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The Scary Side of SynagisHealthy Pregnancy, Baby & Child, Vaccination
In recent months, doctors have upped the ante and are pushing hard for all babies born at less than 35 weeks gestation to receive periodic shots of the drug Palivizumab, more popularly known as Synagis, in order to lessen the severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is usually a mild respiratory illness but can prove severe and even fatal under certain situations for premature babies.
"Don't worry, Synagis isn't a vaccine. It will simply help protect your baby's growing lungs" is the typical response from doctors when parents question the need for the treatment and whether or not it is truly safe.
What to do? Is Synagis safe for your baby or not?
Just Because Synagis is Not a Vaccine Doesn't Mean It's Safe
Synagis is not technically a vaccine. It is an immunoglobulin that must be administered in 5 separate injections usually into the thigh muscle at the whopping cost of $1300-2600 per injection. It is important to note that Synagis does not prevent RSV infection and only potentially reduces the severity of illness should RSV be contracted.
The ingredients list for injected Synagis has nowhere near the level of chemical toxicity of a typical vaccine. Thimerosal is not used in the manufacture of Synagis. Each single dose vial of Synagis contains:
- Palivizumab (active ingredient)
- Glycine (amino acid, stabilizing agent)
- Histidine (amino acid, stabilizing agent)
- Mannitol (bulking agent)
Side effects of Synagis include:
- high fever, ear pain or drainage, tugging at the ear
- warmth or swelling of the ear
- crying or fussiness, especially while lying down
- change in sleeping patterns
- poor feeding or loss of appetite
- easy bruising or bleeding
The Dark Side of Synagis No One is Talking About
The scary side of Synagis is that this immunoglobulin is manufactured using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology. What this means is that an artificial antibody that exists nowhere in nature was created using a composite of 95% human and 5% rodent (murine) antibody sequences in a process that involves the grafting of the rat antibody into the human antibody framework.
I personally find this type of technology incredibly disturbing. Injecting artificial, genetically modified antibodies that contain rat DNA into a human baby that is growing and developing has completely unforeseen and possibly disastrous long term consequences not only for that child but also for future generations.
Doctors are irresponsible and downright immoral for not informing their patients of exactly what Synagis truly is before injecting it into these helpless babies who are in fact nothing but guinea pigs sacrificed on the altar of bioengineering.
rDNA technology is the same genetic engineering process used to produce GM rice (called Golden Rice) which is artificially high in beta carotene. GM rice is not currently on the market due to ongoing disputes pertaining to the intellectual property and environmental issues of this recombinant product.
Guess what else was produced using rDNA?
GM corn! Genetically modified corn contains a recombinant form of Bacillus thuringeiensis (Bt), a bacterium with potent insecticidal properties. In essence, Bt corn plants produce their own insecticide so when you eat it or any food containing it, you are ingesting pesticides that can't and won't wash off.
Ingestion of genetically modified Bt corn has been associated with organ failure in animals. The effect on humans is still speculative but given the ominous effect on animals, is very likely health damaging.
Your Best Bet? Skip Synagis
If you prefer your child not to be part of some gruesome genetic experiment that generously lines the pocket of your doctor and his pharmaceutical rep, then just say no to Synagis. It doesn't prevent RSV anyway and the reduction in severity of symptoms should your child contract the illness is debatable.
No doubt, the high cost and generous profit margin of Synagis play a big role in the aggressive marketing in doctor's offices to the emotionally vulnerable parents of premature babies.
Best to implement the tried and true methods for illness prevention for your baby during RSV season which include good handwashing habits, regular laundering of blankets and toys with a nontoxic and unscented detergent, and limiting exposure to crowds during cold and flu season. In addition, never ever allow smoking around your baby or in the location where the baby is residing.
More rDNA Treatments Like Synagis on the Horizon
Even savvy parents already aware of the dangers of Synagis need to keep their guard up and remain on alert.
The success and handsome profits generated by artificially manufactured DNA treatments like Synagis which are easy to slip under a protective parent's radar given that they aren't technically vaccines are virtually guaranteed to result in even more rDNA treatments in the future. Big Pharma will no doubt accelerate its efforts using rDNA in the coming years to capitalize on a generation of increasingly sickly and "genetically challenged" children.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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Comments (155)
From my son's synagis insert I was given in 2005: "synagis is a humanized monoclonal antibody produced by recombinant DNA technology….Synagis is a composted of human (95%) and murine (5%) antibody sequences….
murine means rat: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/murine
My son developed asthma when he was 5. We have no family history on either side. Things that make you go hmm…
Twin boys given synagis in 2001-2003. They now both have autoimmune diseases. One boy has a low platelet count due to his immune system attacking and destroying his platelets. My smaller twin boy has a reactive airway, many allergies, and crohns disease. They were born at 34.5 weeks and did not have many complications other than jaundice. They were both breastfed. I have since had 2 more full term babies now 8.5 years and 2years old. Neither have a reactive airway, allergies, or autoimmune diseases. I often wonder if synagis was a good choice. I am a registered nurse and still I was feeling pressured to have my twins vaccinated with synagis. I was made to feel like if they didn't get the vaccine then they would almost definitely acquire RSV during their infancy. They laid a guilt trip on me and I was a new mom. I now regret it.
I am now facing this problem. Our pediatrician recommended this vaccine to us since our twins were born at 32 weeks (4/26/15). Other than being premature, they did not have any other issues. They are now 2 months old. I am definitely now hesitant with getting this vaccine for them after reading this blog. Any advice?
Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Think it through … make the best decision for you and your babies and don't be bullied or scared into doing it by your doctor!
I am the parent of a 27 weeker, now 14 months old. I was "advised" to give him synagis by NICU staff. My mother urged me otherwise, but I figured I would go with the medical advice over my mom's motherly advice. He received 6 doses. Although he did not react negatively in any way, I am now wondering why I didn't do more research. You come to trust the NICU staff over the course of months of them taking care of your baby, knowing that they, too, want to see your baby leave the hospital healthy. Yet, in hindsight, I fear that no one REALLY knows the long term effects, which is a little frightening for any drug, nevermind one that seems to be some sort of rodent/human protein cocktail. Well, my baby hasn't contracted RSV as of yet, so the effectiveness is yet to be determined, since supposedly it doesn't prevent RSV, only reduces its severity. But according to the most recent recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics, it apparently doesn't really do that either…
Food for thought. I urge all you new preemie parents to get informed, and not to base your decisions on medical recommendations alone. I am regretting mine.
Deb Discenza
@BFaz, as a fellow preemie parent I totally understand and respect your concerns about wanting to be better informed beyond just the medical community's advice. Please do not allow the scare tactics of this article to sway you otherwise. The reality is that RSV still kills many preemies every year. Prior to Synagis, your preemie and mine would have been at an even higher risk of death. This drug is approved by the FDA and and is not regulated lightly.
If this article's author had properly contacted Medimmune, the FDA and more to verify such "facts" and relate them in the post then I would be more likely to listen to it. As such, they do nothing of the sort and play into mass hysteria. And they feel it okay to "pull away" from proven therapies because "hey, babies are doing just fine." Bring back full-on RSV with no therapy and you will see mass hysteria like never before.
Also, AAP made the recommendations they did not due to a lack of effectiveness of the drug. They did it due to a "no cost benefit" to society – meaning they see the drug as very expensive and not worth what they feel is an inexpensive hospitalization. Unfortunately their cited studies are small in sample size, their cost basis for hospitalizations is not realistic and more. There is a movement in place to change those guidelines.
I know this post is a bit older, but in case anyone stumbles upon it, just as I did today – MedImmune, the MAKER of Synagis states that the drug is created using recombinant DNA technology – 95% human DNA, 5% murine (rat/mouse goodies). See the pdf (link below) from the manufacturer (page 2, under #11 Description)
Thank you SO very much for posting this. We just had a preemie baby and i skipped this shot. I follow your blog and glean so much from you. We skipped the hep b newborn shot as well thanks to your advise and then further research. Of course neither of those decisions went over well with the medical staff! We pray for wisdom to know what is best. We are on a new journey of eating well and considering alternatives to what is now conventional health and your blog helps so very much.
Beth Campbell
This. Is. Your. Child's LIFE we are talking about here! I hope to God that no one has listened to her no medical degree having insanity and lost their baby because of it! My son is a Micro-Preemie who I kept on lock down for the first two years and he still got RSV. THANK GOD for Synagis, we were able to stay out of the hospital and today we celebrated his birthday! Please protect your baby and listen to those with MEDICAL knowledge!
Heather Mashnouk Brandon via Facebook
I am incredibly saddened that you would use flawed science to scare already overwhelmed preemie parents. You give great advice in many areas, but your assertions here are wrong and irresponsible.
Kit Burns Wheatley via Facebook
Before these meds area available RSVP was almost meant certain death. I was a nurse in a premie nursery in the 70's. We lost too many babies due to the lack of the tool box available now.
Healhty Weight Loss Woman via Facebook
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Renee Jarrell Stewart via Facebook
Here is another article proving that synagis has genetically engineered rat antibodies… http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/31/business/doctors-caught-in-the-middle-ad-campaign-has-parents-asking-for-a-costly-drug.html
Allison Bradshaw via Facebook
Why is a pediatrician involved in when the baby is born anyways. Never have involved a ped. til after baby was born.
Kindra Sloan via Facebook
There is absolutely no DNA, rat or otherwise, in an immunoglobulin. Please don't base your healthcare decisions on the rantings of an uneducated blogger.
you might want to read the synagis insert before you make such a statement. It's composed of 95% human and 5% rat (murine) antibody sequences.
Michelle Hynes LeMonds via Facebook
Julie Hatfield via Facebook
And unlike polio and hepatitis b, rsv is common among all populations and ages. It is readily passed from person to person. Many people contract and spread the disease that adults experience as a cold.
Michele Nicole Miller via Facebook
Sara, please tell us the sources you used to write this. Some of us need to know. My preemie had 6 injections of Synagis. I want to check this out. Thank you.
Tanya Fell Remmers via Facebook
I watched my preemie son fight for his life for 3 weeks in an ICU due RSV's "cousin" HMPV. Preemies course of illness is different than a full term baby. They can turn for the worse quickly. It happened to us. I would have given anything to have not gone through not knowing if my child was going to live or die. Until the author has some first hand knowledge, do not listen to the author of this article. Synagis saves lives. If your pediatrician is recommending Synagis, it's because there's a risk factor that needs to be taken seriously. This isn't given willy nilly to healthy low risk infants.
Jenny Thompson-Woodard via Facebook
RSV can be a death sentence for premature infants. End of story.
L Meszaros
My. How dare you recommend skipping Synagis?
Have you ever met anyone whose baby died of RSV?
Dear Sarah,
As a mother of a child who almost lost his life to RSV at the tender age of 4 months I can guarantee you that I have not and will not hesitate to administer the Synagis shot to my child. Perhaps it is your ignorance that precludes you from understanding the extent and severity of the damage that the RSV virus can cause in children, even full term children. My son was born full term, healthy weight and under the best possible circumstances. He was cared for at home by me, however, our school age child brought home the virus and passed it on to our little one, despite all our attempts at trying to keep our little one and all others in the family from getting the virus. I never wish that any parent go through my experience of having to put my child on life support all because of this horrible virus. I really do hope that parents make an EDUCATED decision based on sound science and facts, rather than faulty information as the one presented in your blog.
