Jailed Mom 'Shocked' by Son's Vaccination

A Michigan mother who went to jail for refusing to have her 9-year-old son vaccinated says she was "devastated" to learn that the boy had his shots while she was behind bars and he was in the custody of her ex-husband. Rebecca Bredow, who says vaccination goes against her "personal beliefs," was released on Monday, hours after her son received four immunizations, the AP reports. She was sentenced to seven days in prison last week for ignoring a court order to have the boy immunized. Bredow was her son's primary caregiver, but on Wednesday, Oakland County Circuit Judge Karen McDonald ruled that she has to split custody 50/50 with her ex-husband.

Bredow was released after serving five days of her sentence for contempt of court. "It was the worst five days of my life, except for the fact that I just found out that he was vaccinated and I'm not going to get him back today," Bredow tells the Detroit Free Press. "It's been a rough few days to say the least." Bredow, who has cited religious objections to vaccinations, as allowed under Michigan law, says she thought Wednesday's hearing was going to be a debate about vaccinating children. "I wasn't expecting to lose primary custody today of my son," she tells WDIV. (Michigan is among the 10 states with the lowest vaccination rates.)