Anti-vaxer interview on The Daily Show

[2xx1xy1JD]

I loved this: http://www.alternet.org/video/hilarious ... xer-idiocy

Sarah Pope is surprisingly proud of her interview. I'm not sure if she realizes that she came across as a complete loon.

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/ ... /#comments

Anyway, I took a look at her site long enough to read this:

In order to be the BEST Mom I could be (never perfect), I delved deeply into all aspects of nutrition in order to birth and raise healthy children with no learning disabilities, allergies or other issues that are so prevalent in our young ones today. - See more at: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/ ... ttfQH.dpuf

and had to stop reading because the voice in my head wouldn't stop screaming "fuck you".

[RosyDaisy]

LOL...that was hilarious!

[Chowder Head]

ahhhhhh what? :shock:

[Coco]

omg thank you for the heads up

love the daily show! and sam b in a hazmat suit :lol:

[Coco]

I loved this: http://www.alternet.org/video/hilarious ... xer-idiocy

Sarah Pope is surprisingly proud of her interview. I'm not sure if she realizes that she came across as a complete loon.

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/ ... /#comments

Anyway, I took a look at her site long enough to read this:

and had to stop reading because the voice in my head wouldn't stop screaming "fuck you".

Wow. Victim blaming at its best. Sarah Pope would change her tune pretty fast if karma bit back.

Not surprising that she missed the satire of Jon Stewart considering the posted the Cod Liver Oil song on her site for humor. :roll:

[FJismyheadship]

OMG THE HEALTHY HOME ECONOMIST!!!! I have come across her blog numerous times and thought she was nuts. Once I read that you don't give your baby anything until they are seven months, and once they hit that age, you can start giving them ONE BITE of egg white. No more than that! Any more than that and you are forcing it down their throat! Then you can move onto calf liver. Again, ONE BITE! Do NOT force your child to eat it! You can introduce fruits when they are ten or eleven months, but your best bet is to breastfeed completely until age one and THEN start feeding them solids.

Is this the same Sarah Pope who was with Michelle Duggar in the hospital? And if so, is SHE the healthy home economist? Because I didn't think she was that kind of person.

[Coco]

OMG THE HEALTHY HOME ECONOMIST!!!! I have come across her blog numerous times and thought she was nuts. Once I read that you don't give your baby anything until they are seven months, and once they hit that age, you can start giving them ONE BITE of egg white. No more than that! Any more than that and you are forcing it down their throat! Then you can move onto calf liver. Again, ONE BITE! Do NOT force your child to eat it! You can introduce fruits when they are ten or eleven months, but your best bet is to breastfeed completely until age one and THEN start feeding them solids.

Is this the same Sarah Pope who was with Michelle Duggar in the hospital? And if so, is SHE the healthy home economist? Because I didn't think she was that kind of person.

They promote that to keep babies from getting allergies. (because they think that forcing the baby's system to process food too soon can lead to problems). Well, I tried that. I exclusively breastfed my son until he was 9 months and he struggled with his weight because i was under a lot of stress from moving. Stress = poor quality milk. Such a bad idea. I wish that i'd never been pressured into the ONLY breast milk idea. Maybe it's true that giving a baby rice cereal at 8 weeks and starting on solids too soon is bad (the nurse at the WIC office told me some people do that). But relying on only breastfeeding can be dangerous too.

p.s. sorry about being a spazzy poster on FJ lately. too many sonic drinks :lol:

[FJismyheadship]

I can't quote.

I think thats a wonderful idea, trying to prevent allergies. And yeah, rice cereal is bad at 8 weeks (I guess, I don't know. I never tried it) I just think its absurd that the wait time is USUALLY six months, and then you introduce one food at a time. The thing I was getting from that article I talked about was "Don't force the baby to eat. The baby doesn't want to eat that. You THINK he does, but he doesn't. One bite." She didn't actually say it like that (well, the you think the baby wants to eat it line, yes) but that was what I got out of it.

How does that work if you get WIC though? Are you really going to tell them that you are not giving your child anything except milk/formula until they are one? I mean, what does WIC think? Do they do anything about it?

She also thinks infant formula is bad, and ALL mothers can breastfeed, and should. I'm fairly certain I read that somewhere. She does advocate making your own if you really really really can't breastfeed. But don't buy it from the store.

Her stance on baby food and vaccines makes me laugh.

[Bethella]

OMG THE HEALTHY HOME ECONOMIST!!!! I have come across her blog numerous times and thought she was nuts. Once I read that you don't give your baby anything until they are seven months, and once they hit that age, you can start giving them ONE BITE of egg white. No more than that! Any more than that and you are forcing it down their throat! Then you can move onto calf liver. Again, ONE BITE! Do NOT force your child to eat it! You can introduce fruits when they are ten or eleven months, but your best bet is to breastfeed completely until age one and THEN start feeding them solids.

