Ever wondered how to calm a weeping infant with a simple hold? Dr. Robert Hamilton, pediatric wizard and creator of the " Hold," shares his priceless insights with us. With a nurturing voice that has soothed millions, Dr. Hamilton not only reveals the secrets behind his viral technique but also unfolds the chapters of his book "The Secrets of the Newborn," providing a treasure trove of knowledge for anyone navigating the tender world of parenting. His touching reflections on the joy of raising six children and the delight of thirteen grandchildren will resonate with you, leaving your heart a little fuller and your mind rich with understanding.
Navigating the controversial terrain of vaccinations, Dr. Hamilton brings clarity to the fog of misinformation. By tackling fears surrounding the vaccine-autism myth and addressing the impact of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy, our conversation with Dr. Hamilton serves as a beacon of truth. He shares a balanced perspective that honors parental concerns while promoting the health and well-being of the community. His candid talk on the responsibility of physicians in vaccine advocacy adds depth to the dialogue and underscores the critical nature of informed consent in healthcare.
In the dance of life, the harmony between professional ambition and the longing for family can be challenging to achieve. Join us as we explore the delicate interplay of career, marriage, and parenthood. Dr. Hamilton, through stories filled with humor and faith, offers a heartfelt meditation on finding fulfillment amidst the ever-shifting societal expectations. His wisdom on nurturing enduring marital bonds and the unspoken beauty of grandparenting is a testament to the timeless value of family connections. Listen in, as we celebrate the rich tapestry of life woven through generations and the informed choices that protect and enhance our collective well-being.
Ever wondered how to calm a weeping infant with a simple hold? Dr. Robert Hamilton, pediatric wizard and creator of the " Hold," shares his priceless insights with us. With a nurturing voice that has soothed millions, Dr. Hamilton not only reveals the secrets behind his viral technique but also unfolds the chapters of his book "The Secrets of the Newborn," providing a treasure trove of knowledge for anyone navigating the tender world of parenting. His touching reflections on the joy of raising six children and the delight of thirteen grandchildren will resonate with you, leaving your heart a little fuller and your mind rich with understanding.
Navigating the controversial terrain of vaccinations, Dr. Hamilton brings clarity to the fog of misinformation. By tackling fears surrounding the vaccine-autism myth and addressing the impact of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy, our conversation with Dr. Hamilton serves as a beacon of truth. He shares a balanced perspective that honors parental concerns while promoting the health and well-being of the community. His candid talk on the responsibility of physicians in vaccine advocacy adds depth to the dialogue and underscores the critical nature of informed consent in healthcare.
In the dance of life, the harmony between professional ambition and the longing for family can be challenging to achieve. Join us as we explore the delicate interplay of career, marriage, and parenthood. Dr. Hamilton, through stories filled with humor and faith, offers a heartfelt meditation on finding fulfillment amidst the ever-shifting societal expectations. His wisdom on nurturing enduring marital bonds and the unspoken beauty of grandparenting is a testament to the timeless value of family connections. Listen in, as we celebrate the rich tapestry of life woven through generations and the informed choices that protect and enhance our collective well-being.
The potential of you getting eaten by the lion is lower because there's a lot of other wildebeests and some poor sap wildebeest is going to get eaten today.
Speaker 2:What people have this understanding of is when they're speaking the truth. That's why the government is trying to shut them down, so that they're not. You know, it's that whole saying.
Speaker 1:You're allowing people in your office who don't have vaccines and my child is in the office, although I'm talking about other patients who are getting the vaccines and you're saying are you putting my child at risk? I would say no, your children are getting the vaccines, they're protected. The kids who are not getting the vaccines are the ones at risk.
Speaker 2:You hold the baby, you fold the arms and then you just wiggle them and they stop crying.
Speaker 1:The joy and the blessing of having children is not to be compared to any kind of job.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone. Today's episode was with Dr Robert Hamilton. Dr Robert Hamilton has been a pediatrician for many, many years. He's written books. One of his famous books is called the Secrets of the Newborn. He is the baby whisperer. He has more than 60 million views on YouTube on teaching mothers how to nurturing their crying babies. That video is phenomenal and it has been viewed worldwide.
Speaker 2:This episode was pretty interesting because we delved into the conversation of vaccines vaccine damages. Is there such a thing? We've talked about autism. Are doctors out there really giving vaccines that cause autism? I think this is a question that a lot of parents are wanting to know about. His answers were quite interesting. He was very honest. I loved his honesty. I loved his willingness to answer every difficult question that I asked. There was a question that I asked about the no vaccine policy which a lot of medical offices pediatricians specifically are implementing that aren't allowing parents to have proper pediatricians for their children because they are refusing to vaccine their children. His answer was wonderful and it was very comforting. We also talked about his family. He's a father, he's a grandfather of 13. And we talked about marriage. We talked about his book In general. It was an intriguing conversation. I think that this is definitely going to interest you, so stay tuned and make sure you subscribe to the channel and watch this episode with Dr Robert Hamilton. Dr Hamilton, it's so nice to be in your presence.
