Vaccines = autism?

[Demdem6]

Hello

so I am currently pregnant with a baby boy and my partner is strongly against getting him vaccinated when he gets here as he believes vaccines cause / increase risk of autism,
especially in boys

id never thought twice about this but now hes put it in my head. Yes ive done my own research but hes saying doctors and the internet will tell you what you want to hear because they want you to vaccinate your kids. Tbh hes a conspiracy theorist

i just want to hear from people who vaccinated their sons and their son didn’t develop it? I know some people will shout at me for this, not my intention to offend anyone

The OP appears to be merely looking for an argument. I'd be suprised if it's genuine but if it is a pregnant woman, she has picked exactly the right partner.

Cross-posted, seems you don’t want academic papers. I hope the answers from people who have vaccinated and don’t have autism have reassured you. Interestingly, I asked my health visitor about this years ago and she had actually known some of the children in the debunked study. She sighed when I asked her if vaccination was safe and said that there were concerns about those children before they were vaccinated.

This is anonymous anecdote, personally I’d trust rigorously conducted science that was checked by a community of trained peer scientists. It might not be perfect but it’s the best we have.

I do wonder why some people don’t like medical science but don't argue against the same scientific process that keeps planes in the air and buildings standing up. There will be charities that summarise medical evidence on different topics but often reading the abstract of a paper or a review of evidence is fairly accessible if you are ever interested.

Some people believe that vaccinations put lives at risk. What could be more crazy than injecting germs into your body? And if the germs are man-made they may contain aluminum and make people magnetic, as was widely reported during the Covid hoax.

My DH and I feel the same as you (we are NOT anti vaccine, we are pro medically necessary intervention only). We didn’t have the covid vaccine and are deeply uncomfortable with the 6 in 1 for babies. We have looked at the risk of children/babies catching XYZ disease and the risk of an adverse side effect from the vaccines (the Americans have good data on this). We’ll also be asking the doctor for the vaccine inserts before we make a decision - it’s not uncommon for us to ask for medication inserts because both of us have had severe reactions to medications previously. Sadly I had the flu jab in 2013 which landed me in hospital so we are very very thoughtful about all medications.

I would ignore the people that say things like ‘without vaccines you’ll DIE’ because they do not know your medical history- as mentioned the flu vaccine almost killed me, I had the flu in 2024 which was nowhere near as severe as the flu vaccine side effects. My DH is was also prescribed medication in 2020 which almost killed him, he was hospitalised for 2 weeks. So rightly so, we will not be blindly following any schedule.

Stay on the same page as your DH (labels like conspiracy theorist / anti vax are unhelpful) explain your feelings and also calmly talk with your GP. Best of luck 🩷

I promise both you and your partner will be a whole lot more concerned when your child isn’t vaccinated but comes into contact with measles etc.

My oldest child was fully vaccinated, my other two were tiny when that Wakefield report came out. Because I already had a severely disabled child, I chose not to give them the mmr vaccine believing there was a link. When a child in one of their classes caught measles I really panicked and realised what a stupid error of judgment I’d made. I was lucky, my children then had the MMR and no harm done.

You need to start thinking of your baby not listening to it’s mad father,

3 boys, all vaccinated, none autistic.

We all had the Covid vaccines. We’ve all had Covid at various times. It was miserable for a few days (less so for the kids) but no one died. Unlike my neighbour who died of Covid early on in the pandemic.

You did your own research? Was it a laboratory or epidemiological study? Which diseases did you study? What were your findings?

The link between vaccines and autism, which was tenuous and flawed to begin with, has been widely debunked. It’s such a shame that this myth is allowed to put people’s actual lives at risk. I would never put my children at risk of serious health problems or death from any of the diseases they are vaccinated against.

For what it’s worth, both of mine are vaccinated. I had the COVID vaccination while pregnant with my second. My oldest son is likely ASD, my second son is 3 but as far as I am aware, neurotypical.

Please don’t risk your child’s life on an internet myth.

