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the needs of their child. For example, if you live in the country, you might want to give your child the tetanus vaccine. If you're a mom with hepatitis B, you may want to vaccinate your child against it. However, not all vaccines are appropriate for all children."
Even if you choose to vaccinate your child, you may spread out the immunizations so that your child doesn't receive more than one or two vaccines at a time, and you can begin vaccinations when your child is older. Some researchers believe the quantity of vaccine given at any one time is partly responsible for reactions. There is some evidence that giving vaccines to infants is more dangerous than giving them to children over the age of two.
If you choose not to vaccinate, find out what the vaccination laws are in your state. Religious, medical, and philosophical exemptions are worded

 

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differently from state to state. Ask your local librarian to help you obtain a copy of the law, along with any public health codes or education and welfare laws pertaining to vaccination requirements for school enrollment. All fifty states allow medical exemption to vaccination in the form of a signed statement by a medical doctor.
This is the avenue I chose for my daughter. Although my pediatrician didn't agree with my choices, he was well aware of the controversy surrounding vaccination and, after discussing it with me, was willing to sign a statement exempting her.
The National Vaccine Information Center has compiled an information sheet telling parents to ask themselves eight important questions before vaccinating their children.
1. Is my child sick right now?
2. Has my child had a bad reaction to a vaccination before?
3. Does my child have a personal or family history of vaccine reactions, convulsions or neurological disorders, severe allergies, immune system disorders?
4. Do I know if my child is at high risk of reacting?
5. Do I have full information on the vaccine's side effects?
6. Do I know how to identify a vaccine reaction?
7. Do I know how to report a vaccine reaction?
8. Do I know the vaccine manufacturer's name and lot number? Call 1-800-909-SHOT for information (Web site: www.909shot.com ).
Do as much research as possible so that you can make an informed decision about this controversial topic. I hope this chapter has helped you know which questions to start asking. And I hope that in the future, mothers won't be faced with such difficult health care dilemmas.

 

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Chapter 4
Nurturing and Loving Your Child
How to Create a Healthy, Happy Child
Perhaps the most important aspect of raising a healthy child is to provide emotional nurturing. If your child feels truly loved and knows that you'll always be there for her, that inner peace and sense of security will help strengthen her immunity and ability to fight off illnesses. Many researchers, such as Aletha Solter, Ph.D., agree with this theory. Solter, a developmental psychologist and mother of two, published a controversial book entitled The Aware Baby. In her books and workshops, Solter bravely proposed that babies, children, and even adults need to cryhave, in fact, a biological need to cryin order to heal past traumas (such as birth trauma) or remembered pains. These remembered pains can be as simple as when an infant watches Mom walk out of a room and fears she'll never return. Solter also proposed that children's cries always need to be answered with loving attentionnever ignored.
Crying is the Solution, Not the Problem
In the first few years of life, babies form lasting opinions about themselves, other people, and the world around them. If a baby's cries are unanswered, he comes to believe the world is unpredictable, and that he can't trust other

 

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people. The baby learns that he is powerless and helpless to get his needs met and feels unlovable and unimportant. Solter feels that the parent who responds each time a child cries creates the opportunity for the child to learn trust and