Speaker 1:Thank you, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2:I'm honored. Thank you so much for accepting my invitation.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:I know you're like super busy with patients. Then you have your children, your grandchildren, so I'm really honored.
Speaker 1:You are welcome. It's such a pleasure to meet you.
Speaker 2:So, first thing, this book. I think this is such an essential staple for anybody that wants to be a mom or is a mom already, is on the path to be. So tell us a little bit. How did?
Speaker 1:you come up with this, my little book here. There it is, everyone Seven.
Speaker 2:Secrets of being Born.
Speaker 1:So what happened was is that I did my little baby hold, which we can talk about?
Speaker 2:Yes, we're going to talk about that.
Speaker 1:And what happened was the publisher in New York, who was St Martin's Press. They called me and they said listen, would you ever consider writing a book? And I said well, you know what I have thought about writing a book and I think have you thought about writing a book?
Speaker 2:I have a journal out and affirmation cards, but a book it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of work. It is.
Speaker 1:But I think kind of a lot of people that I know have kind of thought about writing a book and over my career I thought maybe I should write a book. I mean, it's not an uncommon thought. So I had thought that. So I told them, I said I've thought about it and they said would you consider writing a book about babies? And I said that's what I do all day long. And they said give me a minute. I thought about it, kind of talked to my wife about it. I said I think that'd be really great. So they said okay, and I said I'm not sure I can do it alone. They said we'll get you some help with a ghostwriter and her name is Sally Collins. So I found Sally, they gave me a couple of names and I interviewed a couple people and Sally was wonderful, and so we worked together for a long time. And writing a book is a lot more. I thought I could just dash it out in a couple months, not true?
Speaker 1:It takes a lot of time to write a book. So anyway this is really a labor of love. I took literally hundreds and hundreds of hours to write this book, but each chapter is a guide.
Speaker 1:You know what I did is I tried. You know it's called Seven Secrets of the Newborn. It's actually a book. That is there it is again, folks. It's really a book about the first year of life, to be honest with you, and my subtitle is Secrets and Happy Surprises of the First Year. So it's not newborn. Newborn, I think about as being month one. This covers a lot more time than month one.
Speaker 2:No, I love it. I think it's super helpful, it's very meaningful and definitely all moms need to get their hands on this One. How I found you actually is through your technique. It's the most famous. It has over 60 million views on YouTube and I think it's going to be a worldwide technique where you hold the baby, you fold the arms and then you just wiggle them and they stop crying. So how did you come up with that technique? Because?
Speaker 1:it works. It's a good question. So what happened was obviously, as a pediatrician, one of the jobs I do is after a baby is born, and I literally was just at the hospital a minute ago. New baby, Okay. So you have a new baby and you examine them. Almost invariably they cry, they all cry because the stethoscope is cold and they don't like being manipulated and no one does this. Their mothers are caressing them and I'm sitting there you know, bugging them, and so they all cry.
Speaker 1:And so to have a meaningful conversation with a mother and a father, you have to have peace, you have to have the room quiet. If the baby's crying, what happens is that mothers go insane true I I could understand that they can't think yeah, I'm a 10 month old and yes and so you can be, you know, saying the most profound, deep conversations in the world. You could be quoting plato and and all it sounds like yeah, yeah, yeah mothers, they can't hear you, and so what?
Speaker 1:what I realized is I made them cry. I need to make them, I need to calm them down.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:And so I'm a father, I'm a grandfather, I've been doing this, I'm a pediatrician, so I spend my whole life with babies. I know that if I pick them up and if I just gently hold them and I learned over time that if you gently kind of swaddle them, you're basically swaddling them, correct your arms, you're putting one arm below, one arm above and you're grabbing those arms and essentially you're holding them in an upright position. Children like to be in an upright position.
Speaker 2:Why is that?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I mean, I think that you're tapping my friend Harvey Karp, who is famous, harvey, if you're out there. He made the snoo, if you know what that is yes, of course, so anyway he invented that, but anyway.
Speaker 1:So Harvey said Bob, you know what you're doing is you're tapping into what they call the calming reflex, what they call the calming reflex. But I always tell people that if you lay a child down in your arms with you know, in a recumbent, in a kind of a recumbent position, you better have a boob, because they don't want to eat.
Speaker 2:They're going to, they're going to look for it. They're going to look for it.
Speaker 1:So when you put them in a in a 45 degree angle and you, you know you rock them up and down, they're not. They're typically open their eyes and I always give them a little booty shake and just kind of go boom, shake their booty, and it really does work. I mean it's amazing how I mean I've done this for years and done it all around the globe.
Speaker 1:I just got back from Jamaica and I did put up a little video of me doing it in Jamaica. It worked perfectly. So anyway, so it does work and I think you are tapping into that calming reflex. By the way, this is good for about three months.
Speaker 2:After three months it doesn't work that much, it goes away.