No offense, Sarah… But you're an idiot. A dangerous idiot. May God have mercy on anyone who follows your misinformed, alarmist advice. Wear your seat belt and vaccinate your kids.
Tina Middleton
My preemie twin daughters are now six months, 3 months corrected and spent 89 days and 121 days in the nicu. I frown on vaccinations, drugs, medications that ordinarily I would've declined. But as all preemie parents know our world and our journey is so, so much different than full term children. The affects of being born 15 weeks too soon will last them well into adulthood. I've had to become well-versed in medical information I wouldn't have known how to even pronounce. I found it particularly ironic that baby b went septic with mrsa, commonly found in hospitals, and caused pneumonia. Through it all I had to trust the medications and therapies I had to consent to would be enough to save them. With cld for both and a hole in the heart for one, if there's any way to lessen the risk of another hospital stay
I will take it, and it's horrible to criticize a parent for making decisions that someone else wouldn't or didn't. I'm not advocating for the injectiions, or discrediting them either. I am saying, however, that our children are all miracles and what we feel we need to do as parents and adults to keep them as safe and healthy as possible shouldn't be dissected and sneared at. I look at one of my own little miracles smiling around her pacifier and I'm pretty confident I made the right decision for us in having the shot administered.
I'm sorry, but this is irresponsible reporting. I am a pediatrician who has personally witnessed more than one baby die from RSV. I have cared for many, many premies over the past 14 years and have never once had a child with a negative reaction to Synagis. Synagis is a monoclonal antibody that binds to respiratory synctitial virus when it enters the body to effectively block the majority of the virus from replicating and causing disease.
You are correct that it does not 100% prevent an infection to RSV. However, babies who receive Synagis are far less likely to DIE from RSV, an infection that we have absolutely no treatment for beyond supportive measures. And, in my opinion, I would definitely choose to do whatever I could to prevent death.
Anyone writing a medical opinion to not receive recommended preventative treatment should recommend that a parent speak with a physician about their concerns. Otherwise, you risk a child dying at your hands.
Beth Dalton
I am glad you have never seen a child react or die from Synagis. But the facts according to the Warnings and Contraindications on the package insert are quite clear. Your narrow scope of experience pales in comparison to the warnings and dismissing the possibility of an Adverse Event is irresponsible. Are you allowed as a medical professional to even consider reactions?This is a DRUG– like vaccines, it can have side effects.
{Out of a strudy of 1287 children} Adverse reactions observed in the 153-patient crossover study comparing the liquid and lyophilized formulations were comparable for the two formulations, and were similar to those observed with Synagis in Trials 1 and 2.
"Cases of anaphylaxis and anaphylactic shock, including fatal cases, have been reported following initial exposure or re-exposure to Synagis. Other acute hypersensitivity reactions, which may be severe, have also been reported on initial exposure or re-exposure to Synagis. Signs and symptoms may include urticaria, pruritus, angioedema, dyspnea, respiratory failure, cyanosis, hypotonia, hypotension, and unresponsiveness. The relationship between these reactions and the development of antibodies to Synagis is unknown. If a significant hypersensitivity reaction occurs with Synagis, its use should be permanently discontinued. If anaphylaxis or other significant hypersensitivity reaction occurs, administer appropriate medications (e.g., epinephrine) and provide supportive care as required. If a mild hypersensitivity reaction occurs, clinical judgment should be used regarding cautious readministration of Synagis."
Check out the side effects listed in this trial of 1300 children.. my child had a clear reaction listed per the trial and our Ped dismissed it and gave her a 2nd dose. Why if it is listed is there an immediate dismissal? Is it because I do not have a MD after my name? Or because you have vaccines and expensive Synagis to PEDDLE to parents who are too scared to ask for a second opinion or make an informed decision.
John Saites
I'm so thankful to have found this information! My twin girls were born at 32 weeks at 35 the doctors and staff at the NICU gave us information on RSV. After all the research and even asking doctors that knew of this said don't give it to them. But at the NICU they said to give it! We are not going along with this and hope more parents deny these shots to their babies!!!
The pressures of being a new parent can sometimes seem daughting. Especially to a parent who has had a child prematurely born. I commend your efforts to try and keep your child safe but there are some things you should know about Synagis before you decide to give your child Synagis or not. The woman who wrote this article has based her opinion of the drug on her belief that because it was manufactured using mouse DNA, it is somehow a dangerous product. This notion is totally unfounded.
Drugs like Synagis that are manufactured using bioengineering may seem scary in many ways because it is difficult to understand why humans would ever want mouse DNA in a drug that was supposed to treat them. In order to better understand this concept we must look at our bodies as if they are machines. When we get sick, our bodies have devised a way to fight bacterial and viral infections by synthesizing things called antibodies that stick to the offending agent in order to rid it from the body. These antibodies are only synthesized in the presence of an infectious agent. Now, biomedical science has allowed us to find ways to prevent common illnesses by harnessing the natural biological mechanisms of mice to produce the antibodies our bodies would naturally make to fight infections and harvest those antibodies. This has allowed us to introduce foreign antibodies into our system to fight infections we have never had before. The presence of these antibodies can prevent or drastically reduce the severity of various infectious illnesses.
Mice and rats share more DNA with us as humans than our closely related brethern the chimpanzees.
Next, the author says she has yet to see evidence that the medication works. There have been 8 randomized clinical control trials done using Synagis. They have been reviewed by physicians and MD specialists from across the united states and europe and the evidence does in fact suggest that Synagis works. It consistantly reduces the severity and RSV associated hospitalizations in at risk infants. Premature babies do not have the same immune system as grown humans or even their full term infant counterparts. Therefore Synagis helps to jump start their immune system and keep them from getting a full blown version of RSV which could lead to severe airway damage in this already fragile age group.
I commend this mother for trying to help her fellow parents who are confused by these daughting decisions, BUT her attempt was not based in science or reason, it was based in rumor and misguided and inaccurate information.
I hope this has helped you in your decision and with RSV season fast approaching i hope you reconsider. Also instead of taking advice from the internet, I suggest talking to the staff in your local hospitals NICU.
Deb Discenza
As the parent of a preemie, I appreciate your taking the time to properly address this based on science. I wish I had been properly armed with real information after the first year of Synagis so I could have fought the insurance company on another year of injections. As a result, while she didn't get RSV the first season, she did get it the second season and we had huge issues with residual asthma. Her pediatrician ignored my plea for requesting another year. 10 years later, we have to do inhaler treatments every single time she gets a cold. My daughter will have deal with that for the rest of her life. Thankfully we have been able to treat this at home and have not yet had an ER visit – so far.
my son got the synagis shots, never got RSV and developed asthma at age 5. after several scary ER trips he has to be on a steroid inhaler.
Deb Discenza
Karen, congrats on your son making it through RSV season! That is awesome!
A couple of things to clear up: 1) Syangis is not a vaccine but a highly specialized medication and 2) Synagis does not prevent RSV 100% true, BUT it can lessen the effects of the illness once contracted. That can mean a difference between a pediatrician watching over the baby through visits at the office and hospitalization/ventilation and yes, death.
The reactions to Synagis are very mild – specifically a reddening of the injection site.
My own daughter, a 30-weeker, got Synagis her first season. She was home on oxygen. The next year she did not qualify for Synagis and ended up with a nasty cold that then turned into a cough that would not go away. Ultimately, the pediatrician diagnosed her with Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) also commonly referred to as asthma. From everything I know and advocated about with RSV, I will be clear – I now know that my daughter had RSV that season and that we have been paying for it with asthma treatments ever since.
And sadly I have seen the effects of RSV on families that did not get Synagis. Their premature babies ended up in the hospital on ventilators and later had ongoing health issues and developmental issues. I have also had a friend whose daughter died from complications from RSV.
Again I congratulate you on making it through RSV season unscathed. Not every family is that lucky. That is why such treatments as Synagis exist.
My son was born 6 week premature, and they wanted him to get synagis. Don't vaccinate, and still all their fear mongering made me consider the synagis. But as I walked into the doctors office for his appointment for his first injection I had the worst feeling about it. I asked for the very detailed ingredients and information packet that came with the shot. After reading it, I left with my little boy and didn't let them give him the shot. He didn't get RSV, and is now 21 mo. old and as healthy as ever. The trial testings that are listed in the packet showed that over half of the infants that received the shots, still got rsv, and that the possible side effects were pretty much all the same things it was supposed to prevent plus possibly death. So I could not give my preemie baby this shot and he could not get rsv, and be fine (which is what happened) or I could give him the shots and he could have an adverse reaction and die unnecessarily. I was a no brainer for me!
Sad mom
My child was given synagis twice she passed from the second injection .synagis isnt safe for all babies so some of u people need to just shut up
Well, a month later, our daughter is sick yet again. We wash & sanitize our hands until they are literally raw. If we so much as suspect we have a bug of any kind, we wear masks. We have not been to a social event in 6 months. But the fact is we have other children; kids get sick. We do what we can to prevent the spread.
Our daughter has had one breathing treatment during her last bought with RSV/bronchiolitis and fared pretty well. She was not hospitalized. She has been sick for 4 days now and has not had any real difficulty breathing. We still took her to her pediatrician just to be safe knowing there's nothing that can be done – watchful waiting – but we decided we want our pediatrician to always stay in the loop regardless.
We asked our physician how much the Synagis played into her not being hospitalized; he said it COULD help, but that the breast milk she had was even better for her. I also had steroid shots during my 25th week, which the doctors all said helped strengthen her lungs before birth. I just mention for the sake of anyone out there who's looking for info.
I suppose I'm becoming less a terrified preemie mom but I'm sure others are out there are where I have been. After 5 months of Synagis though; I've finally received the "fine print" regarding the Synagis shot. Read it front to back. (I don't see anything about rat DNA in there hahaha – that said – I still do respect the fact that we question the safety of what we are giving to our children. Especially because I feel like information on Synagis is so hard to come by – unless all you want to hear is… you HAVE to give it to your baby and don't even THINK about asking us why or you are a terrible parent… basically… and then info is everywhere.) After reading the literature, at least I have a better understanding of how it works and why babies still get sick on Synagis. So I suppose I'm a little less angry now. And, perhaps a little less scared.
As cold/flu season winds down and we have one more dose of Synagis to go, I suppose I can say the jury is still out on what I think – I still feel like parents are pushed and scared into giving it to our children. However, our daughter was sick twice this winter yet not hospitalized. So maybe there's something to it. Please don't yell at me scientists and nurses I'm just a mom giving my point of view. So, I'm willing to concede to a point. [Although I stand by my statement regarding Stevia 😉 ] So, at least from our perspective, giving Synagis has not hurt our little one (knock on wood) – just her college fund. So, that's all I have to say. I suppose I won't be back out here; although, if a few years down the line our kid grows a tail or something I promise I'll let you know 😉 Best of luck preemie parents.
this article has a few flaws… rDNA is infact genetically modifying things, this is true, but the antibody is not being incorporated into your DNA. The antibody is going to be circulating for a finite amount of time. Babies are at risk of the RSV virus and we give the HIGH risk ones the synergis. The antibody floats around in the body and attacks the virus and limits its ability to infect the body. Babies have a week immune system to begin with. Pre-mature babies are at a much weaker state than term. Babies have an extremely low amount of circulating antibodies to fend off infection, so the purpose of this drug is to add antibodies specific to RSV into the body to protect against a potentially fatal infection. This article seems to speculate that injecting the rDNA developed antibody will somehow combine rat DNA with your baby's DNA, this is false. Your baby will not express any rat genes, nor will they pass them along to future generations.
