Customer Reviews

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About(TM) Children's Vaccinations

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read "What Your Doctor May Not Tell..." in a flurry of anxiety in the weeks leading up to the first scheduled vaccination.

The book is meticulously researched and well organized. Each vaccine has its own chapter that details the disease and the history of the particular vaccine. In addition, each chapter has a summary of existing research on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. There are also moving vignettes that describe childrens' adverse reactions to vaccines and speculation on the connection of chronic syndromes such as autism to a particular vaccine. Finally, the author provides her opinions and insights regarding the usefulness and safety of each vaccine.

What makes this book somewhat problematic is that real dangers (older versions of vaccines and rare adverse reactions to vaccines) are mixed in with speculative dangers. The author connects the upsetting stories of autism-revealed with speculation on the dangers of vaccines. The combination is powerful and scary -- but not actually informative. In the end, I felt manipulated both by the book and by our pediatrician's description of the symptoms of whooping cough.

Its hard to make decisions about your child's well being. This book helps you become informed regarding vaccines and the diseases they (hopefully) prevent. Unfortunately, you may have to work a bit harder than necessary to separate fact from speculation.

This book encourages parents "...to be equal partners with doctors in deciding which vaccines their children should get and when they should get them." The way this book achieves this goal is by offering important medical information in easy to understand terms. "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You..." provides detailed info on the various vaccines currently required/suggested by state and federal governments; reviewing indepth the history of the diseases and related vaccines, ingredients used to make and preserve the vaccines, background studies and recent research available on a variety of the vaccines and also a risk/benefit analysis per vaccination. What this book offers (that your doctor's office may not) is a look at both sides of the vaccination issue and gives YOU a well-rounded resource package so you can best decide when/what vaccines to give your child. Factors that can influence your decision include any known allergies, reactions to previous vaccinations, family history of autoimmune diseases and more. Also a help to parents is a list of precautions parents can take when their children get vaccinated and also a recommended schedule (that differs from the government's) for childhood vaccinations. This alternative vaccination timeline allows you to operate within the guidelines of the government mandate that all children receive a certain number of shots prior to entering school, but attempts to spread out the vaccinations for minimum exposure to risk and negative side effects. Did you know many vaccines used today include ingredients such as mercury, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol (a main ingredient in antifreeze) and more? Would you consume those poisons? Of course not, but vaccine manufacturers (and the CDC and FDA) seem to think it's okay for our kids to receive these poisons ad nauseam. Fortunately, each of today's required vaccinations come with a mercury-free alternative, but many doctors are still using those with mercury and you must request the safer alternative. Research and vaccination injury reporting systems indicate possible and/or obvious links to multiple adverse effects including irreparable diseases and death, but many doctors, educators and government institutions refuse to consider those possibilities, as it may endanger the successful mass-vaccination programs currently employed in this country. Included in this book is a discussion of the possible exemptions available to parents, which may include religious, medical or philosophical, depending upon the state in which you live. If you're not willing to trust this author's approach, there's a list of multiple resources at the end of the book allowing you to do your own research and form your own further educated opinion.

This is a good book for parents who want simple facts that are easy to understand. It is a good start to researching the pro's and con's of vaccinations but should not be the end. The book has many good facts, and some opinions. She covers almost all subjects of concern but not all thoroughly. I would definitely recommend this book as a starting place. If you want a book of scientific facts, studies and medical information then you probably want Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? By Neil Z. Miller. His book is full of scientific facts on BOTH sides, with point and counter point information referencing medical journals, scientific studies and other documented facts. If you choose to read a few books on the subject then be sure to pick up What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations. by Stephanie Cave, but if you only read one get Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective? By Neil Z. Miller.

A good book to read if you are unsure of the immunization process. Very detailed review of the vaccinations and how they are cultured. One thing I would recommend is to check for updated information on current vaccine ingredients (ie thimerosal), as this book is 10 years old. This book helped me decide which vaccines I would choose for my child (since I live in Canada and they are not mandated by law).

I plowed through this book quickly, and found it provided an unantagonistic and straight forward approach to these very controversial topics.
There's alot of middle ground between the books Public Health leant me and the information I read on the internet. This book was fantastic at helping me draw my conclusions about if and when to give my son vaccinations.
The authors also explain the terms they use and I never felt like I was going to fall asleep, nor did I get frustrated, as information about this topic is usually so difficult and technical.
My congratulations go out to these authors and deep thanks to them too.