Speaker 1:Well, the kids get hip to it.
Speaker 2:Right, oh, my goodness yeah.
Speaker 1:So they kind of go. You know what, hamilton, you're not going to trick me anymore.
Speaker 2:Dr Hamilton, you know what I've noticed? That there are more colicky babies now than ever. I don't know, that's just my observation. Do you feel like that's true? No, no, okay, good, I mean from my perspective.
Speaker 1:no, I think you know, there's a lot of colicky behavior. You have to realize that the word colic if you say this child has got colic, that means you ready. There's a definition Three hours a day of intense crying, three times a week for three weeks, that's the formal definition of colic.
Speaker 2:So what's the colicky behavior?
Speaker 1:Colicky behavior is just irritability. They're crying, they're screaming, they're. You know they're they're for no good reason.
Speaker 1:Probably there is a reason. If I had to guess, it's probably GI. They probably have discomfort and what I and this is just me kind of making it up but what I think is this Babies have been living in this beautiful cocoon called the womb. It's a great place to hang out. They have no gas in their GI tract, Okay. So they come out, they get rid of all that meconium, they get colonized with these bacteria in their small intestine and we call that the microbiome. Right and the microbiome.
Speaker 1:It takes a hot minute to establish an equilibrium yeah exactly, and some of those bacteria which are present in the GI tract are what we call gas-forming bacteria. That's where flatus comes from. It doesn't come from ingesting air People ask that all the time they go, are they drinking? Are they swallowing air? No, the flatus comes from the bacteria that reside in your GI tract, and so you have to realize when you do have gas, you get bloating, you get the intestines. It's a discomforting feeling. I think everybody in the world, all the people out there listening, have had gas before.
Speaker 2:Yes, and it's uncomfortable when you're an adult.
Speaker 1:Imagine when you're a child how uncomfortable that is, and I think that children feel it more intensely and they scream and they cry and that's understandable. So that's kind of. I had to push a button on the test. That would be the button I. The test I would probably that would be the button I push. It's probably gi, but anyway, that's.
Speaker 2:That's colicky behavior, that's that's a behavior, colicky behavior got you okay rather than colic colic, okay, so there's a difference so I uh had a survey up on my instagram page and I had a few moms um sent me over questions that they wanted to ask, because this is my first time having a podcast with a pediatrician, so if you're okay with that, I would love to ask them questions. First question that I received and it was not just one mom, it was probably like 25 moms asking the same question is how do you feel that it's normal for a child to sleep in their parents' bed? Because there's this Japanese theory that up to age seven it's I don't know ideal for children to sleep in the bed of their parents because psychologically, it's safer, they learn to nurture themselves better, regulate their emotions better, and I have to tell you that there's a lot of moms in the Armenian-American community who do this. Their children are in bed with them. Is that good for them?
Speaker 1:So let me just say this that historically that has been true, that people have slept with their children. That has been true that people have slept with their children. It is also true, and American Academy of Pediatrics and other you know bodies of researchers who have done a lot of research on this have really found that if, when you sleep with your child, you can overlay a child and sometimes kids get wedged between their parents- yes, it could be dangerous.
Speaker 1:It is dangerous, and so there's we have. First of all, we have a program called the Back to Sleep Program. So we lay children on their back or the side, but usually the back and children. We found that just statistically, if kids lay on their tummy there's a higher rate of what we call Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.
Speaker 2:SIDS Okay.
Speaker 1:But let me just say this SIDS is extremely rare. It really is, but there is a little bit of differential. There's also a higher rate of SIDS in children who sleep with their parents. Again, this is an extremely rare event, but it does happen and sadly, I've had actually situations. I hate to say it, but I've had two babies who passed, one of them in a bed with the parents and kind of got wedged under the father, and then another child, who was also another situation, where they were in a lounge chair and it was kind of a similar thing. Now, whether that was the cause of it or not, only God knows, we don't really know. But and you know the but they are rare events and I've been in practice for a long time so, and they're tragic beyond belief. So sure, what we do is, our recommendation is this you put a kid in their own crib, their own bassinet, initially laying them on their back.
Speaker 2:They can be right next to you.
Speaker 1:They don't have to be over there, they can be right here by you. By your bed, yeah, and by your bed and you can certainly if they wake up and they need to breastfeed or whatever you can take them into your bed, but you have to be awake.
Speaker 1:Okay, then you put her back into bed. As they age, they get older, um, they're less prone to SIDS and you know there are a lot of mothers who do take their children. As the children age a little bit, they take the children into their bed. I will confess that that was what we did when we had children.
Speaker 1:Sorry, uh but I don't want to be hypocritical here, but it because it's a natural thing and I think that the kids totally love it. You have to realize that they fall in love with being in bed with their mom and dad too, and as a general rule, babies you know kids who are older they're, you know, nine months, a year of age they're not going to have SIDS. They do keep you awake at night, they kind of kick you.
Speaker 2:My daughter does.
Speaker 1:Your daughter does.
