- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
2nd Trimester
The link between autism and vaccines
I met a woman over the weekend who has opted not to vaccinate her son because of the possible link to autism. Is anyone else thinking about not vaccinating?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: The link between autism and vaccines
I agree. Do the research from all angles, not just from one angle.
I will be vaccinating.
We opted for vaccinating. We follow an alternative schedule similar to Dr. Sears.
We will do the same for #2.
You should read the Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears. He doesn't advise one way or the other.. but spells out in great detail what is in each vaccine, how its made, and what each of the risks are. He also offers an alternate vaccine schedule at the end of the book, should you decide to go that route.?
While doing your research, which I hope you are thorough with, please keep in mind if you plan on having your child in daycare of any kind, most places require a copy of your vaccine record and will not admit children that are not up to date per your state's requirements.
IMO, not vaccinating at all is irresponsible. Even the whole Jenny McCarthy debate isn't about NOT vaccinating (as many seem to think it is), just please do your research.?
The O'Baby Blog
i've done a bit of research on this... i think it's important to do it yourself, too, but in summary, i've decided to fully vaccinate. but a few of the key things to know:
1. multiple medical studies have proved that vaccines are not linked to autism. the original study that alleges this has been disproven and all the original authors have retracted their support.
2. autism shows up around 12-18 months -- the same time the MMR vaccine is given, so it's only natural for people to think the vaccine is linked to autism, but it's only the natural time course.
3. certain children will be predisposed to autism -- for those kids, not vaccinating will not prevent them from developing autism.
4. many pediatricians will require you to sign a release if you choose not to vaccinate stating that you understand the risks and still choose not to vaccinate. i guess some pediatricians won't keep certain patients in their practice if they choose not to vaccinate -- but that's the exception, not the rule.
i'd just suggest talking to your pediatrician and doing your own research. some docs will help you split things up, spread things out, etc., to help put you at ease. i think finding a pediatrician you can comfortably discuss this with is the most important!
Research BOTH sides VERY thoroughly.
Two celebrities very involved;
Jenny McCarthy - against vaccines
Amanda Peet - pro vaccines?
This is what we plan to do as well.
I did not receive all of the vaccinations I could have as a child, but it was due to my mother's religious preferences.
We don't believe it causes autism, but there is compelling argument to show it can trigger autism in a child who is already genetically pre-disposed to developing it.
We considered an alternative schedule (not skipping any but just following a different schedule to spread the vaccines out over the first 2 years rather than the clumped schedule currently standardized) but we are not considering not doing that either because then the baby will get 1-3 shots at EVERY doctor visit in the first 2 years. We don't want him to always hate going to the doctor because he knows he'll always get a shot every time.
Please, please, please do lots of research before deciding not to vaccinate your child.
I don't have links to all the research right now, but basically, there is NO proven link between vaccinating and autism. NONE. However, people are listening to Jenny McCarthy and believing her as if she had an MD. The typical age for autism onset is the same age at which children typically receive vaccines. Understandably, parents want to blame someone for their child having autism, so they blame the vaccines.
There is nothing wrong with an alternative schedule for vaccinations -- you can even do just one at a time, if that's what you want.
But not vaccinating your child opens your child up to absolutely horrible diseases. Children are vaccinated for things like whooping cough because whooping cough used to kill children -- a slow agonizing death. Vaccines are a good thing.
Also, look up herd immunity. There are some people who cannot be vaccinated or for whom vaccinations do not work (people with autoimmune diseases, for example). These people used to be fairly safe from many diseases (like mumps, etc.) because everyone else was vaccinated, so these diseases were nearly non-existent. But, since this autism scare, these diseases are coming back. With a vengence. And putting all of us at danger (particularly newborns who have not yet been able to get vaccinated).
I have done a great deal of research and have decided to give the vaccines only on an alternate schedule. We are going by Dr. Sear's schedule.
FALSE.
Jenny Mc does NOT say 'do not vaccinate' - she is pushing for further research on the combo vaccines and she feels like the vaccine schedule should not be "one size fits all" - she thinks when and how they are given should be dependent on the child.?
Sweet mother of pearl I'm so sick of hearing people use her as the "anti-vaccine" poster child.
Read her books. Actually watch her interviews in their entirety.. she makes some very valid points.
All this from me, and we still plan to fully vaccinate our children on the state schedule.