$1,300? Our insurance was billed $13,000 for Synagis. (Maybe there was a take a zero off today special coupon code or something I missed.) Regardless, after 4 doses our baby has… I'll give you a hint… starts with an R and ends with a V. RSV. yep. The ole [R]eally [S]cary [V]irus. So begins my 3rd straight night of no sleep. But sleep is a fairytale to preemie moms anyway. That said, read on for tired nearly incoherent angry mom rant, rife with grammatical errors, I'm sure… *be merciful in your criticisms of my post. Or not – I suppose I don't hold much of a grudge.
… and the rant — All Synagis really claims is that is MAY reduce the severity of RSV. Well if I give my baby a teaspoon of sugar a day she MAY never get RSV either. At least that would have been slightly more cost-effective and less full of seemingly unnatural ingredients. Even if I opted to give my little one Stevia. I am not a chemist, when I get a cold I treat with vapor-rub, tylenol and tea, and feel like Marie Curie. So I can't speak to the make-up of the drug itself and whether or not it's safe. I only want the data – from all sides. I feel we were only given one side of the story (the just say Yay side) and minimal information on a drug that in my experience does not work. Not even at all. I suppose I just appreciate that someone at least has the lady-balls to question why we are pumping our babies full of, in my opinion, snake oil, peddled to scared parents who would do ANYTHING for a healthy child.
I mean you're pretty much damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'd like to see the research that proves Synagis works. I've yet to find that. But, how can we disprove their statements when all they claim is that it MAY work. I've asked our doctors and the nurse who administers the Synagis for information on the vaccine and all we have is a real nice scare-pamphlet with vague information written for a small child. I just hope that MedImmune puts that obscene amount of money parents fork out for their "sugar cubes" back into research for improving their product for babies to come.
stevia is actually a natural product. Its a complex natural sugar. It comes from the steviol plant. it's broken down in the gut after its passed into the intestines. Bacteria in your intestines use the sugar it produces instead of your body using it. Great sugar, very sweet, but causes diarrhea due to the osmotic effect in the gut.
you mention "they" are not doing any studies on this "as far as I know". Please tell your readers what makes you some kind of expert? All drug companies , repeat ALL maintain a database of side effects and events that have been reported. My 31 weeker had this drug, it doesn't stop RSV, it is designed to help make the illness less severe, and keep babies out of hospital. You should call the drug company and ask them for the lifetime history of reported side effects and complaints, and then list it all here. I was scared at first due to my lack of information, but our pediatrician was fantastic, and explained to us how safe this really was, and that was based on published studies, and real world experience. Heaven help any parent that listens to your WAY-underinformed opinion on something you know nothing about. Are you a chemist? A pharmacist? Seems you are just very afraid of medical words that you have chosen to remain ignorant about. If you REALLY want to be helpful, SHOW some real information about all these mythical dangers you are spouting about. Better yet, go to a local hospital and ask the Neonatal staff what THEY think of what you're spouting. You should be ashamed.
This post is disgusting. I would hope that parents wouldn't rely on this inaccurate blog for medical advice. I support researching the facts and making an informed decision but this site is utter nonsense.
Basically, you're saying to us "do not use a life-saving shot for your premature baby who could vary well die from a simple cold. Instead, pray to God that he will protect your child from evil."
Right. Should we also drink a special version of Kool-Aid you made just for us? Before you start posting your medical recommendations, I suggest you sit with a child dying from RSV. One in which the parents decided against the life-saving shot in favor of "good nutrition and prayer."
Your article is nothing more than an ego-stroking puff piece.
After reading this article I was more than disturbed. There are some facts but there is more hysteria. First I have administered this vaccine for 14 years. I have cared for premature infants before it was invented. I had infants in the study group. It took 10 years to come up with a vaccine to fight this illness. I have given it to infants since and I would give it to my own if I had a preemie. The permanent lung damage done by this virus to immature preemie lungs is lifelong and devastating. They have just recently found the virus also attacks the heart muscle. I have never had an infant experience any side effects except for injection site pain. It does break down as a previous person wrote. The body destroys it over the span of a month or so. It is very expensive to make thus the cost but there is only one company making it because it is so technical. What you as a parent need to weigh is are you willing to risk the damage done by the virus vs a substance that the body breaks down. I agree it is not 100% effective but last year out of 75 kids only 2 got RSV and the cases were so mild they weren't even hospitalized. Both had school age siblings who got very sick. You can not prevent it by limiting exposures unless no one ever leaves the house. That was the method we used before Synagis and every one of the preemies I took care got it, were rehospitalized and grew up asthmatics. Please get all of your facts before you make a decision that will effect the rest of your child's life.
It's not technically a vaccine but anyway, my son to the synasis shots, never got RSV and still developed asthma. we have no family history of asthma on either side.
This post is complete crap! If you want to make blanket statements like the ones that are littered in this blog you should back them up with FACTS from multiple sources. I am a pediatric nurse and am quite familiar with Synagis and it is a sad fact that when one googles "synagis" this post is the 5th link. Leave the medical advice up to the experts,
Amen, Diana. This site disgusts me.
Rebecca C
I feel the need to defend here. I am a preemie parent and we did synagis. No problems. You may not agree with this article, and this article doesn't fit my experience at all, but I find this site to be very valuable. If you disagree with the entire website, why are you here?
this article is full of mistakes.
first of all you dont inject "rat DNA" but inject a protein (the same kind of protien you have in meat, eggs ,milk and so on).
second , to understand the necessity of the murine DNA you must understand first how you make antibody based drugs (like synagis).
you inject the antibody's target(named antigen) to a host (mostly mouse) than the host's body develop immune response to this antigen,
you take those antibodies from the mouse and use it to make the drug, if you take the antibody as is, the human body will recognize it as foreign and will develop immune response to this antibody,
so you take human antibody and replace the small yet important part of it (about 5%) with the antibody from the mouse.
long story short ,if you want 100% human antibodies you need to infect humans with RSV (or any other antigen for that matter).
you tell me what is better
when my son got the shots in 2005, the nurse that administered them said the shot was made from nurses who had contracted RSV.
Deb Discenza
As the mother of a former 30-weeker now 9 and a community advocate for parents of preemies, I find this article to be one-sided and not thinking out the full set of issues. While I fully encourage people to be as informed as possible on their food choices, their drug choices and more, I believe this is attacking an audience of parents who are already reeling from the early birth of their child only to be criticized for a decision that is not made lightly and often is in the middle of numerous life-saving measures.
The babies who qualify for this drug have serious lung issues, pure and simple. Asking people to wash their hands is absolutely necessary but the public at large is quite ignorant about RSV, hand washing and more. Before Synagis came about (and its predecessor Respigam) premature babies were contracting and dying of RSV and if they were "lucky" they *only* ended up with severe long-term lung issues and were endlessly re-hospitalized with pneumonia and such.
As people said so eloquently in their comments above, you likely have not seen a baby on a ventilator. It is not a pretty sight. Nor is a baby's funeral because he/she died due to RSV. Yes, babies still die from RSV. Full-term and preterm. So you make choices and you ask questions. It is the right of every parent.
Now I would be willing to listen to more of what is said in this article if it fairly asked a developmental pediatrician, a regular pediatrician, a pediatric pulmonologist, a neonatologist, a developmental therapist, and yes, the drug company (Medimmune) for their comments regarding the side effects and what they know of any *potential* long term issues. That would make this a well-rounded argument that could allow for a parent of a premature baby to ask proper questions and get proper answers to make proper decisions regarding their child's needs. Also it would help if there were citations regarding the *evidence* noted.
And for what its worth, my daughter got a full season of Synagis her first year post-Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and had absolutely NO SIDE EFFECTS and did very well. The second season she did not qualify for Synagis and we did our best to protect her. Bam – she got RSV and while she did make it through without hospitalization, she ended up with a long term cough that was eventually diagnosed as asthma. So – which is better, drugs at the beginning to keep her healthy? Or life-long asthma drugs at the back end? I would choose Synagis every single time.
my son didn't really need synagis (5 weeks premature) but i panicked and asked for it because i didn't know any better at the time. he never got RSV but he did develop asthma and has had several ER visits and now is on a daily steroid inhaler.
Our 28 weeker qualified for the Synagis shots. Because I had no idea what Synagis is I decided to do some research on the internet. This was the first article I came across and it scared me half to death. Luckily I didn't stop here and after some more googling came to the conclusion that this article is complete BS. It's misleading and the author obviously lacks basic knowledge on the subject.
CLEARLY you are not the parent of preemie. CLEARLY you have no idea what your talking about! This post is offensive! THIS post is criminal! Parents of preemies who PROTECTED YOUR BABY FROM DEATH BY GIVING THEM SYNAGIS, well done! You did the absolute right thing for your child!
Rebecca C
I am the parent of a preemie and I actually did synagis, but I wasn't informed. I still don't have all the information at this moment. But this is a valuable website. I am like you, I am not taking offense. I am taking information and putting it with anything else I can learn. Why don't you relax!?
I am appalled at the gross ignorance of the original poster of this garbage. The horrible effects of RSV far outweigh any unfounded BS posted here that scare uneducated parents away from protecting their fragile newborn. Go to a PICU and see a baby, blown up like a toad on a ventilator with tubes and lines everywhere fighting to live through a severe RSV infection. I myself am surprised that the ambulance chasing lawyers have not by this time had adds on TV asking if your baby was born premature and had been harmed or died from an RSV infection. Call us and we will see if someone harmed your baby by not following a standard of care in protecting that baby. If your Dr had not recommended this injection or your insurance company denied this injection, call us and we will blah blah blah.
Stupid stupid people do not listen to the garbage posted on this site.
You misunderstand the science. The antibody is manufactured using rDNA technology, but it does not in fact contain any DNA whatsoever, rDNA or otherwise. That's like claiming a cake contains bits of the recipe card. The comparison to GM food (which has yet to be proved harmful) is also very misleading. GM food does, in fact, contain the DNA sequences as well as their associated products. Synagis does not. You would do well to learn more science before writing such alarmist articles.
This injection is being recommended for my premature daughter. I am trying to do research before making a decision regarding this. I am hoping you could share other articles and research regarding this drug for further reading. Thanks!
Jimmy Stanley
Great article! I have a strange sense of humor and rather enjoyed the 'guinea pig' comment, seeing that there is rat DNA in Synagis! I appreciate you keeping on top of current trends and informing us all! Keep up the good fight! Rebecca
Thank you for posting this, Sarah. I have had two preemie babies (2007 and 2011) and thankfully went with my gut feeling and rejected these shots for both of them. This just concludes that I was right. It just seemed like a vaccination, though they don't call it that. In their own information that that they gave us on it, the studies showed that 50%, yes 50% of the babies who recieved the shots still got upper resperatory infections!!! While those with the placebo was something like 47%. Ear infections were at about 37%, if I remember right… Too much of a risk for my little ones. Thankfully I am able to stay home with them and have half a chance of keeping them healthy.
Rebecca C
at least it sounds like you got the full information from the doctors, that is more informed consent than most people get.
Suzanne Gagnon via Facebook
Not only that but it costs a small fortune that most insurance won't pay.
