Dear Moms:

We natural parents are easy to spot. At the neighborhood playground, we're the ones sharing recipes for kale chips or tips on the best herbal tick spray while our children are happily covering themselves in dirt. (We're also the ones rolling our eyes at the germ-phobic mom frantically chasing after her toddler with a bottle of hand sanitizer because he touched a bug.)

We choose breastfeeding rather than formula, cloth diapers over disposables, slings in lieu of strollers, and co-sleeping instead of a crib. We send our kids to Waldorf schools, or we homeschool. We say no to Happy Meals, television, video games, and lots of other things that mainstream mamas do not.

And many of us also say no to vaccines. Just this past week, a fourth grader at a Waldorf school in upstate New York tested positive for measles, and more than half of the study body had to be kept out of school because they weren't adequately vaccinated.

We NPs tend to view vaccines as unnecessary, dangerous and corrupted by drug companies. We believe that a diet of whole foods, lots of fresh air and exercise, and plenty of TLC from mama is the best way to keep our little ones healthy and happy.

But here's where I need to fess up and take issue with my fellow earthy, crunchy mamas. You see, while I'm a big believer in whole foods, fresh air and plenty of exercise, I'm also a big believer in vaccines. And the reason is simple: they work.

To me, vaccines are just another example of why, when it comes to health and safety, natural isn't always the best choice. After all, there's nothing natural about car seats and yet their creation has saved thousands of children's lives.

And the same is true of vaccines. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, before vaccines were invented, tens of thousands of people died of infectious diseases such as whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella. Today, deaths from these illnesses are rare because the vast majority of children in the U.S. are vaccinated. But public health officials worry that we'll see a resurgence of these diseases if more and more natural parents like us decide to say no to vaccines.

We are already seeing outbreaks. Last year, there were 222 cases of measles in the U.S., the highest number in 15 years. Nearly all of these cases were linked to someone traveling to Europe or other parts of the world, where measles is much more common. And 86 percent of those infected were not vaccinated against measles, or they didn't know if they were vaccinated.

Many of you worry about the risks involved with vaccines, and you have a right to know about those risks. As Seattle pediatrician Wendy Sue Swanson, mom of two young boys, recently blogged:

"It's when we have an open, informed discussion about vaccines that we increase trust in our partnerships. Yesterday in clinic I listed out more risks than I typically do when helping families with immunization decisions . . . I think it's these risks, coupled with the nod to the profound benefit of vaccinations, that allows families to make truly informed decisions. As a mom, I also sincerely believe this is when we feel good about immunizing our children."

And while we're talking about risks, let's go back to cars for a minute. Buckling our kids into car seats and transporting them at high speeds inside big hunks of metal is perhaps the biggest risk we take with our children, and yet most of are willing to take that risk every day. Because it's part of modern life.

Infectious diseases such as whooping cough and measles are part of modern life, too, and the single best way to protect our kids from getting these diseases is through immunization. Vaccinating your own kids also happens to be a great way to help others because it protects people who can't be vaccinated but are at the highest risk of serious complications if they do get infected.

I don't expect to convert the diehards among you. If you're convinced that vaccines are unnecessary or are part of a vast corporate and government conspiracy to harm your children, then I doubt there's anything I could say that would change your mind.

But to those fence sitters out there who are hesitant about vaccines because you've heard that they can cause more harm than good, or you just want to raise your kids as naturally as possible, I say please don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you do the research and base your decision on sound scientific evidence rather than scare tactics, you'll see that vaccinating your children just makes sense. Naturally.

What Do You Think?