Is this the same Sarah Pope who was with Michelle Duggar in the hospital? And if so, is SHE the healthy home economist? Because I didn't think she was that kind of person.

No, the Sarah Pope who was with Michelle at the hospital has posted on her blog about doing a delayed schedule of vaccinations.

[Coco]

I can't quote.

I think thats a wonderful idea, trying to prevent allergies. And yeah, rice cereal is bad at 8 weeks (I guess, I don't know. I never tried it) I just think its absurd that the wait time is USUALLY six months, and then you introduce one food at a time. The thing I was getting from that article I talked about was "Don't force the baby to eat. The baby doesn't want to eat that. You THINK he does, but he doesn't. One bite." She didn't actually say it like that (well, the you think the baby wants to eat it line, yes) but that was what I got out of it.

How does that work if you get WIC though? Are you really going to tell them that you are not giving your child anything except milk/formula until they are one? I mean, what does WIC think? Do they do anything about it?

She also thinks infant formula is bad, and ALL mothers can breastfeed, and should. I'm fairly certain I read that somewhere. She does advocate making your own if you really really really can't breastfeed. But don't buy it from the store.

Her stance on baby food and vaccines makes me laugh.

That does seem mean, to limit the baby to one bite even if he indicates he wants more. WIC is a dept. of ag program and they love breastfeeding. They sing breastfeeding praises pretty loud, and recommend it to every mom. They'll even supply working moms with breast pumps, if they qualify. They begin giving baby rice cereal and starter baby food vouchers at 6 months. I just saved up the supplies for after he was one. I did give my son cheerios and things like smashed banana for snacks. Every couple of months when you go in to get your vouchers they will weigh the baby and check their iron levels for anemia. It was my own fault that i let my child become skinny, because i thought i could breastfeed til age 1 with no problems, believing the ideas of people like The Healthy Home Economist. And he wasn't struggling enough for the WIC nurses to be seriously concerned, they just said to make sure he's getting enough. He's doing fine now, i finally got wise and put him on formula then eased into regular food.

But it took months for me to get over feeling like i failed. These health bloggers need to remember the influence of their messages, and maybe not be so strident that gullible moms like me make poor decisions because we want to do what's "right".

[Mama Mia]

I can't quote.

I think thats a wonderful idea, trying to prevent allergies. And yeah, rice cereal is bad at 8 weeks (I guess, I don't know. I never tried it) I just think its absurd that the wait time is USUALLY six months, and then you introduce one food at a time. The thing I was getting from that article I talked about was "Don't force the baby to eat. The baby doesn't want to eat that. You THINK he does, but he doesn't. One bite." She didn't actually say it like that (well, the you think the baby wants to eat it line, yes) but that was what I got out of it.

How does that work if you get WIC though? Are you really going to tell them that you are not giving your child anything except milk/formula until they are one? I mean, what does WIC think? Do they do anything about it?

She also thinks infant formula is bad, and ALL mothers can breastfeed, and should. I'm fairly certain I read that somewhere. She does advocate making your own if you really really really can't breastfeed. But don't buy it from the store.

Her stance on baby food and vaccines makes me laugh.

I don't see why WIC would have a problem with that. While most babies start eating food before they are one the general advice I know my daughters got ( they have toddlers now) from their doctors was that almost all nutrition should come from breast milk or formula until then, and food is more as a supplement for fun and practice. Some babies will want to eat more real food and it's fine to give it to them, but it should come after their main meal of breast milk or formula. If I recall that's pretty much what I was told when my kids were little. I started giving them table food from six month ish, but nursing was definitely their main food source.

[FJismyheadship]

I wasn't sure. My daughter gets WIC but she was on formula. By the time they put her on solids, I was ready for her to, because she ate a lot and her formula was 30 dollars a can when we ran out. Her doctor told me it was ok to start with rice cereal at 6 months, and I found myself lying to the nutritionist because she looked at me sternly and said "You AREN'T feeding her any solids, are you? WE don't reccomend it until SIX months!"

Anyway, I wasn't sure if they would say anything if you told them that you were keeping your child exclusively on breast milk or formula for a little bit longer. Now that I think about it, does anyone ever advocate for only formula for a year?

[Flossie]

All babies are different. My first was chomping at the bit to start solids, so I started her just before 4 months. She tolerated solids very well, no food allergies there.

My second I started at 4 months, but she hated the taste/texture of the rice cereal, so I offered a spoonful at the beginning of every meal and took it away if she refused. It took about a week to get her to take the food and keep it in, then she preferred to have a new food introduced one at a time. If I introduced something too soon, she got mad!