The point Megan is trying to make is that sometimes parents who have children with special circumstances sometimes sometimes have to settle with the answer that isn't the best. Why is it necessary for you to go on and basically harp on the decisions she had made for her child, telling her that it is absolutely not necessary? Again, you don't know the particulars of the case. I don't disagree with you that it's not ideal to put stuff like that in a body, but like Megan said, sometimes they have to choose between the lesser of two evils, and Megan isn't whining. She's making a requests that people understand why parents in other circumstances sometimes make the choices they do because natural hasn't worked when an answer was needed and that it is done without condescendingly looking at them like they don't make the best choices for their child. Nothing you have posted on here has been an encouragement to Megan, written in a way designed to offer information in a helpful manner. You accuse her of whining and continue on to criticize what she did for her daughter at the time. You blatantly determine for her the lesser of two evils. Point is, that is an arrogant statement. I'll give you that it's honest, but that doesn't mean it isn't cloaked in arrogance. In her daughter's situation, she chose, informed more than anyone on this board could ever be in her daughter's particular situation, what the lesser of two evils were at the time. There's no need to determine in a response comment that what they did was wrong. Offer alternative help nicely or make kind suggestions for the next time—maybe ask if they'd like to talk about something you may have to help them. But as I said before, right now, you're just another person who the rest of the natural parenting community with special needs children see all too often: the person claiming to know best with no personal experience in parenting a SN child. When you've kept someone who wasn't suppose to live alive, helpfully participate in conversations like these. Have a lovely day too.
BTW, "retarded" is a valid term for people with particular disabilities. The mis-use is offensive when used as an insult to insinuate stupid. Contrary to popular ignorance, retarded individuals are not stupid and understand much of what you and I do, even if they display things differently. It is hurtful to use a disability as an insult. It's hurtful to the people who have the disability, and it's hurtful to those who love them. Are people easily offended by those cavalierly thrown about statements? Sure. But it wouldn't hurt to increase your sensitivity.
Holly Fils-Aime Murphy via Facebook
I thank the healthy home economist for her very valuable information that applies to many children. While not all of may benefit because of our own special circumstances, that is why we need to research for ourselves and use our own best judgement. I am just thankful that someone else researches and shares freely.
One of our doctors is recommending this for our 4 month old child. We are trying to do research before making a decision on this product we have NEVER heard of. A friend sent me the link to this post. I was wondering if you could point me to some other links and research for further reading. Thanks!
This is off topic. I've read through some of your previous posts and I'm confused about where you draw the line at "natural." For example, we're the only animals on the planet that drink milk past the age of infancy. The entire purpose of milk is to promote weight gain in babes, why are we drinking it as adults? Also, the milk that we drink comes from cows that naturally would not exist if not for human intervention. These cows have been artificially bred and selected to contain the genotypes and phenotypes that are most desirable by humans. They're not natural. Their genotype is completely impossible without human intervention and it couldn't survive in the wild. Also, eastern cultures have just started to drink milk and now their obesity is on the rise? That seems like a very large coincidence. The same goes for almost any food. Have you ever looked at "natural" corn that hasn't been bred by humans? Its essentially grass. There is no reason that corn kernals should be that big- the kernals are not providing any benefit to the corn itself. The same goes for bananas and nuts. They're not natural. They're not what we were eating hundreds of years ago. It seems like you're drawing a line in the sand.
Also, Bt Toxin isn't a standard pesticide. It's not a chemical that you spray on plants- it's a protein enzyme that can only exist within the corn. Its also only active at high pHs (above seven) that exist in insects guts. Not only is our stomach really acidic, but our stomach is significantly more effective at denaturing and destroying proteins using saliva, acidically active enzymes and acid in general.
I really love what you are trying to do with your blog, but I have to disagree with this post. I don't think it is right to make parents of preemies feel guilty for allowing their infants to receive Synagis. If you have ever had to take care of an infant on a ventilator because of RSV, despite the parents best efforts to prevent it, you might think differently. Sometimes good nutrition and proper hygiene are not enough, preemies are a unique set. While I agree that the medical profession leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the great divide between holistic and western practices, I have come across many health professionals who truly care about their patients well being.
I work for a group of Dr's & I am a mother. I have been on both sides of the fence with this issue. As far vaccines & Synagis are concerned most Dr's are not profiting from suggesting these vaccines. They are forced into thinking that these are helpful & necessary. They are taught that it is a necessity. All kinds of research & data point out that it is the right path to take. Unfortunately Dr's think: those of us that think outside the norm are "crazy" and we don't know what we are talking about, because we didn't go to medical school. Dr's forget because of what they see on a daily basis that some parents do think before they bring their children to see them. I also have had to fight for my kids against vaccines & sometimes have been told I would have to seek care elsewhere, I have also had to listen to parents when the Dr's I work for told them that. It is a horrible situation we are in in this country with all these requirements by the government, school system & medical schools pushing all of these vaccines for all ages. Please don't always blame the Dr's, sometimes they don't have a choice.
Beth Bento Dalton
I don't buy that. When you KNOW better you DO better.
I have seen the wholesale costs of vaccine and what Peds charge. I mean come on.. I have read accounts from Ex-drug reps on how doctors are whined and dined while being coached on how to purge these non-conforming patients from their practices. Insurance companies lower their pay out on patients who are not UPT and for doctors who do not throw their patients out for non compliance. Vaccines are a huge profit margin for the Pharma companies. And the rate of disabled children with chronic disease is directly tied into the ever increasing amount of vaccines being added yearly to the Vaccine Schedule. We are delusional if we think otherwise.. I think parents who are violently defendng their vaccine choice are either angry at themselves for not being able to think for themselvs or scared to death they made the wrong choice and feel helpless.
Medicine is no longer a practice, it is an industry and for protfit; when that happens altruism is out the window and decisions are not based on what is truly best for the patient.
there are hundred and hundreds of doctors and they're all out to make money on you? maybe you should be committed.
My 25 week twin girls turned 1 a few days ago. During their 3 1/2 month NICU stay, they received MANY drugs including morphine, dopamine, sedatives, and countless others. They are awful drugs, some with severe side effects that caused more problems and other drugs to be needed. I am the kind of person that researches everything. The doctors asked me if I was a medical professional because of how involved I was in my daughters' care and how much I knew of the procedures, medications, and other issues. My husband and I hated what the girls were given and worried about the long term effects all these drugs could have. We could have declined heart surgeries and other procedures and fought the medical professionals over issues like side effects of drugs, aluminum in the TPN, and many other things; but, instead, we asked God to give us and the doctors wisdom and He did. These drugs saved my daughters' lives! Yes, God is able to heal without them. He has provided whole foods and herbs as medicine. But sometimes, He chooses to use "evil" drugs and doctors for good. We had to choose to put our faith in God and trust that He would use these things for good and protect the girls from negative effects. We did all that we could for our daughters by praying, pumping/breastfeeding, being there when we were able to, holding them when their nerves developed enough to be able to handle touch, and stopping research when it caused us to fear and stress over their care. When we chose to trust that the medical team wanted what was best for our girls and that God had them there for a reason, we were able to relax in the arms of a very capable God. We were not naive to the fact that drug companies, doctors, and hospitals were profiting. We were not blindly allowing everything. We've had to say "no" to some things that were routine and push for some that were not. We didn't always make the right decisions, but ultimately we were trusting God to lead us and to use whatever means He wanted to heal our daughters. And He did! They are small, but perfectly healthy little girls who continue to amaze the health professionals!
So to those of you who have never had to choose to rely on doctors and drugs, please be careful when you judge others who have. It is not always black and white. I am a big advocate of treating, curing, and preventing sickness and disease naturally, but there are times when some have to choose conventional medicine and doctors and we are so grateful to have them! Thank you, Sarah, for encouraging parents to make informed decisions. We won't all agree on everything, but we should agree that God has given us brains to think for ourselves, read, and learn in order to make informed decisions about our health.
Rebecca C
thank you for your compassionate post
Yvette Brown via Facebook
Pity it is all about Dr's who are in the U.S.A and not Canada I would imagine it is pretty much the same but it would be nice to see Canadas figures
I am glad you wrote this post Sarah. When my son was born in December of 2000, he was 9 weeks premature and I almost died because of a ruptured appendix. I now know that my poor lifestyle and diet was the impetus for this occurring. But at the time of course, I had no idea.
Bruce and I allowed the medical staff to inject any manner of horrible, toxic drugs into our precious baby because we were told it was necessary to keep him alive and we believed it. He was put on Zantac and Reglan because he had reflux, and those were going into his i.v. during the entire 7 weeks he was in the NICU. He was also put on caffeine, of all things, because of his prematurity which caused him to have apnea due to his underdeveloped lungs. The caffeine was supposed to "stimulate" him so he wouldn't stop breathing. Fortunately he was only on a respirator for 5 days, but he was given a surfactant…oh, and the Hep B vacccines. He was also given some shot for RSV. Not sure if it was this shot or something else because I don't remember hearing the name Synagis when we were in the hospital.
During the time after we brought Tristan home he was on an apnea monitor for about 3 months, and only once did the alarm go off. I couldn't breastfeed properly because my body was very sick from having a serious infection and although I tried pumping, I got very little milk. So he was on formula for most of the time (again, I knew no better). Additionally, after he came home, he was a very fussy child who seldom slept for more than a couple of hours at a time at night, and rarely napped. I was constantly at my wit's end trying to keep him calm. He screamed and cried uncontrollably for hours at night (which we were told was "colic"). Now that I know better, I understand that he was being pumped full of drugs and chemicals and was essentially starving to death. If you do that to anyone, they will be miserable, in pain, and hungry…no doubt.
It's an absolute shame that all of this happens to so many parents and their children, when there is a better way. If I had known better back then, I would have tossed the commercial formula and made the wholesome home-made formula with real ingredients. I am so thankful that even after allowing my son to have 25 vaccines just before age 3 when I finally realized they were not good for him and stopped, he never became autistic. I know that all of what happened to us was a perfect storm waiting to sentence Tristan to a life of chronic health problems. I feel very grateful that I wised up when I did, even though by the time that occurred he was nearly 5 years old. It was then that I learned the importance of feeding him real, traditional foods and ditched conventional doctoring and health recommendations.
vaccines don't cause autism. This has been debunked over and over again. With the ability to diagnose children earlier, people are finding that autism is being diagnose BEFORE vaccines. You just increased your child's risk for whooping cough (8x higher) and all the other diseases you aren't vaccinating for. You want a scare? Google image search Polio.
With all due respect for what you have been through, and I truly mean that….the mortality rate for premature infants has dropped dramatically over the years because of advances in neonatal care. Caffeine is very common to prevent apneic spells….if an apneic spell goes on too long, you have cardiac arrest and brain damage. I can assure you that many who work with neonates, doctors included, get very attached to those babies and are very hurt when they don't make it. Many are doing the best they can with the knowledge they are given, and strive to do better.
anon – If you follow the work of Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, you will see from her research that autism is not necessarily the only cause of autism, but it is often the straw that breaks the camel's back. Children who develop autism don't do so overnight. It comes from a confluence of factors starting with the gut health, lifestyle, and diet of the parents which set the condition of the baby's gut flora before birth, the environment of the child after birth such as diet (including the diet of the breastfeeding mother and whether it is traditional, whole foods or foods sourced from industrial and commercial environments), and toxic substances that enter the child's body from medications to vaccines to environmental toxins to personal care toxins, etc. The overall toxic load of the body has everything to do with whether autism becomes full-blown.
