DD is due her MMR in a few weeks, I am dreading it, can you please give me the pros and cons.

[DustyTv]

I have been worrying about this for a while now, my anxiety levels are through the roof and my OCD is back at an all time high

DD is 12mo, she is due for her MMR Jab soon. I cannot make my mind up if I am for or against. I think though that I would rather her have it than get some horrible disease. But I have been reading another thread and the OP's story is that her DS changed after he had the MMR and some other people have told of their negative stories of their DC having the MMR.

DD is a very healthy child, she has had a couple of colds and chest infections but other than that she is okay, health wise.

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR THE BEST!!!!!!

It's hideous isn't it. I went through loads of anxiety about having the MMR for DS (and I am a HV with info at my fingertips).
Logically I knew it was safe but I am as susceptible to the scary headlines as everyone else. DS didn't have it until 16 months because I dithered - then I got it done - and he was fine apart from some cold symptoms about a week later.

MMR raises strong opinions on here so I'd say as well as reading through any posts you have - do your own research. There are various sites out there with info. Some for and some against. It's a matter of balancing the good with the bad.

Measles CAN be a mild illness but sometimes it isn't and that's the crux of the matter.
In the end I got DS immunised because there was a measles outbreak and the risk to him from that scared me more than the debate about the MMR.

Has to be your decision though.

Thanks JP, on the other thread someone said that measels could be fatal I didn't know that, and I would rather my DD got autisim (I know nothing about it so I am sorry if I offend anyone) than die. But surely this is a worst case senario situation!!

I have tried googling MMR, but I just keep finding goverment type sites and I am very sceptial as they only tell you what they want you to hear IYSWIM.
I would rather have all the facts so then I can make an informed decision.

Will have a hunt - the science museum did have a whole load of stuff about it. Also although JABS are pretty anti MMR they did reassure me by a checklist on their site which said if DS was well on the day of the vaccine he should be fine.

Ds2 had his last week - On a risk assessment basis it is more likely that your dc will get an awful side effect from one of the diseases than get a side effect from the mmr.

How bad would you feel if she contracted one of the preventable illnesses or caused a pg friend to get german measles? I felt I just couldn't risk it.

The best side effect that I found with all 3 of my dc is that it made them quite sleepy. Ds1 (who had his booster 2 weeks ago) had a slight measley rash but other than that no other noticeable effects (apart from being able to relax when another measle outbreak is reported on the news).

Just another one of those tough times for being a mum!

It is tough isn't it loler, I am about 6-7 weeks ish pg now as well, so I suppose even more reason for her to have it. I can see why she needs it, I know I will take her for it, but OMG it is such a worry. I was awake most of last night thinking about it.

I had just got my OCD and anxiety under control and was managing it fine, but now I am all over the place.

DH will be working when she goes for the jab so I will have to get my dad to take her Dad took her for all of the others.

The science museum MMR stuff is here. Have looked on the JABS website but can't find the checklist I used (DS is nearly 6 so was some time ago).

You can wait until they are a bit older. DD2 is 2 tomorrow and I'm going to get hers done in December.

DS was affected by the MMR. Both he and DD1 had doses at the same time and both were severely constipated for 10 days afterwards (DS needed medical attention). It is possible it had some other effects on him as well. Could be coincidental. Fortunately we have been able to 'undo' some of the harm it may have caused. But it is one of those chicken/egg things when you don't know if your DC is one of the ones likely to be affected until they've had it, especially at 12/13 months. It's easier with subsequent children.

Thanks JP.

Castles, would it not be dangerous to wait though, I mean couldn't they contact one of the diseases before they get inoculated. I don't know how it works TBH.

Does anyone know about the single jabs? If I were to go for them, would we have to pay privately for them or can we get them on the NHS?

JP, that site is really good, I'm going to have a good read through it tonight when DD is in bed. Thankyou.

My personal view is that the risk of side-effects from the MMR aged 13 months outweighed the risks of my child catching measles or whatever. For me, I wanted to wait: having a child with SN that is possibly related to the MMR booster has made me cautious. You have to do what is right for you and your child. As far as I know, you have to pay for the single jabs. Some of my friends have done that.

Thanks Castles, this is what I need, pros and cons so that I can make an informed choice. Did you see the difference straight away or did it happen over time?

Not wanting to enter a huge pros and cons debate, both my children had the MMR and were totally fine - believe me, I totally understand your anxieties though.dc1 was due her MMR just after the initial research findings were published roughly 11 yrs ago - and the media headlines were very scary. However, I went through with it as I felt the research sample was too small to be considered fool proof evidence against MMR. Measles is on the increase and can be extremely serious - our primary school in London has recently had a case and all parents who hadn't had their children vaccinated were advised to do so. Measles can kill or leave you brain damaged, deaf or blind, mumps can render boys infertile and rubella as you know is harmful to pregnant women.

Thanks summer and everyone else, I will be atking DD to have her MMR jab, but it will be hard. It is such a tough decision to make. The research can be so confusing.

here

here

Two links

Second NHS GP who is more selective and non muliples vaccine.

Every day I come on here people are asking the same questions.

Mine were fine. They obviously didn't like it much, but recovered immediately with the help of choc buttons. I have no problem with them having it though.

Is the MMR debate still going on? It was going on when DS had his and he's five now! So presumably further research must have proved a link to autism more convincingly than it had four years ago if people are still concerned about it... Does anyone have a link to this?

I must admit when DS had his I was far more worried about him dying from measles (which I know can happen) than from him contracting a condition which was speculatively linked to the vaccination based on an original study of just twelve children.

I thought that it had been complete disproven as an issue and had no more risks than any other vaccination.

pros:
she will be protected against measles, which can be serious, and a measles epidemic is apparently about to hit the UK with numbers well up already

she will not infect anyone who is vulnerable with any of the 3 diseases

large scale and good quality research evidence seems to indicate that mmr is very safe indeed.

you have said yourself that she is a very healthy child- even people who do not accept the research findings of mmr safety generally argue that the pool of children who might be severely negatively affected is very small indeed and comprised of children with compromised immune systems, bowel problems and allergies.

cons:
nothing is risk free

Good luck with your decision.

non-government site about vaccination:
jabs website