'I've done lots of research': Pregnant wife of NRL star Bryce Cartwright defends not immunising her kids - after a wave of outrage at her anti-vax beliefs
- The wife of NRL star Bryce Cartwright has revealed their rare parenting methods
- Shanelle Cartwright, 20, who is pregnant, has admitted the pair are anti-vaxxers
- The glamorous WAG said they would not be using nappies for their second child
- Mr and Mrs Cartwright welcomed son Koa in 2018 and are expecting a second
- Health authorities warn anti-vaxxers threaten 'herd immunity' against disease
The pregnant wife of football star Bryce Cartwright has defended her decision to not vaccinate their children and is organising a gathering of anti-vaxxers.
Shanelle Cartwright, 20, shared nearly a dozen messages of support she had received from other parents who chose not to immunise their children, or whose kids had experienced an adverse reaction from vaccinations.
While many of the parents did not share the exact nature of their children's illnesses, some claimed their kids had experienced seizures, a speech delay, and one alleged her son had developed lumps in his chest.
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Shanelle Cartwright (left), the pregnant wife of football star Bryce Cartwright (right), has revealed the couple are anti-vaxxers who no longer use nappies on their children
After the news spread, Shanelle was contacted by many parents with similar views, who claimed their children had become sick from vaccines
Shanelle also heard from one mother who believed she herself was made ill from a vaccine
Mrs Cartwright, a soon to be mother-of-two, shared an invitation to other like-minded parents on the Gold Coast to come and meet up with her.
'All the peeps following me - if any of you are on the Gold Coast and wanna connect, hit me up,' she wrote.
Mrs Cartwright controversial stance was widely condemned by parents and medical experts.
'We're not in a magical world where babies potty train at two months and live in a non diseased world,' one woman said.
'Put your holistic, strange, new age views aside & look after your children for god sake.'
Another said herd immunity was no reason to skip on vaccines, and said the WAG's behaviour was 'abhorrent'.
'The reason non vaccinated kids don’t get sick is because obviously all the kids around them who have been [vaccinated] are not getting the diseases,' they said.
'This is abhorrent, how can people be so stupid and decide for their child also. Come on Australia, I can’t believe this is even a debate. Some Rugby League players and their partners are truly stupid.'
Another questioned whether the 20-year-old mother was mature enough to make the decision.
'Is this a new trend? Breastfeeding alone is not sufficient enough to keep your baby healthy,' a concerned mother wrote.
'What happens when your child gets so ill that you plead for a fix and it’s too late? Will you trust hospitals then? Because, I’m pretty certain your whole 20 years of life and knowledge of this world will not qualify you to operate on your innocent child.'
Another woman claimed she had been doing her own research on vaccinations and believed her son's disabilites were caused by vaccines
The other mothers sent their support to Shanelle, who invited other like-minded parents on the Gold Coast to come and meet up with her
Mrs Cartwright, who married Bryce in 2018, made the frank admissions about their anti-vaxx beliefs and parenting methods during an Instagram Q&A.
Shanelle, 20, and Cartwright, 24, welcomed their first child Koa in January 2018 and are preparing for the birth of their second, which is due in the coming days.
The young mother said she and Cartwright had not vaccinated their son, would not use nappies for their second child and 'don't trust hospitals'.
When asked by one follower whether she vaccinated her first son, Mrs Cartwright said she was firmly against injecting her children.
'He's not vaccinated - none of our babes will be,' the young mother replied.
As a follow-up question the glamorous WAG was asked whether this would affect her children going to school.
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But Mrs Cartwright said if unvaccinated children were one day banned from schools she already had a contingency plan in place.
'They can go to school (so far)... if the law changes, I'll home school before I vaccinate,' she said.
Mrs Cartwright said instead of vaccinating she and her husband focused on the 'gut health' of their youngsters by 'exclusively breastfeeding' for the first six months.
She also admitted that while Gold Coast Titans star Cartwright is now onboard with these parenting methods, he initially took some convincing.
'I remember he (Bryce) was so defensive when I first brought it up and got angry at me for even suggesting that we shouldn't vaccinate,' Mrs Cartwright said.
Shanelle, 20, and Bryce, 24, welcomed their first child Koa last January and are preparing for the birth of their second which is due in the coming months (They are pictured at their 2018 wedding)
Mrs Cartwright admitted her footy star husband was initially against being an anti-vaxxer, bur is now firmly onboard with the method
Mrs Cartwright said she was firmly against injecting children (left) and that if this meant they were banned from attending school, she would prefer to home school instead of vaccinating (right)
The glamorous WAG and her NRL star husband welcomed their first son Koa in January 2018
Mrs Cartwright said she and her husband were not planning to use nappies for their next child (left), but admitted Cartwright was not initially sold on the unique parenting techniques
'And then he read a package insert and a few pages of one of Dr Suzanne Humphries books and saw vaccines under a different light. And now we're here.'
Unvaccinated children are banned from enrolling in preschool in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland under the 'no jab, no play' laws.
At a federal level, the Australian government has previously introduced laws that link immunisations to benefit payments available to families.
If a family does not fully immunise their children up to the age of 19, they will not be able to claim the full amount of family tax benefit or child care benefits.
Health authorities warn anti-vaxxers threaten the public's 'herd immunity' against disease.
'Immunisation is a safe and effective way to protect you and your children from harmful, contagious diseases. It also safeguards the health of other people, now and for future generations,' the Australian government's health department says.
'Before vaccination campaigns in the 1960s and 1970s, diseases like tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough killed thousands of children. Today, it is extremely rare to die from these diseases in Australia.'
Between one and two per cent of parents across New South Wales refuse to vaccinate their children.
Mrs Cartwright (pictured) said instead of vaccinating she and her husband focused on the 'gut health' of their youngsters by 'exclusively breastfeeding' for the first six months
The Cartwright's admission about their highly controversial parenting techniques comes two years after the NRL star was accused of paying a woman to have an abortion.
Cartwright and a representative of his former club the Penrith Panthers, reportedly offered the footy star's ex-lover $50,000 to terminate a pregnancy three months in.
The woman - who remained anonymous - claimed Cartwright told her he had no intention of being involved with the child.
She felt bullied and contacted the footy star's parents at which point she discovered Cartwright was in a long-term relationship with his now-ex-girlfriend.
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