My last couldn't digest even the thinest rice cereal until she was six months old. I was frantic, but the doctor said she'd be fine. He was right, at six months that child suddenly became ravenous for all the new tastes and textures.

I don't know how long breast milk or formula alone will sustain the average child, but my last one was just fine waiting until six months, and the doctor wasn't concerned at all. WIC was fine with it, too.

[Rebelwife]

All babies are different. My first was chomping at the bit to start solids, so I started her just before 4 months. She tolerated solids very well, no food allergies there.

My second I started at 4 months, but she hated the taste/texture of the rice cereal, so I offered a spoonful at the beginning of every meal and took it away if she refused. It took about a week to get her to take the food and keep it in, then she preferred to have a new food introduced one at a time. If I introduced something too soon, she got mad!

My last couldn't digest even the thinest rice cereal until she was six months old. I was frantic, but the doctor said she'd be fine. He was right, at six months that child suddenly became ravenous for all the new tastes and textures.

I don't know how long breast milk or formula alone will sustain the average child, but my last one was just fine waiting until six months, and the doctor wasn't concerned at all. WIC was fine with it, too.

Breast milk/formula will pretty much sustain children until a year old. Food before then is mostly a chance to experiment and learn, although some children take to it faster than others. Most doctors/nutritionists these days do not recommend starting any solids until 6 months.

My youngest was (and is) VERY stubborn. She did not touch anything but the breast until she was 7 months old and screamed like you were trying to murder her if you tried to give her something else. (Seriously, not even one bottle of pumped breast milk ever - aghhhh!). At 7 months she finally started eating bananas, avocados and sweet potatoes, but only if she fed herself. She didn't eat anything off a spoon until she could hold it herself.

My youngest did eat baby food for a couple if months, but then I was way over sitting there with a spoon and we switched to stuff she could eat herself.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I can't quote.

I think thats a wonderful idea, trying to prevent allergies. And yeah, rice cereal is bad at 8 weeks (I guess, I don't know. I never tried it) I just think its absurd that the wait time is USUALLY six months, and then you introduce one food at a time. The thing I was getting from that article I talked about was "Don't force the baby to eat. The baby doesn't want to eat that. You THINK he does, but he doesn't. One bite." She didn't actually say it like that (well, the you think the baby wants to eat it line, yes) but that was what I got out of it.

How does that work if you get WIC though? Are you really going to tell them that you are not giving your child anything except milk/formula until they are one? I mean, what does WIC think? Do they do anything about it?

She also thinks infant formula is bad, and ALL mothers can breastfeed, and should. I'm fairly certain I read that somewhere. She does advocate making your own if you really really really can't breastfeed. But don't buy it from the store.

Her stance on baby food and vaccines makes me laugh.

Not starting solids until 6 mos. was the very mainstream advice that I got when my kids were little. That's not what upsets me about Sarah Pope. What I hate is that kids will die because of her anti-vax crusade, and that she's so smug about her kids not having learning disabilities or allergies. Fine if you want to count your blessings, but stuff like that isn't actually a conscious choice. My sister and 2 of my cousins have quite enough guilt and bullshit theories, thank you very much. In fact, they are doing a genetic study because their seems to be a trend in my family re autism, and neither changes in vaxing nor diet have made a difference.

Now, the AAP has revised its guidelines somewhat. http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/re ... php?id=108 When Girl 1 was born, the thinking was that pregnant women and babies should stay far, far away from potential allergens like peanuts. Well, the newer thinking is that peanuts should be introduced fairly early, and that delayed introduction of potential allergens increases the risk. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/c ... /1/50.full

[HarryPotterFan]

I just popped in to say that as someone in the public health field, nothing boils my blood like anti-vaxxers. :pull-hair: :angry-screaming:

[BriMamai]

I feel you, HarryPotterFan. At our last well child visit, I was venting my rage at anti-vaxer parents to our pediatrician. I just shudder when a unvaccinated kid is sick and in my Emergency Department. I was explaining that my attitude is so far to the opposite - like, what other shot can you give my kid so she doesn't get sick and die? My pedi obviously believed me, because he started to list the immunizations that were in the works, but not yet approved....so we could have something to look forward to, I guess!

[FJismyheadship]

I had a friend who would not vaccinate her kid. He was a couple months younger than mine. I tried to tell her, but the internet and her sister were right, I was wrong. The poor kid caught pneumonia and RSV in January, and she was due any day with another baby. She said the doctors made her vaccinate her child because of how sick he was.

I don't know if she is vaccinating her kids now, she moved away. I just couldn't understand why she was putting her baby boys life at risk!