A child who is going to develop full blown autism that can be DXed will not be healthy before the shot and then completely and chronically ill directly afterward. Making this claim about the disease is much too simplistic. There are other problems and symptoms, but mostly those go ignored or dispelled by conventional doctors. Children can have allergies such as asthma or eczema, digestive difficulties, behavior or mood issues, and those are termed as "normal" by most conventional doctors. These are not normal and are a symptom of gut imbalance. A vaccine can send a child like this over the edge from seemingly normal response and development into a despondent state. This is what is happening over and over again, and is being overlooked by the conventional medical world. Even the work of Dr. Wakefield showed a connection between the MMR vaccine and bowel disease, which is a predictor of autism. This is being shown again and again in medical research and news reports. There are more and more court cases happening where the families are found in favor over the drug companies by the judges. Here is a recent one from Italy:
Did you know that Polio has been linked to the use of DDT and other harmful chemical pesticides?
It's pretty unsettling to find out that a disease which we were told for so many years was something we could prevent with a vaccine was actually created by some of the most powerful chemical companies in the world, Monsanto being one of them. Medical science is a marvel, is it not?
They've actually found that autism risks are higher for people who are breastfed. In fact, there have been multiple cases involving people who weren't vaccinating being diagnosed with autism. Dr. Natasha is a quack and has been pretty much dismissed by every doctor and medical institution. The institution she works for has been widely disregarded. Wakefield manipulated his data so badly. He tested his work on kids and changed the dates of diagnosis. Every person he worked with and on that paper has denounced his work.
These "issues" are not ignored by regular doctors. The science and data done by researchers and doctors have completely dismissed all of your claims. Its not that this "argument" is ignored, its that its already been disproven and there is absolutely no use talking about it anymore. I would be offended, as a regular doctor, that you paint me in such a light. The data simply isn't true. There is nothing in vaccines that causes harm. Your body is a phenomenal machine- its adept at dealing with things that you consider "unnatural" (even though they're fine).
The "toxic" load is a joke. The protein and viral load found in the vaccines is no where NEAR the amount of the viral load if your kid gets sick. They've done studies. Doctor's themselves give their kids shots.
Gut imbalance? You do not control the flora in your childrens stomach. They do not inherit that from you. They are sterile when they are born-there is no gut flora at all. You want to say breastfeeding gives them bacteria; however you would have SEVERE problems if your breastmilk contained bacteria. It doesn't. It's completely sterile.
April- did you even read that article? The breast milk "promotes the growth" not provides the bacteria. Not the bacteria are inherited by the mother. The breast milk "promotes" growth of a certain bacteria. That bacteria is still there in babies who are not breastfed.
Beth Bento Dalton
Could you please cite the study that has shown that breastfed children have a higher incidence of Autism?
Can you also cite physicans associations that have discredited Dr. Natasha in a published paper, article, or peer reviewed journal? Or maybe just a single physcian.
Mr "anon"- you are right infants born via c-section have a sterile gut; and those born vaginally have an established colony of flora in their gut by 1 month. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora
You are wrong by suggesting that we cannot control the level of bacteria in our gut, but the newborns flora comes from mother's skin, bacteria in the vagina, and environment.. we can increase our flora orally and medically for situations like C-diff.
You seem very arrogant and slightly faceless with the "Anon" that so many rabid pro-science shills are. I know a guy like you, he writes in blog forums, FB groups, science journals and the like,.. he gets paid to do this. Any view point that does not conform lock step with a drug company he labels the speaker as 'crazy', a 'hippy', 'dangerous', infecticous, neglectful, uneducated, wing nut, conspiracy theorist, tin hat wearing alarmist… get the drift?
Ignoring the elephant in the room, won't make it go away.
Blind acceptance is dangerous.
An informed decision is not informed when one party doesn't disclose all the information.
Medical procedures and drugs should NEVER be forced on the people.
Profit is getting in the way of good medicine and the Fox is in the henhouse, guarding it and devouring the eggs.
To Beth-
Frankly, it doesn't matter what name I post on under here. I'm not getting paid by the drug companies. That's a ridiculous statement. Are you getting paid by Healthy Home Economist or Andrew Wakefield? No, you feel strongly about an issue. I feel strongly that Sara is telling parents that giving a shot to a baby will somehow harm them for the rest of their lives, when truly it will just lower the severity of RSV by allowing the babies immune system to respond faster and more efficiently to the virus. She probably hasn't taken a science course or know what an antibody is. Actually, I bet you a hundred dollars she was premed in college and had to drop out because organic chemistry was too hard. This probably led to vendetta against all those doctors that she assumes she's superior to. She is so so so quick to say to never get this shot. Have you read the disclaimer? She's telling parents of newborn babies what they should do (even if she doesn't have a newborn herself right now, and hers weren't premies and probably were healthy, so she can't speak for you!); however, if one of your kids get severe RSV, she's going to HIDE BEHIND THE DISCLAIMER. This makes me really sad.
I'm a scientist. Most people I know pursued this career for their love of facts, problem solving and the idea that maybe what we research in the lab can be used to help people. I'm not getting paid well. I spend hours and hours in the lab trying to get my PhD studying a protein that has implications in cancer, aging, diabetes and alzheimers. Doctors have noticed that this protein is significantly upregulated in cancer cells and they are trying to make drugs to block its function. I'm working on the laboratory end trying to pinpoint all of its role in the cell. I'm not saying this to ramble, I'm saying this because scientist and doctors are human. We get cancer. We have newborns. We will vaccinate our children. Sara cannot even tell you what an antibody looks like. Why they needed and used rat DNA. How the antibody is removed by the infants body in a month. She can spout nonsense. The reason I'm posting is because she just makes me sad.
Speaking of money, did you notice that your good Dr. Natasha is making a killing on her books? Profit runs this country. You can't separate profit from medical advances- no one would fund medical research. As it is, drug companies are losing money on anticancer research and medicine.
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama
Wow, I just can't get let this go. You're too stupid. And I don't say that about many people.
"There is nothing in vaccines that causes harm." Aluminum, formaldehyde, human DNA, monkey DNA, various antibiotics…. Really? ALL drugs and vaccines come with side effects. Ever read VAERS?
"They are sterile when they are born – there is no gut flora at all." True, until the moment of birth! They are colonized with mother's vaginal flora during the passage through the birth canal. There have been extensive studies done on babies born vaginally vs. c-section and the differences in their gut flora.
"…you would have SEVERE problems if your breastmilk contained bacteria. It doesn't. It's completely sterile." Holy crap, have you ever read a medical study? You know, one of those things they publish in medical journals? There's plenty of HEALTHY bacteria contained in breastmilk, and it does colonize a baby's gut. There have also been extensive studies on the difference in gut flora in babies who are breast vs. formula-fed. I just can't believe you don't know this.
You've made such stupid statements you have no credibility whatsoever. You'd be lucky to study under Dr. Natasha….
If all mainstream doctors are like you, I'm scared for the world….
I read your comment and at first I could not believe that you think breastmilk has bacteria. Please tell me how it gets there. Do you think your body makes bacteria? or that it pumps bacteria from your stomach? Please explain where your magic boob bacteria comes from. I'm intrigued by your stupidity. You can google, "content, breastmilk." If your chest does have bacteria that magically get there, why isn't there more infections?
The studies show that mother's produce glycoproteins. These glycoproteins are essentially proteins that have chains of various sugars that have been added on to either lysine/arginine amino acids or serine/threonine amino acids. They are believed to promote proper grow flora already within the stomach because not all bacteria have the ability to cleave these sugar/amino acid bonds. The authors of this study tried to link the creation of these glyco-proteins promoting the growth of specific bacteria, and they may be right; however, we can't identify or culture most gut bacteria, so it's really hard to know. We are able to conclude that breastmilk is the best thing you can feed your children because it tailors their dietary needs. There is a good chance that it has NOTHING to do with their gut flora. Blaming the mother and the grandmother of autistic babies for their autism is offensive and cruel. There have been tons of people that were not breastfed who did not get autism. The rise in autism can be linked and explained for the broadening of the definition of the autism spectrum and awareness of this disease by the population at large.
I'm not going to argue your blatant lies about vaccines.
Erwin Alber
anon – your post is so full of errors that I won't even try to address them.If you did any real research you would as I did arrive at the inevitable conclusion that vaccination is an organised criminal enterprise dressed up as disease prevention by means of junk science and that vaccines have never prevented anything, apart from health, sanity and common sense. Vaccines don't prevent, but promote ill-health, including autism.
Beth Bento Dalton
Debunked how?
The much lauded Verstraeten study held up high by the CDC was finally found to be fraudulent, the researcher; Verstraeten, was employed by a drug compnay and had reworked his numbers on the study 5 times to finally show that thimersol; (mercury) had no affect on infants at all. If no affect why fudge the numbers 5 times?
If you look at the symptoms of mercury poisoning and Autism, they are identical. Thimersol is still used during the manufacturing process of some vaccines, multi-dose ones… like the flu shot.. You want to be line and get the shot that finishes off the vial?
Bring on whooping cough, bring on measles, bring on chicken pox.. I'll take them over a adverse reaction to a vaccine. Can you fix my broken child once he/she has had one too many? Once his brain has swollen and been damaged. Vaccine package inserts are avail to be read in full online.. written by the drug company on the side effects that happen during the clinical trials and the contraindications that are rarely followed.
Better question to ask is why no vaccines have been tested to gether for safety. At 2 months of age children receive 5 vaccines or more. Yet none have been tested for safety, ect.. NO vaccine has ever had long term safety studies.. None has ever been studied or tested for carcinogens. Why not? Why does the EPA consider the amount of mercury in vaccines to be toxic if the same amount found in water? Because is is a TOXIC substance. We are fools to think there is no reaction b/c we have convinced ourselves that such a small amount can't possibly be harmful…
Consider reading some actual history and background on vaccines.. Polio, diptheria ect were on a steep decline well before the vaccine was ever invented.. And nearly all cases of polio are caused by cheap live viral versions given in very poor countries. Some countries in Africa have told WHO to take those vaccines and shove them. Can't blame them. And for smallpox…. 90% was never given a small pox vaccine.. yet.. ?
Maybe better medical care, clean water, year round access to food may do something for our bodies and immune system that vaccines cannot replicate; at least not without complications.
Thimersol is now out of every vaccine except some flu vaccines. I absolutely love the flu shot. They have tested them for safety, you nitwit- just because you haven't read the studies, doesn't mean they haven't been tested. You're lying.
Consider this: The whooping cough vaccine came out in 1980. Are you really implying that in 1980 our water was not clean? The decline in whooping cough was nearly instant when they made it mandatory. Now that quacks like you are refusing vaccines, whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella is on the rise. Whooping cough kills 30% of its victims under the age of two.
Any medication, treatment, vaccine, etc. has had studies done on it. Whether you for for any of these or against any of these is your choice. But Anon, go back and read those studies again. Every study in its sample size, including those you have mentioned, has subjects who have been negatively affected by what is being tested in a variety of ways. This is why anything available for treatment in its pharmacological information has contraindications, but even these are not entirely predictable. If you are able to get a hold of the testing results, you see where and how a certain number of the test sample has suffered ill effects. Scientific testing is always done from a sample, and as much as they try, they can never 100% test every genetic demographic.
Someone always ends up hurt. Minimal side effects to treatments does not mean no side effects.
You obviously feel like it is an acceptable risk to treat all and allow for some to be be unfortunate in that mix. You are free to feel that way. But don't expect for everyone to be willing to accept those risks. There are risks in everything, and because of that the decision needs to be left to personal evaluation.