Please don’t listen to him and protect your child. Measle and whooping cough can kill small babies. Not to mention meningitis. There is no link to autism and vaccines. He’s a stupid person who wants to endanger your child.

You sound loopy too.

My son caught flu, it progressed to pneumonia and sepsis. He would have died had he not had the flu jab.

Have vaccinated sons, no 'tism here.

Shame there isn't a stupidity vaccination.

I’ve tried to bite my tongue (typing fingers) but tbf the biggest risk to your child isn’t being vaccinated, it’s having two really stupid parents that don’t understand herd immunity or basic genetics. Honestly, I’m not sure either of you are capable of accurate research so probably best if you just do what the doctor tells you. Sorry but you have made me really cross as someone has taught wonderful asd kids and one lovely girl who lost two limbs to meningitis.

Omg 🤣🤣🤣 have you seriously just asked if there is anyone who vaccinated their sons and autism didn’t happen? Girl.. millions men/boys got vaccinated and ‘autism doesn’t happen’. You really showed yourself here by asking this question, genuinely I can’t stop laughing! Best you just go and conspire with baby daddy we already know it’s impossible to argue with the ‘uninformed’.

My dd has a friend who is missing all four limbs due to meningitis as a small child.
The family were one of those who campaigned successfully for the vaccine to be added to the baby schedule.

I have a cousin whose wife is deaf due to complications in measles.

A friend has no use of her right arm and a pronounced limp due to polio.

At school I remember a boy who had severe learning difficulties due to mumps complications causing brain damage.

Does he prefer those options?

Neurodiversity is inherited. Vaccines save millions of lives.Is he planning on your child never entering a childcare setting or school in case they catch something? I would be very concerned about his algorithms.

Nearly dying from medication and reading through medical inserts with caution is loopy?

Your comment is loopy. Your son almost died from the flu despite having the flu vaccine. That’s loopy.

Vaccinating is very safe and protects against truly horrible diseases such as measles.

That said, if we go around calling vaccine sceptics stupid and laughing at them, it really won't help get their children vaccinated. I don't know many people who would change their minds by being insulted.

Yes you and are your partner are clearly very intelligent people with superior knowledge.

My view - vaccinations are the least of your sons worries with you pair.

Someone up thread said 2.5% of dc have autism. They don’t - it’s nearer 1.5% for boys and 0.2% for girls. However this has nothing to do with vaccinations. Not having vaccinations can be deadly.

I agree with this. I gave some rational reasons behind my DH and I being careful and cautious with vaccines for our baby yet someone still called me loopy. It’s not helpful in the slightest and it would never make either of us change our stance on not blindly following the vaccine schedule. Like I’ve said. We’re not anti vaccine but due to our medical history we have to be very careful with pharmaceuticals.

I just couldn't be with someone so fucking stupid. Truly.

Andrew Wakefield was a fraud. Look him up on Wikipedia to know the truth aboout it.
He received money for faking information.

I don't know how anyone now in 2026 with all this new information can still believe it was true when it's been proven to be fake.

I think people have covered it all, but really, what it comes down to is whether your partner would thinks an autistic child or a dead child is worse. I have an autistic son, and he brings me as much joy as my neurotypical daughter (both were vaccinated!)

Exactly - the fact the OP doesn't know this really illustrates how quick people are to rush out with "in my opinion" comments about matters that aren't up for opinion - they are verifiably true or untrue. And this is one of the most idiotic posts I've read in a while - asking Mumsnet whether their vaccinated kids have autism when the UK statistics (i.e. a complete data set and not just random people who are inclined to answer the question) are readily available. Then you have the people on here saying "I only wanted one of the combined jabs" as though they are as qualified as the specialists who designed the NHS vaccination programme, those at the World Health Organisation etc., who have devoted their lifetimes to understanding this. Stay in your fucking lane, because it affects the rest of us when you don't.

Obviously, vaccinate! But, I would be really really worried about the endless string of stupidity you'll have to deal with from him as this child grows up. You will quickly lose patience, so please don't marry him, this relationship has (or atleast should have) a time limit on it.