medical arsenal BUT you need to be judicious in their use.

People have the right to know both sides of the story and shouldn’t be led around like sheep. (My apologies to sheep.)

If the AMA loves all vaccines (and they do) then every answer to every question will be YES, get a vaccine. If you approach a Buick dealer and ask him about Buicks he will say YES, get one.

You owe it to yourself to explore and look at the entire issue related to vaccines. Do you want your developing unborn fetus exposed to injected neurotoxins while their brain is in the process of forming? Are there other ways to protect and support your immune response beyond vaccines? Are these vaccines effective? Are there any studies showing the effect of these vaccines when given to pregnant women versus pregnancies not treated with vaccines and the result on fetal health as well as the occurrence of deaths related to flu?

Show me the studies; I would love to see the proof. If you want a vaccine and are willing to accept the risk associated with them then get one and rest easy that you are protected.

I repeat that my wife did not get a vaccine while pregnant with our two kids, but that may not be your personal decisional decision and that’s OK. Do what is right for you. Not everyone that gets a vaccine will have an adverse event but go into the decision with eyes open.

Again I refer all parents to Dr. Sherri Tenpenny’s book for a basic tutorial on vaccines. Be your own advocate.

Good luck to you both!

Dr. Gary Huber