Ben Stein interview this morning...

If you have another few minutes, listen to this interview from Focus on the Family w/ Ben Stein. Despite being a very well known political and tv personality, he is also a passionate proponent of pro-life and pro-intelligence. Overall, a very good interview... Click Here...

Can your kids be harmed by too many vaccines?

Check out the article entitled "The Danger of Excessive Vaccines during Brain Development," by Russell Blaylock, MD.

Also, here are some comments from Dr. Joseph Mercola, DO., on this article.

"First, I’d like to thank Dr. Russell Blaylock for sharing his excellent writings on this vital issue. If you missed his last article How Vaccines Can Damage Your Brain, where he explains how vaccines exacerbate depression and more serious neurodegenerative diseases in people over 50, I highly recommend reading it now as well.

The issue of vaccination has been a controversial topic for many years. It remains one of the bedrocks of "prevention" in conventional medicine, despite the overwhelming evidence showing that vaccinations at best do not work, and at worst can cause serious health problems.

And yet, anyone who opposes them is viewed as a dangerous quack and a threat to public health. I understand this because that was precisely the view I had when I graduated medical school. However, after more than two decades of practice where I encountered hundreds of vaccine casualties -- which spurred me to review the evidence through a more critical lens -- I changed my mind-set entirely.

There may be a slight glimmer of hope that this dangerous tide will eventually change, however. The U.S. government recently came to the unprecedented conclusion that childhood vaccines did contribute to the onset of autism in 9-year-old Hannah Poling. According to U.S. Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation, the shots "significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder" and resulted in a brain disorder "with features of autism spectrum disorder."

Poling was one of three test cases alleging the vaccine preservative thimerosal caused autism. So even though federal officials keep insisting there is no link between autism and vaccines, this concession says otherwise, and may influence the outcome of the remaining 4,900 cases pending review by the “Vaccine Court.”

The fact that the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has paid out more than $1.5 billion to families and children who have been injured or killed by vaccines also speaks volumes about the supposed “safety” record of vaccines…

The Insanity of the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule

I published Dr. Donald Miller's excellent article, A User-Friendly Vaccination Schedule in 2004. At that time, 12 different vaccines were given to children before they reached the age of two.

As of 2008, the Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that number has risen to 14 in the first 24 months, plus the meningococcal vaccine, which is to be administered between the age of two and six.

Infants and toddlers aged 0 to 6 years of age are now inoculated against the following:

Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, Hepatitis A, Measles,
Diphtheria, Mumps, Tetanus (lockjaw),
Rubella (German measles), Pertussis (whooping cough),
Varicella (chickenpox), Polio, Meningococcal,
Pneumococcal infections, Influenza (yearly flu shots),
Hemophilus influenzae type b infections

By the time your child starts school he or she will have received more than 36 injections, including four doses each of vaccines for Hemophilus influenzae type b infections, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis -- all of them given during the first 12 months of life.

And now consider this: one vaccine injected into a 13-pound, two-month old infant is equivalent to 10 doses of the same in a 130-pound adult. Where is the common sense in these guidelines?

Would any adult concede to being injected with 360 doses of vaccines within a couple of years’ span; equal to one injection every other day for two years?

Public health officials have NEVER proven that it is indeed safe to inject this number and volume of vaccines into infants. What's more, they cannot explain why, concurrent with an increasing number of vaccinations, there has been an explosion of neurological and immune system disorders in American children.

Is There a More Sensible Vaccination Schedule?
Dr. Donald Miller is a cardiac surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle and a member of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. His more sensible vaccination schedule, which I published back in 2004, is worthy of being revisited at this time.

Many are both scared and confused as they try to make healthier choices for their children, and his guidelines may help you devise a more appropriate vaccination plan for your child – a schedule that takes the best interests of your child into consideration rather than what biased government planners cite as being best for society. His is a far better approach than the "one-size-fits-all" dogma foisted on Americans by the CDC panel.

And, as Dr. Blaylock describes so vividly in this article, there’s plenty of information and knowledge in neuroimmunology (the study of how the brain’s immune system works) that raises serious questions about the wisdom of injecting vaccines in children less than 2 years of age.

A Child’s Best Time Table
Your brain has its own specialized immune system, separate from that of the rest of your body. When you are vaccinated, specialized immune cells in your brain, the microglia, become activated. Multiple vaccinations spaced close together over-stimulate the microglia, causing them to release a variety of toxic elements -- cytokines, chemokines, excitotoxins, proteases, complement, free radicals -- that damage brain cells and their synaptic connections.

The damage caused by these toxic substances is what both Dr. Miller and Dr. Blaylock refer to as "bystander injury."

