MMR!

[youngmummy17]

DS is 18 months, his due his last set of injections, i've been putting them off since his 1st birthday!, it's his first MMR jab and i'm concerned i always hear stuff about it and i just have a bad gut feeling, what was other peoples experiences when ds/dd's had their MMR jabs?

What exactly are you concerned about?

Why don't you have a little search before you post? You will find an abundance of information and opinions.

I think the yawn was unnecessary Kat - not to mention mean.

young mummy, there are quite a few threads about the MMR in this section so you could try to wade through those and then if you had any specific questions or concerns thst weren't addressed people will try to answer them for you.

Be warned though - the MMR debates do get quite heated! Good luck! :)

I hope you are prepared for a fight youngmummy

It is only natural to be concerned about any vaccination that has had a bad press. However, the allegations of links between the MMR and autism have been completely disproved. Unfortunately the tabloids have over sensationalised it far too much and far too many people tend to believe the press rather than talk to medical professionals and make their own informed decisions. The problem is that the MMR vaccination is given at the same time that autistic traits begin to present themselves, but this doesn't mean that thers is any correlation between the two.

I suggest you voice your concerns to your health visitor and GP and ask for their advice.

For the record DD had her MMR and booster with absolutely no side effects, and so have the vast majority of children.

There's a current thread about it here.

The Daily Fail media hype - that is certainly the best thread for information (not).

Youngmummy - have a look at this www.nhs.uk/conditions/mmr/pages/introduction.aspx

and FWIW, my two have had their shots without problems...

I think you have to research the information and make a decision that YOU feel comfortable with. Don't be swayed by other people.

Whatever you do you'll be taking risk. There is no risk-free choice.
My DC were fine with the MMR (I suppose it was around 18m generally), twas nothing to them, really. Far far preferable to a bout of measles, for sure.

Bunbaker, this point of yours: "The problem is that the MMR vaccination is given at the same time that autistic traits begin to present themselves" is utter rubbish.

the same was said when the mmr was given at 20 months old, then 18 motnhs, then 15 months, and now 12 months - so which is it? or is it all of the above? what about children who have the jab later, and then regress? is that the age at which autism traits present themselves? (there is documented evidence of regression in a 4 year old, and even older)

I do wish that people would stop spouting such ill-informed nonsense.

OP: all you can do is read up as much as you can, of both sides. Ask any questions you have (not just on here, but of your GP, and the nurse). And come to a conclusion that is right for yuo and your family. No one else can tell you what you should do.

FWIW, my experience of the mmr with dd1 was: the doctor and nurse ignoring my questions; refusing to let me see the package insert; dd1 was already being assessed for being developmentally delayed, but the issues with her bowels and digestion started post mmr. for a variety of reasons (not least dd2's own health issues) dd2 has not had the mmr.

youngmummy, there are NO scientific links between autism and the MMR jab. None.

I am seriously reconsidering taking my ds for his second lot of the mmr. Here in Wales they give the mmr and other jabs at the same time and my son's reaction to them was so bad that I don't think I can do it to him a second time.

Read some properly reseached medical articles if you are really concerned. Please don't base your opinion on the tabloid press or a bunch of strangers on the internet!

For what its worth all three of mine had their jabs with no ill effects and, having read a bit and talking to my GP who I trust I had no concerns about the safety of the jabs. I'm only one mum though and certainly not a medical expert!

Dueling - you don't need to do the MMR together with the dTaP booster - just get two appointments. Also, when children react with fever etc to the first MMR, it is unlikely they have a reaction the second time. Talk to your GP about your concerns and see what they say!

Lots of people will come along and say "oh my child had no bad reaction, they were fine," but don't forget that there are children who do have awful reactions.
It is a really hard decision to make. Personally I decided not to vaccinate my son.

Oh and don't forget you can delay the jabs. Don't feel rushed into making your decision.

A lot of kids who come down with measles in outbreaks would have been old enough for MMR, but their parents had "delayed" the shots. Not a good idea to leave it too long when measles are still going that strong in the UK (over 300 cases in the Merseyside region).

"Bunbaker, this point of yours: "The problem is that the MMR vaccination is given at the same time that autistic traits begin to present themselves" is utter rubbish.

When medical journals like this one (5th paragraph) and my health visitor and GP all state that why would I not believe it?

Maybe a bit of wider reading would be beneficial? (and not just for you! FWIW, gps are not always the best source of info for ASD - when I took dd1 to our old gp, and mentioned that she was autistic, he looked shocked and said 'but she's a girl!' )

as I say, I have heard (read, come across the information, etc) it said about the mmr/ASD link when referring to a whole range of ages - it is true for all of them? it was certainly being said back when dd1 had her mmr (recommended age then 18 months), and is still being said now (recommended age 12 months). big difference between a 12 month old and an 18 month old in terms of ability.

the paper you link to is disingenuous to say the least (and that's putting it politely) - the recommended age for mmr back when the LAncet 12 had the jab ws not 12-15 months. so why they would dismiss the findings in relation to those children using that argument is odd anyway. indeed, part of the gmc case hinged on the fact that some of the children should have had a CHildhood Disintegrative Disorder dx, not ASD - for that to be true, typical development should be seen up to the age of 2, which suggests that the children in question received their mmr after this age - a far cry from 'autistic traits become apparent at 12-15 months and that is why parents make the link'

I always found this most striking: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11581466

There was no difference in the mean age at first parental concern between the 2 samples exposed to MMR (19.3 and 19.2 months) and the pre-MMR sample (19.5 months). Thus, MMR immunization was not associated with a shift toward an earlier age for first parental concerns. Similarly, the rate of developmental regression reported in the post-MMR sample (15.6%) was not different from that in the pre-MMR sample (18.4%); therefore, there was no suggestion that regression in the developmental course of autism had increased in frequency since MMR was introduced.

Catherina, so you think that because regression can happen without vaccination, then it must follow that it cannot happen following vaccination?

you are ignoring the fact that the types of regression (and type of autism) are usually very different...

in fact, that is always the problem - autism is treated as one thing, with one route into autism. this is not the case. and looking at one type of autism (and route into autism) and declaring it to be free from another type of autism (and route into autism) is entirely pointless.

this was just a tiny snippet from the paper, obviously, with two different strong (IMHO) points

1. age of first concern was not different for parents of MMR-exposed and non-MMR exposed autistic kids.

1. rate of regressive autism wasn't different between MMR-exposed and non-MMR exposed autistic kids.

Catherina, so you think that because regression can happen without vaccination, then it must follow that it cannot happen following vaccination?

Well, no, but if there's the same incidence for both groups, then there's no correlation, therefore no reason to expect it to be related - ie. these children would have developed autism whether they had the jab or not.

Other studies linked from that study also support the lack of link - and I can see at least one that covers various types of autism.

BTW - that looks like I'm a second account for CatherinaJTV - I'm not, I just followed her link and looked at the other papers.

LOL ChunkyPickle :o

Catherina "A lot of kids who come down with measles in outbreaks would have been old enough for MMR, but their parents had "delayed" the shots. "

A lot of children who came down with measles had been vaccinated according to those HPA figures that were posted on the other thread.

A lot of children who came down with measles had been vaccinated according to those HPA figures that were posted on the other thread.

Not a lot. I have now written to the HPA and am waiting for a precise break down of the Merseyside figures, but I have this statement from them so far:

The majority of cases have been unvaccinated (currently 291 out of 301 cases)

I will post the precise figures when I have them (and I have already "complained" about their woolly reporting).