Speaker 2:She's just. It's like a roller coaster, that's right so.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you want to sleep with a Tasmanian devil all night. That's up to you, we do. Well, we did too, and we had six kids, you know that. And so we would go to bed every night and we would end up they'd crawl into bed with you in the night. They kind of randomly find their way into your bedroom.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's the fun part of it.
Speaker 1:I don't know how they get in, but they do, and they. Suddenly we would wake up in the morning with a bevy of multiple people.
Speaker 2:I can imagine One's at this end, one's at the other.
Speaker 1:Exactly, that's such a blessing though. It was great. I mean, listen, it was. We didn't sleep much and my kids, they kicked me many, many times in the middle of the night many times.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my husband gets his face kicked all the time by grace, because she'll have her head on my chest and her feet the other way. It's just a disaster but it's again. It's such. Some people genuinely want that and there's people that don't have the opportunity to have children you know, know. And so it's such a blessing Like you, count your blessings, even though it's hard, you do so.
Speaker 1:One time we actually one of the kids crawled under the bed and so we couldn't find the kid in the morning. We kind of go.
Speaker 2:Where did the other one go? Where did the other one go?
Speaker 1:So we, actually we did ultimately find the child under the bed, which is you know what I find interesting, that you know?
Speaker 2:back then it was so beautiful like people actually had children one, two, three, four, sometimes ten.
Speaker 1:That number has decreased substantially not too many people have ten children not too many people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe in the old old country but uh, I don't know. I don't know of anybody who's had 10. I know a couple of people who have nine. Part of it is in the water a little bit. I happen to be a huge believer in big families. I think big families are the best and our family is everything to us. And we have six kids. We now have 13 grandchildren, so we got a lot of people in our life and it's a joy. You know, this is our life and it's a little secret. You know a lot of people kind of go I want you know one and done. Or you know they have two kids, you know it's us four and no more, whatever they have. And you know they have two kids, us four and no more, whatever they have. And you're kind of an outlier if you have three now and if you get to four, five and six. When you get to six because I have six people think you're insane, but you're not.
Speaker 2:No, but you're not You're actually.
Speaker 1:it sounds like it. I know everybody listening thinks I'm insane. That's okay.
Speaker 2:Feel that way, and he has 13 grandchildren I have a very wonderful, rich life.
Speaker 1:Yes, and my kids are great.
Speaker 2:What advice would you give? Because in today's world men don't want to get married anymore and women are very tied to their careers, so it seems like the connection between a man and a woman is slowly decreasing.
Speaker 1:What advice do you have for women that say I am just so invested in my career that's where I find meaning and to the men that just Well, it's a good question and this is something that is a big, a big issue, and I would say this that you have to kind of extrapolate yourself into another couple decades down the line here and think about what you're heading for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what happened?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think what happened is exactly what you're saying. I think that women have bought into this mythology to a degree that career is going to be totally fulfilling, Fulfilling correct. And it is a fulfilling thing. There's nothing wrong with having a job and being useful and meaningful, and there's nothing wrong with that and there's investment. When women go to medical school or law school, I mean they should ply their craft, no problems with that. But women need to also realize when they get into their 30s, mid-30s, their fertility rate is going down.
Speaker 2:Sorry, but this is true. It is true. There's so much data backing that up, so much data.
Speaker 1:And so the fact is that some gals are freezing their eggs and doing different things like that to mitigate that. But I also think that the joy and the blessing of having children is not to be compared to any kind of job, and I'll tell you why I know this. I know this for a fact, because I spend my entire life living and chatting with women.
Speaker 2:Families, yeah.
Speaker 1:And I had. I think I wrote this in my book. A mother came in. She just had her first baby. She was, I think, in her mid-30s. And she came to me and I'll never forget this. It was so powerful. She looked at me and she had tears in her eyes and she said why didn't they tell me?
Speaker 2:How old was she?
Speaker 1:Like mid-thirties.
Speaker 2:Mid-thirties. I go tell you what.
Speaker 1:She goes. Why didn't people tell me how wonderful it was going to be? She said I have one child. She was having difficulty with fertility. She goes. She wanted more and she felt like she had been cheated. And I say that with all respect for people who have jobs and who are doing what they're doing, but she did feel that way and I remember it was a jolt. To me it's kind of like no one told you.
Speaker 2:The society is failing a lot of these young women. They are instilling wrong hope, not very Christian or Catholic, whatever religious values, morals. It's been stripped away from families and I went to school for therapy, so you know being a family therapist. Right, we see that. What are the depressive rates? That after 45 years old, women hit severe depression when they're not married or connected to some type of family, and it's really sad to see that. And why aren't people telling them it's not just the career that's meaningful, it's family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean listen.
Speaker 2:Children.
Speaker 1:How much money do you want to have?
Speaker 2:What's that going to do?
Speaker 1:How much influence do you want to have? How many times can you go to Europe and have croissants?
Speaker 2:Better. Yet how many meaningful conversations can you have with your cats?
