There
is an enormous amount of fear surrounding the issue of vaccination.
There is the cultural fear of disease and the fear of vaccine reactions.
There is the immediate fear the child has of the shot itself. And
there is a pervasive fear and distrust of the natural order of the
world. The world is viewed as a dangerous place filled with organisms
and pathogens whose sole purpose is to seek out humans and destroy
them.
A
child quickly learns not to trust nature or natural processes. The
child learns to distrust the doctor or nurse who administers the
shot (how could a trustworthy person do something like this to me?)
and at the same time learns to fear and respect this person who
knows better than nature. A young child cannot understand the underlying
theory of vaccines and is disempowered by the belief that his/her
own body is insufficient and weak and requires an injection in order
to be strong.
I
feel very deeply that vaccines have an effect of separating the
mother and child. Any mother who has given birth to a baby and nursed
that baby for a period of months or years will know that with each
new food or challenge from the environment the baby becomes ever
more autonomous and there is a biological separation from the mother
who until then had been all nourishment, all life. Because vaccines
disrupt the internal ecology of the baby, the strong biological
connection between mother and child is shifted. I see the injection
of vaccines as an interruption of the basic biological synchrony
between mother and child. I believe this also affects the emotional
relationship between mother and child. The mother until this time
has provided for all of the baby’s physical needs. The sense of
personal power inherent in gestation, birth and lactation is extraordinary.
The experience of creating a new being, feeding, nourishing and
providing everything necessary to the baby through her own body
is an experience a mother can compare with no other. It is an empowering
experience and carries over to all aspects of her life. The practice
of vaccinating the young baby seriously undermines a mother’s confidence
in her ability to protect her child. If she wants her child to be
well and strong she must turn to a doctor’s expertise. She, by herself,
our culture says, is not sufficient for her child. And what happens
to the mother who is faced with a severe vaccine reaction in her
child? How do the feelings of rage, guilt or depression impact upon
their relationship? What about a mild reaction that a mother will
worry about for years to come as her child goes through the normal
worrisome changes of childhood? She might ask herself again and
again ‘Is this behaviour related to the vaccines?’ and never feel
sure one way or another. (See “A Shot in the Dark” by Barbara
Loe Fisher and Harris Coulter for personal accounts of parents whose
children were severely impaired or died after DPT vaccination)
On
a broader level, vaccines are an emotional issue. Few people can
discuss the pros or cons of vaccination calmly or logically. Fear,
anger and paranoia are common reactions when people engage in discussion.
Relationships between mother and father (and between the parents
and extended family members) are often strained as the parents attempt
to make a well-informed choice for their child. Those who believe
in vaccines have anger towards those who choose not to vaccinate
and vice versa. Many who choose not to vaccinate their children
become fearful and often paranoid that they will be ‘found out’
and punished in some way. (Some would say ‘Paranoia is simply having
all the facts’ - read Walene James’ “Immunization: the Reality
Behind the Myth” for her personal account of the how the government
challenged her daughter’s right to choose not to vaccinate her grandson.)
Because
vaccines are the cornerstone in a fear-based culturally- held paradigm
of healthcare it is natural that as people start to break away from
this paradigm they will have to move through the fear to be free
of it. Once free, they can then begin thinking logically.
