immunisations - any thoughts?

[dandycandyjellybean]

My 7 1/2 week old ds has just had his appointments through for his first jabs, and I feel really unsure about it. Both dh and myself personally know someone who suffered brain damage following mmr when we were babies, hence neither of us have ever had any immunisations at all - I guess our parents were too freaked out. I feel all at sixes and sevens about it, sometimes I think 'why not, it doesn't seem to do the rest of the population too much harm', then other days I really feel strongly that I don't want him to have them, and obviously I have to decide soon. Dh is not the kind of person to do research or whatever, he just feels that he doesn't particularly want ds to have any, but I think that if I felt strongly that he should, dh would capitulate. Did anyone else struggle with this decision - I know mmr can be contraversial, but I'm even struggling with the basic jabs they have at 8 weeks. Any thoughts?

you know that MMR was only introduced to UK in 1988 don't you

do you have any family history that would lead you to believe you'd be at risk

personally I feel that the primary jabs are important .. they guard against some pretty serious diseases with some nasty consequences ... whooping cough, meningitis, diptheria, tetanus

I also strongly believe in the vaccination programme for my children, because I've read up a lot about it .. I chose sep vax MMR for DS but went with MMR for DD because she had thimerosal free primaries

THere are people who believe equally strongly that vaccination is unecessary

at the end of the day only you can decide .. but as well as researching the pros and cons of vaccinations I would strongly suggest you google the actual diseases too

There are others who are strongly opposed to it

(sorry the date was only because I was 11 then .. there is no reason you wouldn't be young enough to be offered that as a baby )

It really is one of those questions that only you can answer. My ds1 reacted badly to his first set of immunisations. It turned out that he was allergic to one of the components. It made me wary of vaccinating ds2 but I went ahead with it and he was absolutely fine. I'm pregnant (due in March) with no.3 and still have no idea what decision we'll make for him/her.

great christmas name btw copper

i think there was a measles jab before 1988. that might have been the one you were thinking of. there are a [small] number of mumsnetters who haven't vaccinated their children at all, for various different reasons, ususually linked to their children or previous children's health problems. It is a very difficult decision to make, and if you do make it, make sure you do as much research as you can and be prepared for a lot of hostility from various areas including the medical profession! I actually think the infant jabs are much safer now - they are mercury free and the pertussis element is acellular which is supposed to cause fewer reactions. Some people delay the jabs until the babe is 6 months old, by that time you may have a clearer idea to whether your babe can tolerate them, and whether they are healthy enough. there are risks you have to weigh up too - hib is a real worry for me as we are not vaccinated yet, intend to delay due to health probs. Extended Breastfeeding is something you should consider if you intend to delay/cancel. Good luck with your decision.

I guess I just put mmr without thinking, it was a jab related to measles that caused the problems, and it's definitely not one of these urban myth type things - one of the people I mentioned in my first post I see every week - she is a couple of years older than me (I'm 35) and has a mental age of eight, lovely with it but not something I would like to happen to my ds, obviously. And I guess I knew all along that it is totally my decision, I just wondered if anyone else had had difficulty even with the basic jabs. tbh, it wasn't something I really thought about during my pg, and have been too busy just coping with a new baby to have given it much thought/done much research since I guess I'll have to stop spending my precious few minutes of peace on mnet and get googling. Thanks though all.

I'm with your dh on this. The debate is utterly polarised. From the anti pov you could look at jabs or The Informed Parent or anything by Trevor Gunn like this book.
He also does talks around the country which are very edifying and accessable.

Good luck. It's a tough decision I know.

Have a look on meningitis research foundation on HIB, MENINGITIS C vaccines and the soon to be introduced PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE there is lots of info about the vaccines and from a mother who has lost a child to meningitis i strongly recommend you think seriously about these vaccines as meningitis causes devestating brain damage and other very serious disabilities.

Sorry to be so one sided but you must understand that i'm a mother who has lost my precious 19 month old Dd to a childhood disease and i am fighting for the pneumococcal vaccine to be introduced ASAP.

Research you must but remember the childhood immunisations are to protect your child from VERY serious diseases.

GOODLUCK x

I'm really really sorry Amyjade. I remember you posting on a similar thread before. Clearly a subject very close to your heart.

There remains a good deal of debate about whether the vaccines actually do protect against these diseases though. For example, most of the children who caught measles in the epidemics a couple of years ago were vaccinated.

Like I say the debate is polarised and your it a very personal decision. If your dh refuses to do the research perhaps you could do it. Then you'd be in a better position to decide for your children and to call the shots. (No pun intended!)

i agree amyjade the meningits vaccines are the most important if any are to be given at all. I can completely understand your opinion on this of course. Unfortunately as spidermama says there are grey areas with vaccines. there is a mumsnetter here, a biochemist, whose son was severely damaged by vaccines, and tho i am not making any comparisons in terms of loss, there is another side to the argument.

i am certainly not dismissing what you say tho amyjade, your story is etched onto my mind and causes me much concern.