Speaker 1:Yes, true, that's a good line, but there's only so much fulfillment that that brings. Obviously, it does bring fulfillment. I'm not, you know, I would be a liar to not say that. Having a career and having children, my grandchildren I was talking to my wife about this today. I was saying, honey, we're so blessed. I mean, you know, my daughter sent me. My daughter has a little nine-month-old child, or eight-month-old child, and her name is Greta. Greta, if you're listening, we're talking about you, and she is so bloody cute. She's so cute and she we had a picture of her today. My daughter sent over a picture of a little bow in her hair and she's just like the comb over yeah no, she doesn't have any hair.
Speaker 1:She has a little tiny hair, but she had a little bow kind of pasted to her scalp, you know, and it was so and she's just kind of, you know, standing up on the furniture and I mean both my wife and I just laughed, you know, because it was so cute. Those are, those are moments, those are things that you don't get. Okay, if you don't have kids, you don't have grandchildren. So they say that you know you have kids so you can have grandchildren, okay.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:We actually did enjoy our children. If you're listening, we loved you, but it is fun to have grandchildren too.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is, it really is. What do you think takes to keep a woman happy?
Speaker 1:I don't think I understand your question.
Speaker 2:So you've been married. How long 50 years? What does it take to fulfill a woman like in a marriage? What does a man have to do to provide happiness? Well, your responsibility is not to. Obviously, they have to be happy within, but what is that? What qualities does a husband have to have to make the woman happy in a marriage?
Speaker 1:I think, obviously commitment is very big. You know, we were married very young and I'm not totally recommending that people get married when you're 20, but we did and because you're definitely, definitely my brain was not completely formed and uh, I'd say that both, uh, you know a little bit of humor, but also seriously, I I was, I had some crazy ideas how old were you when you got married?
Speaker 1:I was 20 we were both 20 and so, that being said, uh, we made it and, and we made it for there were a couple of reasons we made it.
Speaker 1:Number one I was very committed to being married. Number two I have a deep, abiding faith that you know that divorce is not something that God looks kindly on, and both my wife and I share a belief in Christ and the overall biblical view of living life together and keeping that going, so that cemented in our life and also, to a degree, I think, that the community we were in also was very, very strong. But in terms of your initial question, I think being married for 50 years is not for free. You know, you do have a little bit of contention, of course and, my lovely wife, if you're watching this, you know what I'm talking about but I do think that that commitment to not only your spouse but also to the children has got to be there. There has to be no question about that. Also, there has to be this issue, and this is maybe a tender issue, but fidelity has got to be very important.
Speaker 2:That would make a woman happy.
Speaker 1:Well trusting, being able to trust you as a man. If you are out doing naughty things and having affairs and things like that, that will destroy a marriage like pronto.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:Also, I think, avoiding addictions. I mean a lot of my moms in my practice whose husbands fall prey to whether alcoholism or drugs or vaping or whatever.
Speaker 2:Do you see that?
Speaker 1:a lot. Yeah, I do Not a lot, I would say, but I do see it. I mean, that's a game changer. If your husband is addicted to something, oh wait, wives too, that can happen, but those kind of things can destroy a marriage. And also the idea that, going back to the job idea, if you a just dedicated to your job but you don't say, okay, it's time for family time, and you don't really do that, that's really uh, can be over time, erode a relationship as well. If you're only if you're a workaholic I mean, a lot of guys out there are working hard. You should work hard as a, but you have to have this balance and that that balance has got to be there.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So those are just some ideas.
Speaker 2:No, I love that and I think what you're essentially talking about is it's that safety that you bring home. And women, you know men always say you know women, women are so complicated. It's. It's really not, and that's why I love asking men who have been married a while this question that it all comes down to it's, it's not that complicated. Women just want trust, they want safety, they want their husbands to come home yeah, you know it's, it's not a lot, and you just you know I actually do, sorry.
Speaker 1:I do think women are complicated. Just for the record, okay, this is gonna be a short. This is gonna be a short no we're all complicated men are complicated too, but I mean, I find them, I'm gonna defend women and say no, right, but then men say, yes, women are definitely complicated.
Speaker 2:Yes, one important question that I actually was was wanting to ask is that, yes, we've kind of just talked about this, but the rates for vaccines have decreased substantially and I you know. Are you noticing this?
Speaker 1:in your practice.
Speaker 2:Talk to me about that a little bit.
Speaker 1:So this is a little bit of a new phenomenon and I think that it represents a distrust in the medical world.
Speaker 2:Yes, and what I?
Speaker 1:mean by that is that there has been a kind of a reset, and I think to a degree it was kind of happening before the pandemic, but the pandemic accelerated this. And first of all there was this very incredible demand that everyone get vaccinated with COVID. And you know, certainly for me, I was, you know it was a mandate, I wasn't.
Speaker 2:I didn't mind that I was in the hospital.