I'm going to go out on a limb to assume you nor anyone close to you has suffered an ill effect from a normal medication or treatment. Good. I hope it never happens. It's happened to us (not vaccines, something else) and the consequences have been life-altering for our entire family. If you don't have experience with being the one who everyone thinks is an "acceptable risk," I'd re-evalutate your communications skills on these issues and hopefully your perspective a bit. If you think it's so acceptable to give everyone everything and think it's perfectly safe because studies show a certain % of positive effect, you are only thinking about yourself under the guise of thinking of everyone. The collective doesn't remain unaffected, and having been there, we'll always evaluate for ourselves even if the doctor says something is perfectly safe. We appreciate the guidance, but never will things just be done automatically because they say it's safe again. The doctors unfortunately, aren't always aware of when they shouldn't administer treatments.
Yes, there are contraindications on some vaccines. There is also always a chance that bad things happen that coincide, but are not influenced by the vaccines. You can get sick on the same day you get a vaccine, but that doesn't mean its caused by the vaccine.
I'm sorry the person you know has been hurt by a medical procedure that is considered conventional. I'm not heartless, but the incidence and the severity of a lot of these diseases we vaccinate against provide a substantial risk of life and life altering disease. The risk of ever getting injured by a vaccine is so so so low, that its completely unfathomable to not have 100% people vaccinated.
Yes, I did read the article. I'm aware that it's not about breast milk imparting actual bacteria, but it does demonstrate how breast milk helps. However, studies in done by researchers in Spain are now questioning the idea of an infant having a sterile gut. I don't have the article I previously read on it on hand, but you could probably find it if you Googled.
Where we are disagreeing is on what is unfathomable. You say the risk is so low that everyone should be immunized. Are you including contraindications in this? Even if you are not, the risk is still there, no matter how low. What those of us who have experience being that low number are saying is that it's an individual decision what treatments, vaccines, medications, etc. to take. People have a right to the individual choice of these things after having personally compared the risk of taking or not taking a treatment, etc. People don't seem to think it's a big deal if they've never been a victim of the rare side effects. Sometimes those side effects are horrible. You obviously feel differently, but I don't think the general consensus on the population is worth risking the health of those I love if, for whatever reason, a treatment doesn't seem to be the best option. This I say from very personal experience. Like I said, this in particular doesn't stem from an event involving a vaccine, but my daughter now suffers severe, life-long disabilities due to the "There's such a low risk" advice from doctors.
I also want to add, I agree with you that in the case of vaccines that if a person becomes sick the same day as receiving one that it doesn't necessarily mean that the vaccine is the culprit. However, it also doesn't mean that it is not. That is not something that most people in support of vaccination are usually willing to acknowledge. To refute that is to ignore the same studies that note the safety of the vaccines. The same studies contain the negative results and contraindications.
Beth Bento Dalton
I am sure we are intelligent to refrain from name calling. Aren't we?
Thimersol is still used int he manufacturing process of vaccines. Multi-dose vaccines, like the Flu shot for example, still contain thimersol as a preservative. The thimersol used during the manufacturing is removed at that time to a certain level; a 0.5mL multidose vial contains 25mcg of thimersol per dose. that exceeds the EPA Maximum Contaminate Goal Level of 0.002mg/L or 2 ppb for mercury in water. Why is there a discrepancy? Why does the EPA recognize mercury as toxic at such low levels, yet we INJECT it into our bodies at much, much higher levels.
It seems to me as a parent, in order to make an informed decision, am doing my own research and reading, have put more thought and consideration into this decision that one who either has no choice in their state but to vaccinate or one that simply isn't aware that there are ZERO safety studies done.. clinical trials are considered long term even if only 7 days long.. there are ZERO safety studies done on vaccines not a single one… and yet you call us names and belittle us for daring to question the purpose of 36+ vaccines in the first 12 months of life.. and wonder why there is over a 6,000% increase in Autism since 1980…
And for the record.. the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine was invented in the 1940s, nitwit.
Two things about the date of the whooping cough disease. Even if it was invented in the forties, are you claiming that as a population we were less hygienic? The answer is no. You can't claim that proper hygiene, access to clean water and food has improved greatly since the 1940's. You can't claim that we're healthier now on a blog that promotes "traditional" eating that is based from a guy in the 30's. Second, it wasn't made mandatory until the 1980's.
The reason that the levels of mercury need to be lower in water (and I can't believe I have to explain this) is that we drink a lot of water. We wash our food with water. We cook with water. The concentration of mercury in water based on molecules/liter needs to be lower simply because we consume a LOT of liters. An injection of a vaccine is what? 5mLs? how many molecules of mercury is that?
That and you are straight up lying about the zero safety test done. The FDA and CDC have to test the safety of every drug. You hear about the safety tests constantly. You're choosing to disregard the safety test because it doesn't line up with your "feelings" about vaccines.
Beth Bento Dalton
Hm- Can you cite ONE study that proves there is no link between Autism and over vaccination?
The Whooping Cough Vaccine does not prevent WC, all it is designed to do is mask the symptoms of WC- you can have it, be ill, but not present as WC and go on to infect others. Those at risk for WC are those who are 6 months and younger. (this is clearly stated on the vaccine package insert provided with the vaccine by the drug company.)
You may want to investigate the beginnings of 'vaccinations' and get into the history of the response from the public and the crisis early polio/smallpox campaigns caused- less than 10% of the world was vaccinated against smallpox, and it has died out- Polio might die out as well, if we would stop giving the LIVE viral to populations in poverty and in 3rd world countries- clean water and farm aid would do more good than a vial of polio.
Rebecca C
vaccines are given in the hospital at birth, so how can they prove autism happens before vaccines?
You didn't mention one very important ingredient for all babies' health: Mothers' milk. This is safe & helps in the defense against diseases. (This is my first time reading this blog.) My guess is that you probably do advocate for breastfeeding for infants & the use of human milk in neonatal intensive care units. After all, you are the Healthy Home Economist.
They pretty much forced this one on our preemie twins 8 years ago. There was an underlying threat that our babies would be taken away if we didn't cooperate, and we had already refused all other shots. I'm still angry about this, and about the so-called fortifier (full of corn syrup, milk solids, etc.) that the NICU added to every bottle of my pumped milk; we fought this, but they refused to leave it out. No wonder our babies had bleeding diaper rashes all the time. Their 2yo brother had a horrible milk allergy and we didn't want our babies to get any milk.
Thanks to good diet and lots of prayers, our twins are doing great nowadays, but it was a rough start, and I wish they had not had Synagis.
BTW, we had planned a home birth for them, but you can't very well do that when they insist on coming out at only 31 weeks!
Rebecca C
that makes me think about my own experience with my baby recently in the hospital. he was there for a month, they added a supplement (can't remember what they called it) to his pumped milk. Now i wonder what was in it because he had a really bad diaper rash too, but no problems in the recent four months we've been home. the problem is when you are in the NICU haze and just trying to make it day to day, you don't have time to research things you've never heard of, and even if you do, some amount of compliance is expected from you to get through the experience and get the baby home.
We refused the formula fortifiers and told our docs if fortification was necessary, we'd only consent to Prolacta. It's a breastmilk concentrate. Our docs were incredible to work with; we were respected at every step of the way. Thank God.
Stephanie Duffey via Facebook
Donate Life that is a wonderful story. My son as well, has had some amazing dr.s, he had a brain tumor removed in 2001 and the brain damage has been extensive. But I have also had a run in with a Dr. who felt she owned my son because i didn't want to vaccinate. She edifyed my consistently about how good of a job I was doing until I said no to vaccinating, then all of a sudden she said, "I just wonder if you can handle what is on your plate?". So some dr.'s are wonderful yes, but some are terrible and deserve the bad rap they get.
Sarah P. I have to ask why you think you need to bash doctors so much? Yeah most recommend vaccines, but you seem to have a big problem with them. Obviously your family is healthy which mean you don't see many doctors if none at all. So your hate for doctors and bashing them so much (not just on this post and in your comments but in several of your posts) is based on what? Not personal experience? Just reading articles online on how evil they are? My sons doctors pushed vaccines on him and we are a family that doesn't vaccinate and eats a WAPF diet. Guess what? The doctors at The Children's Hospital (and hospitals all over the USA) LIVE AND BREATHE THESE KIDS! Literally. My sons life was saved by an organ donor 2 months ago and no a WAPF diet, naturopathic docs, homeopathy, bone broth, not vaccinating, chiro's, reiki, etc, etc, couldn't save his liver. His transplant doctor worked 10 hours to put his liver in and then stayed the night at the hospital just to be close by in case something happened. The next day he did it again…he gave a little baby girl a new liver. Words can't express how much these doctors love their kids. They are good people. Please stop bashing doctors! Goodness.
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama
There are SOME good doctors and Sarah knows that. Her father is a doctor.
I still think the Hep B shot (given shortly after birth) is a big reason why we are seeing an increase in lung problems, not just in preemies but in all babies. Just my opinion, but I've seen so many babies with lung issues in just the past couple of years. There has to be a connection, I think.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
I read somewhere recently that 40% of children in the Detroit public school system carry an inhaler.
I hear that having severe RSV causes asthma. Gee, I wonder if there's a way to either cure or less the effects of this disease. OH WAIT! there is….
Liz H
I like this anon person. Yes RSV causes asthma and I have at least one kid with it to prove it. And as far as Detroit goes, exposure to poor home hygiene and cockroaches also increases the rate of asthma, especially in apartment dwelling urban kids. I think that's more likely than the Hep B vaccine. I am NOT a fan, however, of vaccinating babies for what is basically a social disease contracted through sex or IV drug use. I AM a fan of preventing something that IS DEADLY in infants.
People!! Please do NOT make a decision on anything you read online! Doctors are not out to get you, nor hurt your children. This is just crazy, the blogger should feel bad for any uniformed parent who chooses against Synagis because of reading this. How can you sleep at night knowing there may be a child who may get RSV, because of your uneducated post!?! Research does not mean looking online. This blog is so so very far from the truth, if you knew anything at all about medicine you would see this! If your Father is truly a Doctor he would be ashamed of you!!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Rice cereal in NICU???? These medical personnel have clearly lost their minds. Any parent needs to be researched and ready before dealing with this people.
Just another example of lack of education…maybe it is you that needs to do some research. Rice cereal is often used in premature and neuro-compromised infants to thicken the breastmilk/formula. The fluids are thickened to prevent aspiration which leads to pneumonia.
Rice cereal cannot effectively thicken breastmilk due to amylase present in the milk.
Something like Gelmix would have been better and had more successful results.
I would've fired any doc who would've tried to give my preemie rice cereal in the NICU.
thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook
There is no doubt docs are making $$ off Synagis else they wouldn't be pushing it so hard: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/is-your-doctor-getting-drug-kickbacks/
They would be pushing it so hard if they knew it HELPED! Doctors aren't out to get you. They're out to help you.
My son, born at 29 weeks, received one injection of Synagis when he was released from the hospital. We declined HepB, but were duped/guilted into this one. I am a SAHM, and didn't take my son anywhere for several months, so we definitely should have said, NO.
Fortunately, the pediatrician we began seeing when he was released never mentioned it, and we certainly never requested any more injections. He was breastfed for 3 months (including 53 days in the NICU), and then put on the WAPF raw milk formula. He's a chunky, healthy, happy, vaccine free 20 month old now. Hopefully excellent nutrition will save him from any long term damage caused from that one injection!
