DD starting nusery soon - has not had MMR yet ...

[bunyanvillas]

My 13 month old daughter is due to start at nursery in 2 weeks' time. I am wondering whether I should arrange for her to have the MMR jab prior to this and have provisionally booked it in for tomorrow. It's such a difficult decision to make, but I worry that were I to leave it until she is 18 months old, then there is a risk of her catching the likes of measles, especially now that she is going to be in daycare. We live in London and my doctor has told me that there is a slightly higher chance of measles etc "doing the rounds" than elsewhere in the country. What do other people think?

Personally, I would go get a single measels jab, and worry about the rubella and mumps when you feel ready. If you want to wait until 18 months to get those two, I see no harm in it.

I agonised over this too - as most of us probably have. I spoke to a private doctor (who doesn't have to go along with government policy/ recommendations), and she advised that I give dd the MMR. She said that there are so many conflicting studies that it's hard to know if it's correct to link the MMR with autism (presume that's why you're nervous?), and that the risk of catching any of the viruses was far greater than the percentage risk of any negative results from the jab. She also said that, sadly, it seems to be boys who are at far greater risk to adverse reactions than girls. We had the combined jabs, and thankfully, dd is fine and healthy.

Good luck. It's a difficult decision.