Speaker 1:So I was happy to get my shots when I got them. But all I can say is a lot of people were forced to get shots, and a lot of people, especially younger children. The disease, the COVID disease itself, was not that deleterious to children. They actually skated through it pretty well. The mortality rate was darn near zero.
Speaker 2:Yes, darn near zero.
Speaker 1:With children I'm talking about internationally, both in the US and also in the world. So the number of children who actually passed from COVID was very, very low. But yeah, they got sick, but they weren't like sick unto death. Okay, so that demand, that incredibly strong demand that was made by the health authorities, and then people got sick anyway. You know that was hey, I got my shot, I still got sick. So the vaccine was not that helpful in preventing illness. Now, of course, the million dollar question. I think it's true that may have mitigated some of the symptomatology. Level of illness was less Okay. But the lay person out there in the community thought the following they told me to get the shot. They mandated I get the shot, I got the shot.
Speaker 1:I got COVID. Yay, why did I get the shot? Okay, and some people, by the way, had bad reactions to the shot. Remember that.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, some death. Well, some of them did yes, and so that was something that was the people in and it was just kind of like, obviously, the internet and all these different things. There was some misinformation that was floating around, for sure, but there were a lot of anecdotal comments that were being made. That being said, that eroded the whole to a degree the trust between a doctor and a patient.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And so now that is spilling over into the normal vaccines. This is problematic because I will tell you that the polio is real. I've seen polio. I do medical research.
Speaker 2:Even now.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean not as much now, but I certainly see older people who've had polio. And if we let up, it's going to come back.
Speaker 2:If we stop vaccinating kids, it will come up.
Speaker 1:Oh for sure it will. And I've seen these things in the field. I've seen tetanus in newborn babies, you know. I've seen women, older women, who've had lockjaw, which is tetanus. I mean, you don't see that in this country but I've seen, you know, out there in Africa and Central America and places.
Speaker 1:I've seen diseases that we don't see here and so and I've also in my own career, I've lived, I've been around long enough that some of the diseases that we dealt with I'm thinking about particularly of a type of meningitis called Haemophilus influenzae B meningitis. That was not an uncommon event that we had when I was in my training, even chickenpox, you know chickenpox. We spend hours and hours and hours talking about chickenpox. We don't have chickenpox anymore. So I've seen the benefit of vaccines. They really do make a difference and the health that we enjoy, the health that children enjoy, in our world today is better, much, much better than it was in our world today is better, much, much better than it was even a generation or two ago. So the routine vaccines are really, really important but people are kind of going you know what we're going to hold off.
Speaker 2:We're going to hold off for a while.
Speaker 1:We're not going to do it right now. What do?
Speaker 2:you tell those parents? What advice do you give the parents that are not vaccinating their children at?
Speaker 1:all I tell them that they're putting their kid at risk.
Speaker 2:At risk.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean there's no question they're going to be at risk for infections, Things like measles. Measles is rare but it does happen and it's a nasty disease. It's very nasty. We don't see it very much because we're all vaccinated and the vaccine is incredibly good at protecting people from getting measles, but measles is really contagious. You can have a person with measles walk through or go to a coffee shop and just get their coffee and walk out and they've infected everybody in that room. I mean, honestly, it's very infectious. So there are diseases out there which are dangerous. So that's what I tell people. I say do I throw people out of my practice? I don't.
Speaker 2:You don't have the no vaccine rule policy?
Speaker 1:No, I don't, and I'll tell you why that's so nice though. Why not? Yes, tell me, Because I want to bug them. I want them to be in my office so I can tweak them Every time they walk in the door. I will say you're putting your kid at risk, why do?
Speaker 2:you think all the other medical offices have that rule Like you, cannot be my patient unless your kids are vaccinated. But that's rejecting care, isn't it? Isn't that unlawful?
Speaker 1:Well, I can hypothesize. I mean, I think that there are people who just have strong feelings about it, and that's fine. There may be a legal reason for some of this. There's also this fear factor that you're allowing people in your office who don't have vaccines and my child is in the office, although I'm talking about other patients who are getting the vaccines and you're saying are you putting my child at risk? I would say no, your children are getting the vaccines. They're protected. The kids who are not getting the vaccines are the ones at risk. So there is a little bit of a hypothetical there in terms of having kids come into the office who have not been vaccinated and then having other kids who are too young to get a vaccine, for example. There is that risk, but it's extremely rare. So I'm willing to have people in the office who have not been vaccinated. That's really nice and I bug them.
Speaker 2:I just say Bug them. That's really nice, and I bug them. I just say Bug them, but that's really nice of you.
Speaker 1:I bug them because I do think, and I'd rather have them accessible to me and having a conversation with them rather than just throwing them to the wind.
Speaker 2:But that's what makes a genuine doctor. That's what makes you genuine. To your practice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean some people would say that this is being reckless. I don't think I am. If I thought I was being reckless, I don't think it's being reckless. But that's my.
Speaker 2:I think pushing them away is being reckless.