On a related note, the NICU also put him on rice cereal in his feedings, and Prevacid due to "reflux". UGH!!! The first thing I did when I got him home was stop the rice cereal, and weaned him off the Prevacid. No problems at all! Why, oh why, do they put preemies and other infants through such ridiculous "treatments"?
Rebecca C
because they take care of many babies and can't give them the attention that you can at home, and also liability.
Pingback: The Scary Side of Synagis – The Healthy Home Economist | Having A Healthy Baby
Christi Markee via Facebook
Having worked at a pharmacy that dispensed synagis for many years,(but does not now), I can gaurentee that it is not the Doctors or the pharmacies that are making money on this. The insurance reimbursement is crap, and Medimmune (the manufacturer) raises the cost each yr. They are the only ones making a profit, a huge one.
Liz H
I second that. I don't make a dime from ordering medication for any patient, no matter how expensive it is. And it's ludicrous that the cost goes up up up because the medication has been around for so long. They're probably squeezing every dime from it they can before it goes generic/bioequivalent.
Absolutely right, Christi. The doctors are NOT making a profit off these, the insurance reimbursement is nothing – the doctors are giving these shots because they are relying on scientific research.
Beth Bento Dalton
It would be interesting to know what the Ped actually charges insurance and cash pay patients- the incentive to toss away patients that cannot or will not comply 100% to the schedule IS financially driven, as the get greater INS and Medicaid reimbursements- this the reason behind the hospitals forcing their staff on ALL levels to submit to flu vaccine or lose their job- 90% and higher yeilds a higher medicaid reimbursement rate- It is SICK- medicine/medical insurance is a FOR PROFIT industry and to be so naive to think these people are in it for the 'greater good' is sad.
Rebecca C
Well I had a premature baby the day after this post was written, and I am reading it today after Synagis is done. I'm not sure if I'm against synagis just from this blog post, but I'm sure the author would prefer me to do my own research and make up my own mind anyway. But I will say that I see our dr bills for giving synagis and they are tiny, I could pay them out of pocket. The cost for the drug is HUGE! the drug companies are getting the money, unless doctors are being paid under the table or something (hope not).
Stanley Fishman
Great post, once again. Our bodies are magnificent, and work much better on real food than anything else. All drugs and artificial substances cause problems and interfere with the natural functions of our bodies, often in way that are unknown.
My personal preference is to avoid all drugs, prescription or not, unless there is no alternative.
These poor babies seem like guinea pigs for the drug companies that profit from them.
thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook
At the exorbitant price per shot, no wonder the docs get ticked when you say no. They have yacht payments to make after all.
This ignorant statement just speaks to the fact that you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Physicians actually lose money on Synagis. It takes up time and resources to get each child approved and they only make a nominal fee on the administration. Any doctor that recommends Synagis to a patient is not doing it so that they can make money, they're doing it to help your child. Preemies and healthy babies die from RSV every year. There is absolutely no evidence to support any of the statements that this author made, and it is downright negligent to be making such comments. If any parents that have given their children Synagis have read this and have had any doubts about whether you did the right thing…you did. If your child was approved for Synagis, they needed it. RSV is no joke and it is not worth taking any risks with these fragile babies.
May I ask if you can actually decline these shots? Doesn't the hospital dictate your care for a preemie? I have heard this — how could you decline something so "beneficial"? How do parents maintain their rights in that situation? I am thinking of the babies taken from parents for declining HepB, or for having a homebirth, then transferring because there was an issue (Baby Ruth). Anyways, this information is invaluable, but I wonder how these can be declined — though I'd certainly try my hardest! (I'm 36 weeks with my second, but having a homebirth thankfully, so I don't have to deal with a ll the hospital disease-infested horrible-ness. But I know a transfer could always happen.)
Exactly! Parents of preemies have no rights. It feels like the hospital owns them and you have to be on your very best behavior to be *allowed* to take them home.
And it's not just preemies. Our 4th was a planned -home-birth-turned-hospital-birth. My blood pressure was a tad higher than it should have been after the birth, but I wasn't getting any rest in the hospital, so we wanted to sign out AMA and have my husband monitor my BP at home. They talked us into staying, but we found out later through our midwife that the doc would have refused to release our baby if I left AMA. Yes, my baby would have been held hostage!
It's enough to make a person not want to have any more babies. You can try for a home birth every time, but you can't guarantee it will happen; I only managed to birth one at home so far, though we tried with all 4 of them.
Beth Bento Dalton
I have a 6 yr old daughter with CP who was born with brain bleeds at 25 weeks. I fought against the NICU to avoid her vaccines ALL the 2 months shots.. there were 5 on the schedule at the time.. at 2 months of age, she was 2 pounds, 7 pounds, and recovering from abdominal surgery for an intestinal infection known as NEC. All the vaccine package inserts list low birth weight and extreme prematurity as a contraindication and not to be given to those children. I still can't understand why the head NICU nurse called me and hounded me to consent to them, lying outright that she can't attned daycare or public school without them. AS a parent with a child who may not live past 48 hours with a life threatening infection, bullying me did not work, and I educated her on how my other child was currently in class and in a public school and unvaccinated. What was the purpose for pushing the vaccines other than 'being on schedule'- the needs of the drug company supercedes that of a sick infant in a level 3 NICU. Flash forward to coming home and being healthy as a horse, I consented to Synagis for her at 18 months, the "it isn't a vaccine" ect was used and to be honest it swayed me. She received 2 doses and it wasn't until after the 2 dose I realized that the foaming at the mouth, listlessness, lack of appetite, were reactions to the injection. I am still angry at myself and even angrier at the arrogant Ped who we were seeing who pushed me into this decision. I wish I could do it all over again. I am just thankful we knew better to opt out of the vaccines, because starting them at 2 months of age at 2 pounds would have killed her. I am sure of it..
Liz H
You have to sign a consent to give any vaccines to your child, whether they are in the NICU or not. If they give the vaccine without your consent it is illegal. I used to work in the NICU and we weren't allowed to give vaccines until the parents consented. I never agreed with vaccinating these babies whose immune systems were already compromised and immature. If you have a good relationship with your provider, this shouldn't be an issue. Discuss it ahead of time. But good luck with Vitamin K. That's one they give no matter what unfortunately unless you have a homebirth. Then you can do oral drops instead. And that DOES save lives, I just hate to see the newbies get that big old injection. Owie!
Lindalee McCandlis
Thank you for this timely article. Our Ped recommended this shot just last week for my 2 boys. She told me not to worry it's not a vax as she knows where I stand on the vax subject. I agree that they use fear mongering and play on every parents need to protect their premeeie. Children who have already been through too much in their short lives. When I did an internet search I could find no clear cut information on this drug. THANK YOU for this article, I knew it probably wasn't the right decision for our boys but now I know why.
God Bless You!
Ugh! My daughter born at 37.5 weeks with multiple complex heart defects received this shot! It is so frustrating to only later find out this critical information. I have since learned to not believe everything a doctor says. I do pray for the health of my daughter, especially regarding the crap I allowed to be put into her body. Thanks for sharing so others can make more informed decisions.
Homegrown Health via Facebook
Thank you for this!!! I will be sharing on my radio show page (Homegrown Health) and with thebirthingsite.com where I keep a blog under the pregnancy section. I have followed your blog for years and it has added to my life and the life of my family in so many ways.
My now 8 year old was also given the full rounds of synagis – she was born at 34 weeks with congesive heart failure in mid-October so they played on the season as well. I also was given the feeling that we were lucky as our insurance fully covered the home health nurse to come once a month to do the shots. I found myself in tears reading this article and realizing what we allowed to be put in our daughter. Thank you for your response to the lady above, truly prayer is the only thing we can fully rely on. My first two kids were fully vaxxed before we realized the implications. As I was wrestling with the knowledge of what we had allowed to be put into them the Lord spoke clearly to me, "my grace is enough….BUT now you know" now we know better and are held to that responsibility. Thank you for helping us look out for our families!
Brooke Harbertson Todd via Facebook
My son was born with a serious congenital heart defect. The drs tried to bully me into having the shots, and didn't give us any info on it. I did much research on Synagis and have opted not to do it. Drs were not happy. We chose to focus on strengthening his immune system (I was not allowed to breastfeed him, so I pumped full time for almost a year, then put him on raw goats milk!). We also chose to be very careful where we took him during that season. He is very strong and healthy! I'm anticipating the drs will push this again this season!
Brooke, you rock. Congratulations on following your beliefs. You've clearly seen the benefits and I think it's awesome
Ty-Megan Gross via Facebook
I have a trached medically fragile daughter and Synagis is one of just a few shots where we decided the benefits outweigh the risks. It's easy to tell parents to just wash their hands and stay away from crowds, but what about those of us who can't avoid hospitals bc of the need for appointments and testing? In April, my daughter did contract RSV, but I think due to our efforts to keep her healthy AND the synagis it was very very very mild. Let's remember that while natural means may be all that's necessary for typical children, there are those of us who have to constantly choose the lesser of two evils in order to keep our kids alive and as healthy as possible.
Medically fragile children are at even higher risk when it comes to this kind of "risk". My little sister was extremely premature(24wks), had Synagis, and contracted RSV several times, including hopsital stays. Do I think her cases would have been more severe if she hadn't received it?No, on the contrary, actually. If she had better nutrition (drs were pushing pediasure at the time) and less unnatural interference, it would have been less severe. Natural means are all that's necessary for ALL children when it comes to nutrition, immune systems etc (NOT surgery/trauma, corrective surgeries, etc, mind you). The lesser of the two evils will NEVER include foreign, genetically modified animal DNA (especially rodent), EVER. No matter how medically fragile.
I'm a little astounded at your arrogance, Anon. I'm sorry that your little sister had to put up with all that, but your sister's case is not going to be identical to Ty-Megan Gross's child. For you to go one and tell the parent what is solely needed for her child's health is ridiculous. Not all conditions have immune systems that respond the same way a healthy child's does to nutritional health. When talking about the lesser of two evils, it's likely that your sister's evils are not the same as the child who is discussed above.
But please, come back on here and explain even further why you know what best for this child more than her parents who have been responsible for keeping her alive thus far. It all might look good here, but the community of special needs parents who do believe natural is best but have to sometimes make alternate decisions all know you're "that" person.
I have a special needs child. We personally have avoided vaccinations and all medications except for one. But I understand the parents who have to make the hard choice to give medications/ vaccinations when they originally wouldn't have.
Everyone talks about treating the body naturally because that's how our bodies were made to be function. In most cases—and even a lot of special needs cases—this is still true. But when you have a child whose body doesn't function in the way our natural state was designed, sometimes you have to step outside the realm of natural treatments because the body is no longer normal. And it's nice to be able to do this without the rest of the world thinking that they know better when they're not responsible for making these kind of decisions in the first place. Sometimes, as much as you try, good nutrition doesn't normalize a body with extra issues.
If you do have a special needs child and have also been able to maintain a natural treatment plan, be glad. There are plenty who can't, and it bothers them about as much as your type of comments do.