In humans, the most rapid period of brain development begins in the third trimester and continues over the first two years. (By then, brain development is 80 percent complete.)

From a risk-benefit perspective, there is little doubt that the risk of neurological and autoimmune diseases from vaccinations at this stage far outweigh the benefits of avoiding the childhood infections that they (supposedly) prevent. (One exception is the hepatitis B vaccine, IF the mother tests positive for hepatitis B.)

As a more sensible, “user-friendly” vaccination schedule, Dr. Miller advises the following:

No vaccinations until your child is two years old.
No vaccines that contain thimerosal (mercury).
No live virus vaccines.
The following vaccines should be given one at a time (not as a combination vaccine), every six months, beginning at age 2:
Pertussis (acellular, not whole cell)
Diphtheria
Tetanus
Polio (the Salk vaccine, cultured in human cells)
And that would be pretty much it as far as vaccinations. Your pediatrician will not like this schedule, but if you have reviewed the evidence and still feel your child should be inoculated to a certain degree, this is a far safer alternative to the standard vaccination schedule.

But please, please do review the research and don’t just vaccinate your child simply because your doctor says you “have to.”

Don’t Forget About VAERS
Another thing most people are unaware of is that YOU can report vaccine side effects to VAERS.

VAERS is a post-marketing safety surveillance program that collects information about adverse events that occur after the administration of vaccines. They accept reports from both concerned individuals and organizations.

Unfortunately, the system is completely voluntary, and most doctors will never report side effects, even if you point them out. A good case in point is the large discrepancy between American reports of side effects of Tamiflu, compared to Japan’s more stringent reporting rules.

Black Liberation Theology

Since it's been in the news due to the fighting between the democratic candidates, there was an interview today on NPR w/ the man who actually started BLT. Up until today, I had my reservations about 'what I thought' BLT probably meant, and was pleasantly surprised by what I heard by Rev. James Cone. Terry Gross interviewed another man immediately after Cone, and I appreciated some of his education about the different realities of the black church. He even named 5 popular black preachers who preach a success driven gospel, and are often mis-representing the black church as a whole (that is how I understood what he said). If you have about 13 minutes, give a listen.

"Pregnant in America" Video Trailer

Another great resource for looking into the issues regarding childbirth in the US hospital system. I'm hoping to get this full video and have a showing here in KC. I'm very much looking forward to it's release.

Enjoy.

a little boycotting, anyone?

I think that I'm going to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not that it's any new news for me [regarding China's complete disregard for human rights], but I just read some more news out of the March 24 Time Magazine.
Here's a link to a google search for Boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Happy Protesting!

-nW

Vaccines and Immune Suppression

A very good article on vaccines and the reality behind how they affect our bodies, and how our bodies respond to them. Click below.

"Vaccines and Immune Suppression"

Books on Childbirth :: Series on all things Birth

The following is a list of books - - a must read - - for those entering into childbirth.


"The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer.
This book is a little more elite as far as content & comprehension. Not many moms find this one, but it is a gem. "...Her book helps the reader contrast various birth options available today and shows how we can avoid unnecessary interventions in birth. Supported by current evidence-based research and complete with literature summaries, this book is an invaluable tool for expectant parents who are in the process of making birth choices and plans..." (I found this one on www.birthworks.com/store for only $14.95)

"Gentle Birth Choices" by Barbara Harper.
Nice introduction to thinking about the baby's journey & very mainstream. I've met Barbara - she's a nurse practitioner out on the West Coast & has done some amazing things.

"The Complete Book of Pregnancy & Childbirth" by Sheila Kitzinger.
Every thing this woman pens is great. Most of her titles can be found in the library system.

"Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" by Susan McCutcheon.
You know how fond I am of the Bradley Method of childbirth as I believe it is
the only approach to prepared childbirth that really gives families tools to get through labor graciously & without medicating their baby unnecessarily. So, if a family cannot attend REAL Bradley classes, then this book embodies all of the concepts. And it touches on Dr. Brewer's approach to nutrition for pregnancy. His website is www.blueribbonbaby.org & there is a list of the books that he & his wife authored as well as basic info about his work. The work he did in his own OB practice changed (& continues to change) the outcomes of so many pregnancies.

"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by the La Leche League.
This is the definitive book on breast feeding basics. New families always think, "Breastfeeding is natural, no big deal." Well, while the process is natural, it's a very big deal & we live in a culture where mostly the ART of breastfeeding has been lost due to a couple of generations of not doing it.

"The Amazing Newborn" by Marshall & Phyllis Klaus.
This book is great to read that last month of your pregnancy. And it has the sweetest pictures.

These books represent different categories of pregnancy reading. Some are available at Birthworks.com/store, but check the library system first. It's great to save money!