Speaker 1:I think it's being a little bit. You're losing an opportunity to speak into their life.
Speaker 2:Yes, so how many vaccines? Is it 78 vaccines by the time they're I actually don't know.
Speaker 1:I have to count them all up.
Speaker 2:So I wonder you're a Christian, I'm a Christian and there's people like this. When they come to your office they say vaccination goes against my religion. How do you sue the family like that? How do you teach a family that it is important?
Speaker 1:I'm not sure what religion they're talking about. You know, if they're talking, I mean if it's a religious thing. Religious things are very deeply held. Those feelings are deeply held.
Speaker 2:Have you ever had a patient like that or families like that?
Speaker 1:You know, I've had a couple of, you know folks who, who, for religious reasons and there are a couple of faiths out there that do, but they're rare, they're not common. Yeah, a lot of them come around, they really do. If you, if you kind of gently say, listen, this is, this is a good thing, this is for your good. Now, mind you, even in the very beginning of vaccines, when you go all the way back to the first vaccine, that was really well, that was pretty widespread use was smallpox. If you remember the story, what they did is they noticed that the young women who were the milkmaids they called them never got smallpox. They kind of go.
Speaker 1:Why is that? Here's why they got an infection from the cows called cowpox, which was a very mild infection, and so they called it the fair milk made. The fair milk made that they were not pocked. Their skin wasn't pocked from smallpox because they got cowpox, which was milder and that protected them from smallpox. So but when they begin to use, you know, they begin to vaccinate. Basically, they gave people cowpox. Is what happened, wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And they would take pustule you know, pus from a, an active case of cowpox, and they would inoculate it with people who had. You know that was their first inoculation. So anyway, but there were people who vehemently opposed that. They said what are you doing? You know what is this voodoo? And ultimately they they were proven that this is a good idea. So those kind of initial reactions happened not necessarily in the religious faith, but it happened among people who just didn't believe in it. So all I can say is I'm not sure what religion they're talking about and certainly from a Christian perspective, there's no reason that I can.
Speaker 1:There's no reason I can see why you would not want to vaccinate your children.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that makes sense. Is it really dangerous to not vaccinate your children?
Speaker 1:Really dangerous, Like really really dangerous.
Speaker 2:What are the risks?
Speaker 1:I think it's.
Speaker 2:For anyone out there that's listening. Okay, so I will be honest with you. Please.
Speaker 1:It's not really really dangerous because the diseases we're talking about are rare and they really are and they're becoming more rare because of what we call herd immunity. So there isn't a lot of measles in the community because the majority of people have been vaccinated. Already so you live in that herd and you understand the idea of herd immunity. There's a siren going by, it's okay. Sorry about that, folks. No, no, no.
Speaker 2:But, anyway.
Speaker 1:So herd immunity simply means that when you're in the Serengeti, okay, and you're a wildebeest, can you envision that? Mm-hmm, okay, okay, you're a wildebeest. Can you envision that? Okay, okay, you're a wildebeest.
Speaker 2:So it's not really really really, really dangerous.
Speaker 1:It's dangerous, I mean because there are a lot of other wildebeests in the herd. Okay, you're kind of wandering around and there are lions right there. Okay, you see the lions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that, I love that animation.
Speaker 1:No, I've been to the Serengeti. I can tell you they're right there. The lions are sitting there watching their lunch, walk by them and anyway. So the potential of you getting eaten by the lion is lower, because there's a lot of other wildebeests and some poor sap wildebeest is going to get eaten today.
Speaker 2:Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:But you're in a herd of 1 thousand, so you have one in a thousand chance of getting eaten and 999% chance of.
Speaker 2:That's a really good. I think that people are going to connect with that.
Speaker 1:So if, in fact, we have a mass movement of no vaccines, then I'm going to change my tune. It'll come up, it'll come up, but to say you're really really, is it really really dangerous, is dangerous. I don't want to use hyperbole here. I understand. And say, yes, it's super dangerous. I don't want to frighten people, but you are taking a risk.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that it's so nice to hear honesty. That's my people, yeah, but you are taking a risk. I appreciate that it's so nice to hear honesty.
Speaker 1:That was my opinion. Yeah, I love it, it's kind of like how often you buy car insurance. Yeah, are you going to get in a wreck today?
Speaker 2:We don't know.
Speaker 1:Probably not, probably not. I just say that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't know, you have to drive back.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I know I'm hoping you don't get in a wreck.
Speaker 2:No, no, we won't.
Speaker 1:But we all have, you know things. We buy insurance, you know. And is there going to be an earthquake today? I don't know, but we'll see. You know, there's a reason why you buy earthquake insurance.
Speaker 2:I think we're kind of running out of time right, we are. Okay, so we'll finish up. Do I have time for one more question? You do, okay, awesome. This has always been in the back of my mind and I always wanted to ask a pediatrician this question, or any doctor this question. Why is it that when doctors proceed to talk about don't vaccinate, don't do immediately, their license are taken away, even though it's a freedom of speech?