I don't really see how my comment was arrogant, and if it was, any more arrogant than hers. She was whining that "it's easy to tell other parents blah blah blah" like she's alone in the world. I agree that some special needs children can't normalize and process normally. That's where creative thinking comes in. Could they make something along the lines of Synagis WITHOUT the genetically modified rat DNA? I'm sure they could, and that would be great. But compromising the very buildup of your childs identity is never going to help anything. I doubt Synagis has any higher of an effective rate than the dtap. Some kids who weren't supposed to ever see, walk, or talk, and most likely die, I have seen overcome all these things (brain damage/severely immuno-compromised included) with some creative expirmentation with things that WON'T harm them. What I'm saying is we should never compromise our children's health no matter how fragile, or be duped that something like this has the "highest likelihood of helping" over anything else. There's no child that cannot follow and maintain natural treatment, however it is person specific and much harder to find/target than things that come prepackaged in a syringe. It takes much more effort, diligence and searching. Not JUDGING other parents, I've done things because of lack of knowledge that I regret (but don't whine about- what's done is done), just wanted to make it clear for other people reading this to never give up or give in because your doctor tells you that you have "special circumstances". Obviously things such as Synagis would be better than death, but that is only taking into consideration the possibility that actually it works. Don't be so easily offended, point-blank honesty is different than arrogance.
"…point blank honesty is different that arrogance."
I'll agree with you on that.
But that is not what you're doing. You are still defending the fact that you know better than the parent of the child what would be best in regard to your care. We could go around in circles all day on this. You and I really do not differ in our preferred treatment options. But it is wrong and ignorant to act as if you know what is best for a child's who particulars you are not privy to. To say there's no child who can't be healed through proper treatment is ostentatiously false.
Example: please explain how natural treatment heals a child whose brainstem has suffered so much damage that the autonomic functions are no longer working and they can no longer breathe on their own, thus requiring a trach. Maybe with time something can be figured out, but they're not going to have that time if they cannot breath. Traching is about as unnatural as it comes.
Effort and diligence can get you far in personal, natural treatment plans, but that can take a significant amount of time, and I say this from personal experience. I rarely sleep a full night because I'm up researching for answers. And I've been doing this since she was born. It's a steady process and we're finding success, but we've not been able to get an answer to fix things overnight. So, in the case of my daughter, we've had to rely on seizure medications while we continue to search for more natural means. I'd love to take her off the meds; I've tried. We went straight to the hospital with a serious case of Status Epilepticus, which can kill you or cause further damage if not gotten under control. I don't like seizure meds, but I do love my daughter and would rather have her on the medication for a time until an answer comes our way instead of losing her to something that I don't have to.
Ty-Megan Gross sounds like she's making similar choices. She doesn't sound like she particularly cares for the Synagis, but a natural treatment option in the particular case of her daughter hasn't worked for them yet. So they are doing what they can until the better option shows up.
Just like with medicine, natural treatments are particular to individuals and not everything works for everyone. What we may do in their circumstance doesn't necessarily work for Megan's daughter.
The whole point is that you're being unfair, and you are being arrogant. Don't criticize the situations you don't have experience in. You don't know as much as you think you do.
I wrote nutrition and immune systems, not corrective surgeries, etc, such as trachs, g-tubes, etc. That's not really medical interference, it's keeping one alive lol. I'm not being ridiculous, I'm saying infiltrating a tiny body with genetically modified rat dna will never be the best answer out there. We had to do seizure meds as well, until we found the culprit of the seizures (the medication didn't even work but drs are retarded, so you know). Stopped vaxing, pumped up the magnesium and fish oil (fermented cod liver oil) to ridik levels and she came off the meds. And a year later we are still getting them out of her system. That's different than preventative measures. I'm not saying I know what's best for that girls kid, I'm saying genetically modified rat dna will never be good for anyone. Dunno what's so arrogant about that. Hope you have a lovely day!
I'm relieved to hear that your medically fragile daughter only had a mild case of RSV – these are the children (especially trached children – I've been taking care of them all week in my hospital) who benefit so much from the Synagis shot. It's hard with all your appointments at clinics and hospitals for her not to be exposed to germs! I know you are doing all you can to keep that precious child well!
I think it's important to remember that 1.5 million children under the age of 5 years die from pneumonia – and RSV is the NUMBER ONE cause of pneumonia in children under 1 year of age (Source: Emerging Science; doi:10.111/j.1753-4887.2012.00517.x). Protect your darling children!
:'( I was talked into giving this to my twins nearly ten years ago. The pediatrician made it sound like we were getting some kind of treat because we qualified to get the treatments for free. Little did I know they were exploiting my lack of knowledge and experience with the medical community, and also my age and socioeconomic situation. They succeeded in making me so fearful of rsv that of course I wanted to protect my babies! I was already a basket case from lack of help, and sleep and they were born at 35 weeks and so I was worried about their lungs anyway! It's really, really sick the way they manipulate the situation. Unfortunately we didn't suffer any of the side-effects mentioned, because if we had we'd have probably stopped going. My twins have been the sickest of my five children their whole lives, if anything is going around they get it, and they get it the worst.
It's impossible to know, but if your babies are really prone to getting bugs, they may be alive today only because they did get this antibody and were protected from RSV. There is zero evidence to suggest that this drug made them more sensitive. Being born at 35 weeks is much more likely to blame.
This blog uses a lot of scary language and fear mongering, but no where does she point to any actual cases of babies being harmed by this "gruesome genetic experiment " She suggests "prayer" be used instead of medicine. When her kids get appendicitis, is she going to go to her Dr or ask for a faith healing? Rather than rely on a blogger for medical advice, ask your Dr. or any nurse that works in the NICU. Yes, it's expensive, most new science is. Should it be cheaper? Yes, Does it save the lives of babies born premature with sensitive lungs? Yes.
This shot does not prevent RSV, so it does not protect, it is not a vaccine.
Sarah, my 26-week preemie (almost 11 years old now) had a full round of Synagis shots. I am so glad you posted this, for others to learn about it. Do you have any thoughts about what can be done, now, after the fact, to help his body deal with the effects of that junk? Ugh. I wish we knew then what we know now!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Prayer and good nutrition. We all get duped … ours is a deceitful society.
Sarah, my preemies were given Synagis 13 years ago. I was wondering if there are any studies that you could refer me to detailing the effects children have suffered from this. It would be very helpful to know what to look for and what to attribute it to should they exhibit any signs. Wondering also if there are any documented protocols for dealing specifically with these effects. We, of course, have been praying for the health of our children even before they were born and have done the best we could with nutrition with the information we have had at each given stage and are still learning and improving in that department. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
This is not being studied at all as far as I know. These scientists who like to play God develop artificial DNA in the lab and do some superficial analysis of it and foist it on our helpless babes and trumpet it as effective and safe for them.
Simply criminal. The full effects possibly won't be known for decades as none of these children are grown and having their own children yet.
Jeannette- You should ask your doctors. The drug can not be given unless there were full rounds of testing before the FDA passed it. Since the antibodies given are 95% human, they will be removed by the liver and kidneys in a short amount of time (the only way for antibodies to stick around is if you have cells that produce those antibodies, which is not the case here).
Liz H
As Jazna mentioned above, the antibodies are cleared from circulation by the bodies excretion mechanisms and in the case of Synagis, the half life is 20 days, so by the time the next monthly dose is due, 75% of it has already been cleared. Hence the reason for monthly injections during the peak of RSV season. The drug is cleared so quickly that it needs to be boosted monthly to maintain adequate levels to be effective. 3-4 months later there would be no trace at all, so 13 years later there is nothing left.
There is a lot of controversy about vaccines, some founded, some not founded in science and my children are only partially vaccinated because I did the research and decided what was the safest route. However, I personally administered Synagis for 5 seasons (November-April) over 10 years ago. This has been around for a long time and really is quite safe. I never had a child experience any side effects, not even a low grade fever or injection site reaction. I wouldn't have given the medication if I thought there had been any danger to these precious little kids.
And on a personal note, I have twin girls who were born full term at home and were quite healthy and breastfed, etc., who at 5 months of age developed full blown RSV. I watched my babies struggle to breathe and had to administer nebulizers and medications every 2-4 hours around the clock for a week. They lost more than 10% of their body weight and as a consequence of this virus, now wheeze every time they get a cold and one gets croup with each illness as well. The only reason they weren't hospitalized is because my pediatrician knows me very well and I am a nurse and he told me that I was doing everything that would have been done for them in the hospital except exposing them to more germs! However, caring for your own sick children in that state is a lot different than taking care of someone else's child in the hospital. I would never want someone else to go through that. Especially a preemie who is compromised to begin with. Ever seen a baby on a vent? I have. Over and over and it's not pretty. I wish Synagis had been given to my girls to prevent their illness which will likely cause asthma in at least one of them but they didn't qualify because they were too healthy and full term.
I should also add that not one of the kids that I gave Synagis to ever contracted RSV either. I DO believe the stuff works and is safe and that because of the body's wonderful excretion mechanisms, once the season is over, so is the drug. I am more than annoyed that the author of this blog would frighten people about the effects of a medication that they don't even have personal experience with and certainly no medical background and then offer "prayer and good nutrition" as the intervention to avoid supposed sequlae to using a harmless preventative medication. It's dangerous and irresponsible. I thought this was a food blog/website, not medical advice…
Great post, Liz. I too am a pediatric nurse and as of today, we have over 15 kids here with RSV. It's NOT pretty.
Parents, PLEASE, do not take advice from a blog or random Google searches. Ask your doctor for studies that give medically sound advice.
Concerned 2
Many infants including full term babies are weaker and will have weaker lungs, heart, muscles, simply because of the local clinical standard of care of early cord clamping, often imposed is the worst, immediate cord clamping. Much of the healthy nutrients found in the whole placenta blood is left in the placenta and some in the umbilical cord. Because this hasty cord clamping is done as State, Province or Territory policy, the parents are not informed about it and cannot stop it. They could, but they would need assistance for a signed birth contract that all revival must be done on the unclamped cord, for any infant. Otherwise, the local standard of care will prevail.
The hasty clamping which is done before the child was wrapped in a warm blanket and before the placenta is naturally birthed and all pulsation ceased in the cord leaves the child, weaker.
Some have even died or have been taken off their life-support of the serious internal damages by insufficient blood infusion. The lungs will be targeted as well as the brain cells.
To avoid any Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (IRDS) the parents have to know about the training of the local medical persons, including midwives and emergency medics so they can stop the hasty umbilical cord clamping. Lung disorders were also known as the Hyaline Membrane Disease or Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS).
The natural immunities in the whole placenta blood if not stopped will assist and aid any infant, full term or premature.
More information and urls how to have a healthy delivery and infant may be found at
All the best in any future planned births.
I want to thank you for posting this. My daughter was a 27 weeker, and left the hospital after rsv "season." this past season, she got all 5 doses. Never got rsv, though one of her cellmates (fellow nicu baby, my endearing terms for her friends) got it 3 times. Had this 24 week preemie not been given this shot he would have for sure died. When a parent allows their child to get vaccinations, food…..whatever goes in their body, its important to investigate. However, this is clearly a misinformed mother.
rebecca huff
Great article! I have a strange sense of humor and rather enjoyed the 'guinea pig' comment, seeing that there is rat DNA in Synagis! I appreciate you keeping on top of current trends and informing us all! Keep up the good fight! Rebecca
back to school
It may be time for almost everyone here to take some biochemistry classes! antibodies are proteins and therefore contain absolutly ZERO DNA.
Yeah this article makes no sense. Insulin is made from pig and cow tissue and I'm betting no one here would withhold insulin from their diabetic child!
Thanks for posting! I have one child, and during my pregnancy I experienced so many strong contractions during my third trimester that my midwife warned me I was probably at risk for going into preterm labor. After bedresting a bit, I didn't even go into labor until 39 weeks, thank God, with a smooth home birth, but I have often thought I should consider the all the factors of having a preterm baby in the hospital since I might be a greater risk than other people for my future pregnancies. So I appreciate this information!