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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you decided not to vaccinate your children

593 replies

Mintpepper · 27/06/2017 11:42

Do you regret it? Did they catch any of the diseases that they could have been vaccinated for and what was the outcome?

And anyone who did get their children vaccinated - did they catch any of the diseases anyway? And do you regret vaccinating for any reason?

This isn't intended to start a debate for or against vaccination generally as that's been done many times, I'm more just interested in your personal experiences if you'd be willing to share them. Thank you.

OP posts:
BarbarianMum · 27/06/2017 12:38

I had whooping cough last year YOuCannot - age 45. Dh also got it, aged 52 (kids didn't luckily as their vaccines were in date). So just because you've never caught them, doesn't mean you never will.

As far as whooping cough goes I'd strongly recommend all over 30 get revaccinated. It was fucking horrendous and lasted 12 weeks.

OuroForMe · 27/06/2017 12:39

Mintpepper
I delayed DS's vaccines then went to a private clinic (which was packed by the way) where he had the DTP but in single doses.

MonkeyLovesRobot · 27/06/2017 12:40

It was fucking horrendous and lasted 12 weeks.

Did your whoop go after 12 weeks? My "whopping cough" illness did, but I still whooped for months afterwards...

Ummmmgogo · 27/06/2017 12:40

I know poor op we are such bitches trying to protect your kid from painful preventable diseases. xx

CBeebiesaddict · 27/06/2017 12:41

Not useful to OP but this thread has reminded me to book DS' chickenpox vaccine, all sorted for Saturday. Thanks :)

JaniceBattersby · 27/06/2017 12:42

When I was a toddler, the full vaccination programme was in its relative infancy. If you had eczema, for some reason they advised you not to have the measles vaccination. My eldest cousin had v bad eczema so she didn't have the jab. She caught measles and died.

There's not a day that goes by that my aunty doesn't blame herself. Thirty seven years of beating herself up over this. It has destroyed a part of her and has affected all of our lives in ways I can even begin to describe.

I don't think any amount of 'research' a lay person can do can possibly be any kind of substitute for the decades of meticulous research done by scientists and doctors.

Original poster
Mintpepper · 27/06/2017 12:43

Ummmmgogo why are you so pissed off at someone asking a question? I'm not even an anti-Vaxxer so the vitriol is bewildering

OP posts:
BarbarianMum · 27/06/2017 12:44

I didn't whoop much tbh - only at night sometimes. The cough though, oh my God! I coughed til I vomited, I coughed til I passed out, I coughed til I was incontinent (sometimes all 3 together - nice). Bloody stupid practise nurse just told me it wasn't a chest infection and, when I tried to explain how bad it was (I honestly thought I was going to die the times I blacked out), told me that dh should ring an ambulance if he was worried.

I was finally diagnosed around week 8 after I had a coughing fit in front of MiL's neighbour who was a retired GP.

Cailleach666 · 27/06/2017 12:45

But janice your aunt was acting on medical advice, so I'm not sure how that's relevant to a lay parent deciding and researching for themselves.

steamboatwilly123 · 27/06/2017 12:45

My older children had everything offered, but I did more research with my younger ones, especially since a large age gap meant more vaccines had been added by the time they were due to receive them and I was concerned and curious about the change, so looked into more.

My younger two had spaced vaccines that did not run in line with the current vaccine schedule and my youngest has not had the MMR or preschool booster and will probably have the boosters first and MMR later (if at all). My daughter is due to start high school this year and will not be getting the HPV vaccine and that decision will not change.

None of my decisions are related to autism, but are due to other reasons and my own research and nothing was done lightly. And no, I don't regret my decisions. HTH.

MrsCharlieD · 27/06/2017 12:45

I vaccinate because I not only want to protect my child, but others too. The reason you will probably find non-vaxxers haven't caught every disease going is because the people around them are proving herd immunity. If we suddenly all stopped vaccinating then the number of instances would increase rather rapidly I would imagine.

Y0uCann0tBeSer10us · 27/06/2017 12:46

Oh I realise that BarbarianMum - it's pretty clear from the data that the majority of cases occur in adults, and that the whooping cough vaccine wears off pretty quickly (after a few years). The severity of the symptoms can vary massively - so much so that many adults may not recognise it and inadvertently pass it on to more vulnerable people, like infants.

The point I was trying to make (rather clumsily I'll admit) is that a large proportion of adults, maybe even a majority, are also susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases (and so can pass them on). There's also good evidence now that the Mumps component of the MMR, for instance, wears off in late teens/early adulthood, leaving these populations susceptible, although they will likely assume they are protected. These discussions always centre on how selfish it is to not get children immunised, but overlook the fact that adults are also a massive transmission risk.

