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Original poster

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?

159 replies

user1480775842 · 15/12/2016 16:15

Please help me... my baby is 4 months old and is amazing and healthy etc. My fiancé and all his family are against vaccinations and think they are very bad and cause lots of health issues.
My family and everyone else I know... are for it and say of course my child should have them.
I don't want to put my child at risk either way I am so unsure of what to do here.

OP posts:
DrWhy · 15/12/2016 18:09

Vaccinate - for all the reasons given previously. It's deeply irresponsible both to your child and to the wider community not to in my view.

HermioneWeasley · 15/12/2016 18:15

Vaccinate

SallyGinnamon · 15/12/2016 18:25

Please vaccinate. DD (13) has a school friend who has been off for ages with whooping cough.

Lunar1 · 15/12/2016 18:26

Your boyfriend and his family are idiots.

TheDisreputableDog · 15/12/2016 18:38

Vaccinate. Do not put your child at risk because some of your family are ill informed.

Original poster
user1480775842 · 15/12/2016 18:42

Thanks guys now just need to persuade the dad!!! Wish me luck

OP posts:
HermioneWeasley · 15/12/2016 19:47

Ignore him, just take the baby and get them vaccinated. Don't tell him if he's going to be a bellend.

shewolfmum · 15/12/2016 23:30

Ignore him...nice. do research. Start with patient info leaflets on each vaccine going to be given. Look at each disease. Look closely. You can delay to read up..your baby isn't going to drop dead because you are delaying. And for the baby who died of wc...that is awful. The vaccine unfortunately makes people carriers of wc so they can spread it around and don't know they have it and it is a mutates rendering the jab incredibly useless (in my opinion). Yes. Research...facebook have a group called arnica if you are interested in promoting natural health for your child.

honeysucklejasmine · 15/12/2016 23:36

Shewolf where should op do this research you suggest? Has someone actually managed to find some high quality peer reviewed evidence that they are dangerous?!

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 15/12/2016 23:46

There are two possibilities here. Either the vaccines are safe or they are not safe.

If they are safe - you are best to vaccinate.

If they are not safe - we live in a world with gutter press and an information superhighway. If not safe then we will all find out fairly soon. People will stop vaccinating and herd immunity will disappear. There will be outbreaks. Lots of outbreaks. So you have the choice of risking the vaccination or risking the disease. Personally (and I say this knowing someone who had polio as a child) I would much rather risk the vaccination (even if I knew that that they are not 100% safe) than risk the diseases (which I know can be deadly.) So I would still vaccinate.

Do not make the decision based on herd immunity.

Jemimapuddingduck · 15/12/2016 23:53

You don't need to persuade anyone make an appointment and take the baby to get vaccinated you're the mother you need to do what is best for your child.

FutureMrsRanj · 15/12/2016 23:54

I delayed my dcs vaccinations. Then a friend began aggressive chemotherapy which brought me back to earth with a bump. Luckily for me they didn't catch any of the potentially fatal illnesses they are there to prevent and they had actually begun the vaccination programme just with longer than usual gaps in between that recommended. I too was utterly confused about what was best hence my delaying decision but imho now I would absolutely stick with the usual vaccinations at the suggested times, the younger they are, the quicker they forget, and they have less time to pick up deadly illnesses or unknowingly pass anything on to others who could potentially die. I do understand why you are finding this hard but please arm yourself with the full facts. And you probably don't actually need to tell anyone they've had their jabs - that way everyone is protected and happy/none the wiser

Kel1234 · 15/12/2016 23:55

Vaccinate for definite. The risks of not doing so far outweigh the risks of doing so.

WellErrr · 15/12/2016 23:56

You don't need to persuade him. Just do it.

IlPorcupinoNilSodomyEst · 16/12/2016 00:02

My dd took part in the human studies of the Men B vaccination, then I paid £400 for my DS to have it - vaccinations save lives and I could not countenance not giving my children every possible chance of a healthy life. That's it.

MrsTerryPratchett · 16/12/2016 00:02

Where does the dad and his family think polio went? You know, with the deaths and the crippled children... Almost eradicated that's where. By vaccines.

MsPavlichenko · 16/12/2016 00:03

Don't discuss it with him. Just vaccinate. Your child, or possibly another could drop dead in the meantime. Some of these illnesses are still killers in the Third World. My son (25) has cerebral palsy caused by brain damage at birth. Over the years I have met a number of his peers damaged by measles, meningitis etc as very tiny babies. Not worth the risk.

SilentBiscuits · 16/12/2016 00:25

Vaccinate. Don't tell him. It's not about him! It's about your baby's health.

Atenco · 16/12/2016 00:56

Vaccinate. Don't tell him. It's not about him! It's about your baby's health

Whao, that is so sleasy.

FWIW, the only unvaccinated child I know is the healthiest in her year at school. And I am of an age where we all had measles, mumps, etc. and nobody panicked and personally I have never met anyone who has been damaged by them, though, that being said I have never personally known anyone who is vaccine-damaged either.

ViewBasket · 16/12/2016 01:02

Vaccinate. Yes, unvaccinated children may be healthy, but that could be at least partly because they're benefiting from the immunity of all the children around them who did have the vaccines.

Newyearnewbrain · 16/12/2016 01:08

Atenco vaccines work, that's why you may find the odd unvaccinated kid who stays healthy; they are relying on the fact that the majority of their peers are vaccinated, preventing the spread of polio etc.

As PPs have said these diseases are entirely preventable, it's completely baffling to me why you would choose not to vaccinate your child and take the risk of relying on herd immunity. What if your child leaves your community, travels abroad etc. Why risk potentially exposing them to mumps as an adult?

DH works with vaccines and has met women who walked all night to have their child protected. We are privileged to be able to pop to a GPs and get this done.

CatsAndCocktails · 16/12/2016 01:09

Vaccinate.

Why does your fiancé and his family think that the cash strapped NHS spends money on vaccinations if they are going to cause health issues and cost it more money as a result?!

DecaffCoffeeAndRollupsPlease · 16/12/2016 01:13

Vaccinate.

Atenco · 16/12/2016 02:52

Atenco vaccines work, that's why you may find the odd unvaccinated kid who stays healthy

I'm not discussing whether or not vaccines work, but I have heard that unvaccinated children are generally healthier than vaccinated children and now I know one who is in fact healthier than the vaccinated children around them.

Being over sixty and having had most of the diseases being vaccinated against as did all my peers, I'm personally not convinced about the need for most of them.

OlennasWimple · 16/12/2016 02:56

Atenco - you have had polio, measles, mumps, rubella and tuberculosis...? Hmm

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