Thread by @unvaxed

#Parenting with #antivax parents: a thread.
When I was young, my antivax mom always told me that I would have to do my own research about #vaccines. When I grew up & my research led me to get myself vaccinated, she was upset.

The early conversations with my mom about my decision to get #vaxxed were difficult & emotional for us both. My mom felt like I was rejecting her. I felt betrayed.

Getting #vaccinated as an adult is an annoying & embarrassing process. I was ashamed to explain to doctors why I needed vaccines I should have gotten in childhood. I had to take time off work to get multiple doses of certain vaccines.

Even after I caught up on all my #vaccines, my mom held onto the idea that becoming a mother myself would change my mindset. "You'll feel differently when you have a child of your own," she told me. #parenting

My mom thought that I would look at my innocent, perfect baby & have a visceral reaction against #vaccinating - sticking a needle in her & "injecting" her with "chemicals." I didn't. #Parenting cannot be effective when directed by fear.

My reaction to #motherhood was not fear, but instinctive protection. I want to protect my baby from all the bad things that I can. #Vaccines allow me to do that.

The first time my baby had a cold & struggled with congestion, I felt helpless like never before in my life. I can't imagine how much worse I would feel if I hadn't #vaxxed her & she'd gotten measles or another #vaccine preventable disease.

To be fair to my mom, she doesn't see her #antivax stance as #fear. She thinks she's protective. She says she wouldn't be able to live with herself if I had been "damaged" by a #vaccine, the same way I would feel if my baby got #measles when I could've prevented it.

My mom sees #vaccinating as an action. If she'd #vaxxed me & I'd had an adverse reaction, she would have felt it was her fault, because something she did would've caused it. Catching #measles, in her mind, would be an act of nature, not her fault.

I see it as the opposite. If I can spare my baby from #measles or #chickenpox or #cancer & I don't take steps to do that by #vaccinating, then I'll feel it's my fault if she gets sick when I could have prevented it.

I've more or less dropped the #vaccine issue with my parents. We aren't going to see eye to eye. I make a point of texting them updates about my kids' #health whenever they get their #shots, including photos of them smiling with their band aids.

I thank God & modern medicine every day that I am healthy & that I have happy, healthy kids. Especially in this age of #COVID19, the blessing of health cannot be overstated.
End thread.