Question that is on my mind that will never, ever be answered..

[Tici]

My niece died at 9 weeks of age in 2002. My sister in law found her not breathing, face up in her cot. The coroner said it was SIDS.
Absolutely devastating. Something my brother and his wife will never get over.
Since having my own child last year and delving into the debate on vaccinations I often think about her death and what if it was a vaccine or vaccines that she was given by then that caused it, and how we will never know.
I guess I have come on here to 'get it out' as there are not many people I can discuss it with.

I have never asked my sister in law if she thought it may have been the cause and if they ever checked for that ,I don't think I ever would or could ask her. Maybe one day I will. Maybe it's just not my place.
I know she was given the routine vaccinations on schedule at 8 weeks old and then suddenly died at 9 weeks old. I have also never asked if anything was askew after the 8 week shots, like if she was out of sorts ,but I want to.

I wonder if they take the vaccinations that have been administered into consideration when doing an autopsy on a baby so young ? Or cover it up by just saying 'SIDS' ?

I guess I don't know anything, but I often think about it and will always wonder.

Thanks for listening.

[Spy]

Not to make an attempt to generalize or even not necessarily relevant to any situation, but sometimes (sometimes!) people are actually grateful for someone else bringing it up. Sometimes it saves the life of the next baby.

But then again, sometimes not. :rolleyes:

Sorry about your niece.:(

And no, vaccination is not taken into consideration as a possible trigger for anything during an autopsy. Not routinely. Takes a lot of going against the flow to even bring it up. MT would know.

[deesalie]

That's so sad, I'm so sorry about your neice :(

No vaccinations are not taken into account- which is what makes the diagnosis of SIDS such a crock of shit. There are of course other considerations to take into account such as whether she was sleeping solitary or co-sleeping

[Tici]

She wasn't co-sleeping :( and was not breastfed either.
My sister in law went on to have twins 2 years later, they are vaccinated to the hilt also, so I don't think the question that's on my mind ever crossed hers.
I think for her, like many mums out there, she thinks vaccines are 'safe' and something you just do without asking any questions.
I told her a few months ago that I don't think they are safe , she said 'she'd always wondered why they give babies so many'.

I wanted to ask her about it then but didn't.
One day I hope I can but I think she would dismiss it.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

I'd just leave it. People only react positively when they are ready to, and the fact that their next children were vaccinated to the hilt, says that it never factored on their radar.

Vaccines are never looked at, and as a parent if you point the finger at it, one of the most common reactions is to book you in for an appointment to be assessed by a psychiatrist.

[bbrandonsmom]

That's a sad thing. I don't know that bringing it up now, after she has twins and they are vaxed would do anything? She may say "well they are fine...."???
Odd enough, I was talking with a friend of mine a few weeks ago and found out her dh was a paramedic. Some how we got on the topic of vax and she said that now, when he is called out for a "sids" case, he now asks the parents when the child had been vaxed last. He is finding a lot of the time they had been within weeks or even days. He puts it in his report, but there's got to be a way to put the info into some one who is studying this. I'm sure there is info out there some where about this.

[stepmumand1]

So many questions never get answered. How terrible for any family to have to go through a death of a child.



I have also never asked if anything was askew after the 8 week shots, like if she was out of sorts ,but I want to. If this was their first child they possibly wouldn't know what is normal and what isn't as they don't have anything to compare it to. So maybe your SIL could only answer intuitivly but many women don't trust their instincts or feel silly for fessing up about them.

Isis you sound like a very caring Aunty. What a difficult situation to process.

[Nirvana]

So sorry to hear about your niece Iris. Sounds like you are a wonderful person. I guess most moms never think twice about vaccines even if they see something amiss in their kids after vaccinations. They may attribute it to colic or grumpiness or something but vaccines? Never. What a fine job of brainwashing! I am sorry about your loss but mad at the way things work.

[Tici]

Thanks everyone for your kind replies.

MT you are probably right ,to just leave it.
What would it do to bring it up with her ? Nothing. I know she is not planning on having any more children, so by bringing it up ,it's not going to make her do any research.
All I can do is let my friends know who are planning but haven't had children yet, to look into vaccinating their children before they do it and that it is not compulsory.

It is just so sad, and makes me very very mad at the way things work too.

[Dozytoes]

Iris, I was so sorry to read about your niece. This "label" of SIDS is pretty meaningless when it affects your own family, isn't it? It's hard to make sense out of it all.

I don't know if you have ever read Hilary's excellent paper on SIDS, vaccines and breastfeeding, but if not, I am sure that you would find it very interesting. The first time I read it, it was a bit like a light-bulb going off. You can find the article here: http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/SIDS.pdf (http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/SIDS.pdf) This may be too late for your sister, but you may find it helpful for the future.

I apologise if it is already somewhere on the forum, but as yet haven't had time to delve in and see what is here. I'm promising myself a whole day reading very soon. :D

Best wishes,

Sue