Sure, I always am a bit worried after the vaccination that Aaron will suddenly stop talking or Jude will have a reaction. Fear that's in place by misleading and inaccurate studies. But the thought of my children getting measles, mumps, or polio is much scarier. The incident of reaction to a vaccine is low and vaccines work about 85%-99% of the time so that's better than zero. There is also the argument that if everyone else is vaccinated why should my child be.
It is true that a single child's chance of catching a disease is low if everyone else is immunized. But your child is also exposed to people other than just those in school. And if one person thinks about skipping vaccines, chances are that others are thinking the same thing. Each child who isn't immunized gives these highly contagious diseases one more chance to spread.
This actually happened between 1989 and 1991 when an epidemic of measles broke out in the United States. Lapsing rates of immunization among preschoolers led to a sharp increase in the number of measles cases, deaths, and children with permanent brain damage. Even in the first half of 2008, the number of cases of measles in the United States more than doubled from comparable time periods in recent years. Most of the cases were among people who had not been vaccinated. Similar outbreaks of whooping cough struck Japan and the United Kingdom in the 1970s after immunization rates declined.
The fear of autism I think is in the forefront. I don't think parents are entirely convinced that vaccines do not play a part in this. Especially with so many personal stories about the changes in their child shortly after their vaccination. I would never say these parents are wrong. They know their children and behavior but I do not fear this happening to my children. Autism instills fear in all parents especially if your child has risk factors. For example, I did a lot of reading on it when I had Aaron. He is a boy and was born prematurely. Two risk factors. I watched him like a hawk for signs instead of realizing he was just a normal little boy who was a tad behind others his age because technically he was 7wks younger than others his age before he turned one. However, he is a thriving 2 yr old and my fears have all but vanished.
Numerous studies have found no link between vaccines and autism. Likewise, a groundbreaking 2004 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) found that thimerosal (an organic mercury compound that's been used as a preservative in vaccines since the 1930s) does not cause autism. Still, some parents have opted not to have their children immunized, putting them at great risk of contracting deadly diseases.
The MMR vaccine, especially, has come under fire despite many scientific reports indicating that there's no clear evidence linking the vaccine to autism. In fact, in 2004 a long-disputed 1998 study that suggested a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine was retracted. Even before the retraction, not only had other studies found no link, but the controversial 1998 study was rejected by all major health organizations, including the AAP, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
There's also no reason to believe that thimerosal is linked to autism, according to the 2004 IOM report. Nevertheless, in an effort to reduce childhood exposure to mercury and other heavy metals, thimerosal began being removed from kids' vaccines in 1999. Now, vaccines for infants and young children contain no or very little thimerosal. And recent studies have not shown any cognitive and behavioral problems in babies who might have received these thimerosal-containing vaccines.
So what could explain the increased rates of autism in recent years? For one thing, there's a broader definition of autism that can be applied to more kids who show varying degrees of symptoms. A greater awareness of the condition among health professionals also has led to more diagnoses.
And although the number of children diagnosed with autism may be increasing, the rates of MMR vaccination are not. In London, diagnoses of autistic disorders have been on the rise since 1979 but rates of MMR vaccination haven't increased since routine MMR vaccination began in 1988.
In addition, the average age of diagnosis of autism has been found to be the same both in children who have and who have not received the MMR vaccine. What many researchers are discovering is that subtle symptoms of autism are often present before a child's first birthday — sometimes even in early infancy — but often go unnoticed until the symptoms are more obvious to parents. www.kidshealth.org
I am not trying to start a debate on whether you should vaccinate your child or not. It's every parents choice and I respect that. I am, however, defending my decision to vaccinate because sometimes I get grief or sideways looks when I say my children are getting their vaccinations. Like I'm a bad mom for wanting to protect my children against diseases. My suggestion is do your own research like I have and make the decision that feels right for you.
As parents we should be supporting each other instead of judging. I decide to vaccinate and I listed my reasons above. If someone disagrees that's their call. When it comes to medications same thing. Some people are super against taking any meds while others (myself included) find the benefits outway the risks which is what I consider before making any choices. When I was pregnant with Jude I had to take a lot of medication. If I had not then the risk of another abruption was high and I could lose him altogether. Yes, there is always a risk on the unborn baby but I decided the small risk with the medication was a better choice than the huge risk I was taking without it. To each his own. I wanted to write this blog to get this off my chest as I feel sometimes afraid to admit I vaccinate around other moms in fear they will shoot me a 'how dare you' look.
Til next time!
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