Original poster
Mintpepper · 27/06/2017 12:46

Janice I'm sorry you're not aware of the research a 'lay person' can do, but there is plenty of information available, which I am availing myself of. I bet most of the people getting irate at the fact that I'm asking for personal experiences haven't actually done any research themselves beyond the NHS website/gp

OP posts:
haveacupoftea · 27/06/2017 12:47

Even if vaccines did cause autism, would you rather have an autistic child or a dead child?

MrsCharlieD · 27/06/2017 12:47

I also find no substance in the autism link so this did not factor into my decision at all.

paxillin · 27/06/2017 12:47

I was one of those who did answer your question, OP. You do not get a say in people's responses on your thread on MN though.

TeenAndTween · 27/06/2017 12:47

vaccinations are a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

OP. The plural of anecdote is not data.

If you are really going to research this try looking for statistics showing introduction of vaccines and drop in catching/deaths. Or spikes in reported conditions in trendy-yummy-mummy areas where they don't vaccinated so much so no herd immunity.

Why would the NHS waste money on vaccinations if they weren't generally beneficial? They don't do it for the fun of it.

Do you do your own research on whether the house you are buying is structurally sound (i.e. do all the maths yourself), or do you trust the experts? Similarly do you fly in aeroplanes without being an aeronautical engineer?

Say 5 people come on and say the regret it due to side effects? Will that really change your mind?

I worry for the education system in this country. It seems to turn out people with just enough knowledge to think they know better than the experts, but not enough knowledge to actually know they don't.

QuiteQuietly · 27/06/2017 12:47

We've taken our DC to have all of their vaccinations so far. Despite this, DD2 had mumps (and now has hearing loss as a result) and DD1 and DS both have had measles. From my standpoint it all seems pretty pointless, but the system seems to work for most people and we will probably continue to vaccinate, if only to be able wave the vaccination records at people who complain that we have been "selfish".

I have had a bad reaction to two flu jabs (was hospitalised with the second one) and so was advised by the GP not to have the swine flu jab when I was pregnant with DD2. So none of us have the annual flu jabs now apart from DH who needs it to access daycare.

I do the minimum standard schedule, but can't get evangelical about it like many on here seem to.

Soubriquet · 27/06/2017 12:48

I've had both of my children vaccinated but my Ds still got measles.

I'm glad I vaccinated him though because whilst he was poorly, I know he would have been a lot worse without the jabs.

TheGoodWife16 · 27/06/2017 12:50

My 15yo DD has had all immunisations, but I really struggled with the MMR in 2003 due to the media hype at the time. In the end, after much deliberating, we had the MMR administered. We believe it was the right thing to do for us/our DD.

Incidentally, all 3 of us suffered an horrendous episode of whooping cough in 2013, despite being vaccinated and despite DH and I already having had it as children. It lasted 4 months in total. It took 6 months to get my voice back. Various doctors were so dismissive when I voiced concerns that it was indeed whooping cough until one GP had us all tested as she'd read an article about it being on the increase again.

taratill · 27/06/2017 12:50

OP I can't understand why you are bothered that people are getting upset by the question. That is perfectly normal!

For what it's worth my son has Autism and had the MMR, did he get it from MMR? No because he was born with it!

I would never regret immunising and protecting my child from diseases that they could die from.

There is a small risk of an allergy or reaction but that is far less significant than the risk to others (with impaired immunity) or the risk to the child of becoming seriously ill.

If you don't want to do MMR then fair enough but pay for individual immunisations.

It is beyond selfish (on all levels) to not vaccinate.

Ummmmgogo · 27/06/2017 12:51

because I've seen children that have life long disabilities due to these illnesses. I've met parents with lifelong mental health issues caused by seeing these diseases. the idea that even one child might not be vaccinated because of a thread like this is terrifying.

I am grateful that I was born somewhere with free health care. I am grateful that my adult life isn't marred by problems from childhood illnesses like some of my elderly relatives suffered.

I am a British taxpayer. there is no magic money tree, so I would prefer my taxes not to be spent treating something it would have been cheaper to prevent.

finally I am angry because I don't understand why you would want to gamble with a babies health.

Cailleach666 · 27/06/2017 12:51

QuiteQuietly I'm in the same camp as you.

My kids although fully up to date with immunisations didn't have their MMR until they were 14 years old.

Vaccines are not without risks.

PerpetualStudent · 27/06/2017 12:51

The other thing to bear in mind is how selfish not vaccinating is to the rest of society. You will be increasing the risk of spreading the illnesses to - elderly people, other small children - cancer patients undergoing chemo are also at risk.

This!! It seems staggeringly selfish to only concentrate on whether your children are likely to catch anything. By not vaccinating you compromise the herd immunity effect which people - including very ill children and pre-vaccinated newborns - with poor immune systems rely on for their health.