[HarryPotterFan]

I had a friend who would not vaccinate her kid. He was a couple months younger than mine. I tried to tell her, but the internet and her sister were right, I was wrong. The poor kid caught pneumonia and RSV in January, and she was due any day with another baby. She said the doctors made her vaccinate her child because of how sick he was.

I don't know if she is vaccinating her kids now, she moved away. I just couldn't understand why she was putting her baby boys life at risk!

Ugh. I was talking to a friend about a case where a little boy had cancer, so he couldn't be vaccinated (and was dependent on herd immunity) and encountered another kid at school whose dumb parents decided not to vaccinate them, and the little boy ended up hospitalized with the measles. Just ...ugh, parents who decide they'd rather have a dead child and kill other children than an autistic child (even though there is no scientific evidence, and is just some bimbo using a falsified study) should have their children adopted by people who give a damn about a child's life.

[bluelady]

Ugh. I was talking to a friend about a case where a little boy had cancer, so he couldn't be vaccinated (and was dependent on herd immunity) and encountered another kid at school whose dumb parents decided not to vaccinate them, and the little boy ended up hospitalized with the measles. Just ...ugh, parents who decide they'd rather have a dead child and kill other children than an autistic child (even though there is no scientific evidence, and is just some bimbo using a falsified study) should have their children adopted by people who give a damn about a child's life.

My sister started her career as an early autism interventionist and is now an autism resource teacher in the public school system. She writes programming for children with autism. Her daughter is fully vaccinated.

She's not a medical professional, but she works on a team with a doctor who is the leading autism specialist in our region. That woman's children are vaccinated.

A few years back, a friend of ours was considering not vaccinating her son. My sister RAGED at her. She threw so much information at her I think the woman was drowning in it and basically made her feel so dumb about the whole thing, she got the kid vaccinated.

I do not understand how it is that people will believe information on some random blog on the internet over the advice of medical professionals. Mind boggling.

[twinmama]

Ohhh I just watched this episode yesterday. Anti-vaxxers are one of my most hated things. Those assholes and their non-science put immune compromised people at such severe risk it's disgusting. Both one of my mom's best friends and my husband's uncle had bone marrow transplants a couple years ago and basically were set back to no immune system at all. Anti-vaxxers could have killed them. My preemies were also born at a horrible disadvantage immune-wise and spent their first 2 winters in isolation to keep them away from people who wouldn't get immunized.

That Sarah Pope came off so insane. I cannot understand being so sure of ANYTHING that no one can convince you otherwise. How do people not believe science? It's SCIENCE! The arrogance and paranoia of that woman was unbelievable.

[acheronbeach]

Ugh. I know a lot of "Sarah Popes". Inevitably, they have degrees in law, or English lit, and know nothing about basic biology, let alone statistics or epidemiology.

But they are convinced of their own superior intellect, and therefore reading two self-published books about oil pulling, an article in Self, and owning Nourishing Traditions makes them the equivalent of a PhD.

[JHeathen]

Oh, the Healthy Home Economist, I hate that beeeatch!

Look, my first kid was BORN with food allergies. It has nothing to do with when you introduce what food! On Day One she had a volatile reaction to my breast milk because (we figured out much later) I was drinking a lot of soy milk...soy is one of the allergies she still has not grown out of, 7 years later.

Because she had seven food allergies, she was on a delayed vax schedule and could not get a couple of the vaccines until she was 5 and started outgrowing some of the allergies. So thank you, all you vaccinators, for protecting her via herd immunity!

And FU, Sarah the Healthy Home Economist!

[Blahblah]

I discovered recently that a fairly new, but close, friend is an anti-vaccer. She argues that her kids are vaccinated because HOMEOPATHY ffs. I found this out when she suggested that a mutual friend on chemo should take olive leaf extract to boost her immune system. And the discussion deteriorated from there on.

And she's taking her kids to through Indonesia and Asia for a month (we're in Aus). So the exposure risk is just massive. Bad enough that she is anti-vacc here in Aus where at least there is a decent level of herd immunity but she's sending young kids into third world countries.

I feel like our entire friendship is now shaky because the ground rules have totally shifted. She's gone from being a level headed friend to a loony homeopathic anti-vacc freak in my mind.

[FlorenceHamilton]

The best way to treat a disease is never to get it.

Vaccines do not cause autism.

Breast milk is best. Baby formulas are completely adequate nutritionally as a substitute or supplement. Babies are individuals. Generally, 4-6 months is a good time to introduce solid food. (some babies a little earlier and some a little bit later). Introduce new foods a bit at a time.

Please get yourself and your children immunized and up to date.

Talk to your children.

Generally demand feedings work best, but it is perfectly ok to push the edges over time to fit the family schedule.

Learning is fun.

Treasure each moment.

End rant.