I have been reading much research on immunizations. Most authors sway one direction or the other. Stephanie Cave doesn't promote nor dissuade the reader from the decision. She merely lays out the pros & cons. If you choose not to she tells you how to obtain an exemption in your state. Most importantly she provides detailed information, for those wanting to vaccinate,on how to administer them while reducing risks. This is the first book that I have seen providing a "safe" vaccination schedule. The schedule does not follow the CDC's recommendations but, gets the job done.

I can't say it any better then the readers before me. Read their reviews. They are accurate. I have been researching this subject for 2 years +. Dr. Cave's book gives you an honest and responsible view from the medical side. Believe me, that is very different from what your childs doctor will give you! I had to shop long and hard to find a doctor that will let me pick and choose the vaccinations I want my daughter to have or not have.
This is the most important book I have EVER owned.

After my infant daughter had an immediate physical reaction and a prolonged, 4-week neurological reaction to her routine 4-month vaccinations, I began searching for information about vaccines and safety that would help me determine the best, safest course of action with future vaccines. Searching the internet yielded an enormous amount of information - some of which is very alarmist and frightening and some of which is overly scientific and hard for a non-scientific parent to understand. It is very difficult to find information that is easy to understand, balanced presenting both the pros and the cons, and is comprehensive, facts-based and well-researched. This book is by far the most comprehensive and most useful information contained in a single cover that I have found. An added benefit is that the information is presented in such a way that it is a very compelling read - I read the 1st 100 pages within 3 hours after my amazon box arrived - while tending to a busy, crawling infant!

Who Can Benefit from this Book?
I believe that this book is a must read for all parents. Given that vaccinations are mandated by law it is very important for parents to understand as much as they can about vaccines. Parents have a responsibility to themselves, their children and our shared community to be informed on these matters. The subject of vaccines and their safety is much too complex for any pediatrician to adequately address with each individual parent that they serve. The most time I've spent with my pediatrician in a single visit is about 15-20 minutes max. The pros, cons, history of vaccines, past study findings, current research, etc., cannot be covered in such a short amount of time. As someone who is a proponent of vaccination programs and who believes strongly in doing what is best for the greater good in terms of public health, I found that the general statement from the medical staff at my pediatrician's office, that vaccines are safe and reactions are very rare, was not sufficient for me. I needed to know more, and thanks to this book now I do.

If you are a parent, even if your children have already been vaccinated, you will benefit from the knowledge gained by reading this book.

Being a new parent, I wanted to review thorough, objective scientific data based on up-to-date and sound research principles before taking the plunge and making vaccination decisions on my child's behalf. This book provides all of that, and then some. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is extremely well laid out and complete with all the facts necessary to make your choices.

After reading this book all parents will understand 1) what vaccines are required for your children, and when; 2) what the different vaccines are made of; 3) the efficacy of the vaccines (and for how long they remain effective); 4) the range and rates of reactions to the vaccines; 5) your options related to the timing of the vaccines; 6) precautions that you can take on behalf of your children (including commercially available vaccine alternatives free of controversial additives); 7) an alternative vaccine schedule that Dr. Cave developed based on her experience (that really helped me a lot). Finally, if you choose to be a 'conscientious objector', the author provides information on how to prevent your child being jabbed without your consent.

In addition, all of Dr. Cave's research is referenced at the end of each paragraph should you wish to do additional research (I personally found that this was unnecessary however!). I am very relieved to have found this book prior to my daughter's first vaccination - I now feel completely educated on the (sometimes very emotional) topic of vaccinations. Whether you ultimately elect to have your child vaccinated to the extent that is recommended by health departments is up to you - but with this book you will be armed to the gills with the information you need to be confident about making those important decisions. This book is definitely a keeper. Once again, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

There are five cases of diptheria per year in the US.
There are 600 hundred cases of mumps in the US each year.
Polio has been eradicated in the Western Hemisphere.
There are 300 cases of hib each year.
last year there were 40 cases of Measles in the US.
300 cases of rubella. And of those cases 25 cases were passed on by pregnant women.
There are 200 million people in the United States.

These are some of the facts you will learn from Dr. Cave's book. And if you are open to the research it might even jump start you to read more of the books on these topics. In all fairness, I read several of the 'left of center' books which go much further in discussing the hideous reactions associated with vaccines. So, where Dr. Cave didn't speak up, I already had the knowledge in my head. But still she at least does talk about a lot of the reactions and many issues around them which is a breath of fresh air in comparison to many doctors out there who just say, "Just Do it....There's nothing wrong with Vaccines." If you've got one of those doctor's then by all means get this book. Start somewhere.