Speaker 1:they're deemed, license is not taken away, but if they're, if they're pushing that yes, they're going to be castigated, and by the community, by the medical community, and they're going to be if they're pushing people, if they're signing waivers or whatever which are not correct. They're just bogus weight, you know.
Speaker 2:Got it Because the truth out there. To interrupt you, I'm so sorry for that, but what people have this understanding of is when they're speaking the truth. That's why the government is trying to shut them down so that they're not you know. It's that whole saying.
Speaker 1:So I don't think it's well. First of all, I don't think it is the truth that vaccinations are bad, so that's, you need to understand that. But if you want to espouse crazy ideas I mean you're actually allowed to do that. You may get disciplined if you're out there pushing it. If you do it, certainly I will tell you that if something bad happens you're in trouble. I mean, there is a responsibility and they should be held to that responsibility, because if they're saying don't get vaccines, don't get HIV vaccine, for example, and that child gets Haemophilus influenzae B based on the recommendation of that doctor, wow, yeah, that's serious stuff.
Speaker 1:They're coming after you for sure, Because you better believe it. Yeah, and I think that's the right thing, because HIV vaccine has really reduced meningitis. And these kids who get HIV meningitis, these kids you may save their life by giving them antibiotics, but they may walk out of the hospital deaf or blind or, you know, with cerebral palsy or other types of significant damage. So, um, you, if that happens, you better watch your backside. Yeah, and I and I, that's, that's, that's why. But I don't think that you know that people can say things. I mean, I don't think that there's, to my knowledge, there's no disbarring. They may take some of your credentials away.
Speaker 2:I've seen some doctors, but it's interesting to see what have they done that has happened, so I'll do a little bit more research Sometimes they're out there, they're pushing it and they're also doing things which there are, illegal things.
Speaker 1:You can't write exemptions, for example, that are bogus exemptions If you are especially in terms of kids going to school in California, you have to realize that children have to be vaccinated to go to public school.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely Any school.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Any school, even private schools, require it.
Speaker 1:A lot of private schools. So if you're writing exemptions which don't really hold water, you are going to get taken to the California Medical Board.
Speaker 2:Do you believe that there is a thing called vaccine damage Of?
Speaker 1:course.
Speaker 2:There is.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Is it reversible?
Speaker 1:Some of them are.
Speaker 2:Oh, thankfully.
Speaker 1:But they're extremely rare. I mean the number of vaccine injuries that I've seen in my career and I've been doing it a long time is extremely rare.
Speaker 2:Thank you for being honest.
Speaker 1:And sometimes it's hard to pin down what caused what what? What it is, what caused what?
Speaker 2:um, for a long time, the mmr vaccine was reputed to be responsible for autism.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it was bogus. I mean, they've done listen. Let me just say this, adit that if, if I thought that I was giving your child autism by giving them the MMR shot.
Speaker 2:Would you do it? Of course not. Yeah, exactly, of course not.
Speaker 1:And so if you but that was the allegation is that we were giving kids autism. Well, it turns out that the diagnosis of autism kind of begins to be when you look at a, when you walk into a nursery and there are newborns okay, and there's a hundred newborns, and you go, wow, these beautiful babies. You know, one of those kids may have autism. Which one?
Speaker 2:I've heard that there's. There's a few data that I was reading that it's linked to. Now that they're saying it's linked to undeveloped spinal cords. Don't know about that I don't know how accurate that is, but I'll send you some some of the. Okay, I found it was just kind of interesting. I don't know how I'm not a medical doctor so I don't know how that would be but it was kind of interesting. But, dr hamilton, I know you have to go. You have a lot of babies you have to take care of, yes, you you do.
Speaker 2:I just want to say that one of the things that just blows me away about you is the fact that you are so open to taking people that are afraid to vaccinate their children, and I think that a lot of people watching are truly, genuinely going to appreciate that about you, because you have a chance to kind of educate them and take care of their anxiety and whatever worries that they have. So I think that's really appreciated about you. Thank you for that, thank you. And thank you for today.
Speaker 1:You're welcome. It's been a pleasure.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:There's a hundred newborns. You know, one of those kids may have lots of issues. Which one Kids help? Now that they're saying it's linked to undeveloped spinal cords.
Speaker 2:Don't know about that. I don't know how accurate that is, but I'll send you some some of the. Okay, I found it was just kind of interesting. I don't know how I'm not a medical doctor so I don't know how that would be but it was kind of interesting. But, dr hamilton, I know you have to go, you have a lot of babies you have to take care of?
Speaker 2:Yes, you do. I just want to say that one of the things that just blows me away about you is the fact that you are so open to taking people that are afraid to vaccinate their children, and I think that a lot of people watching are truly genuinely going to appreciate that about you, because you have a chance to kind of educate them and take care of their anxiety and whatever worries that they have. So I think that's really appreciated about you. Thank you for that, thank you. And thank you for today.
Speaker 1:You're welcome. It's been a pleasure, thank you.