The end. ?
The O'Baby Blog
I think we give a lot more vaccines these days and more quickly. And I'd think they're very different, yes.
That said, I haven't been vaccinated since age 5 and have had no problems with the "you have to be vaccinated" rule in terms of school, etc
It actually is the rule for most pediatricians to not see patients whose parents have refused to vaccinate. The AAP requires pediatricians to vaccinate all children and there actually can be discipline for the doctor if he/she does not do this. Of course, some pediatricians will agree to alternate dosing schedules or may forgo the shots altogether but since this is directly against their governing body's rules, I would hesitate in using them as a doctor.
DH is a pediatrician so I hear all the anti-shot speeches- none of them hold water.
We vaccinate and we do it on the AAP's recommended schedule.?
THIS. Please do not endanger other children who a) are not old enough to be vaccinated yet or b) cannot be vaccinated for a legitimate reason by not vaccinating your children.
Do your research!!!! Nothing has been proven to 100% link autism to vaccinations.
Did anyone else see the episode on Private Practice? Even though you could clearly tell what their stand was on the subject, it just goes to show the scary reality - you leave your child exposed to so many other WORSE things when you don't vaccinate. I would rather my child be autistic any day than loose him to a horrible agonizing death at a young age from catching a horrible disease....
I am extremely passionate in this subject and second the Dr. Sears book. Some Americantudies have debunked the myth and the questionable preservative, thimerasol, has been removed. Other studies indicate that that there are other concerns- seizures, other neurological effects, etc- related to our vaccines and schedule. B/c there are other questionable ingredients and b/c I personally believe that the schedule is too aggressive, have done an alternate schedule with DD. She will have all her vaccines except flu and chicken pox, but we are going 1 at a time. The few times I went against my gut and allowed 2 at a time, she stopped sleeping through the night had a 102+ fever for days, and was miserable. She does great with one at a time. That works for my family and my pediatrician is extremely supportive and is doing the same with her infant. We are happy and healthy here and I plan to do the same with the twins unless there are medical concerns that require different considerations.
Joaquin's hospital and Isela's birth center med & intervention free "hypnobabies" birth stories
I've been doing a ton of research on this b/c I'm very concerned as well, and I've come to this conclusion (my opinion).
I absolutely will vaccinate my child to prevent not only their own risk of aquiring disease, but to protect the community as a whole. Although there are not many outbreaks of a lot of what we vaccinate against, when we stop vaccinating is when they tend to creep back in.
When I interview peds, I will talk about this concern and inform them that I would like to space our vaccines out so that my child will not be receiving more than 2-3 vaccines at once. Most of the cases documented where parents believe their child started showing autistic traits after vaccinations happened at the visits where their child received 4 or more vaccines at once.
Totally my opinions, interested to hear others' feelings.
Yes, we will vaccinate. There are no credible studies that show a link between vaccines and autism. The study that started all the hoopla was discredited because the researchers admitted faking data.
People that do not vaccinate are placing not only their children at risk, but others around them. The vaccination program depends on a herd. We need a certain percent (I think around 90%) in order for vaccines to be effective for the entire population. So they protect people who can't receive them for a variety of reasons (immune issues and what not). Also, there are now mutations of diseases that are showing up. One of the reasons being talked about is because of the children that are not vaccinated. There has already been an outbreak of measles because children were not vaccinated.
First of all, studies don't prove anything--they can't really prove anything. What they do is show correlations. The autism debate centered on a theory (and subsequent studies) that Themerisol (a vaccine preservative that contains mercury) contributed to the exploding rate of autism diagnosis. There have also been a number of studies showing that there is no correlation between Themerisol and higher autism rates.
Another point of concern is the huge increase in the number of vaccines children of today are given. In 1980, the CDC recommended vaccines for 20 preventable diseases. Now, they recommend vaccines for 69 preventable diseases. There is concern that the immune systems of children are not capable of processing that many vaccines.
When you're talking about vaccines, remember that it's not an either/or proposition. Remember--69 diseases. That includes everything from Meningococcal Disease (which has a high fatality rate) to Chicken Pox (which is very rarely fatal). As everybody keeps saying--do your research. There's a different decision to make with every vaccination . You might be ok with your DC contracting the Measles, but you might feel differently if they got Hepatitis. Or maybe you wouldn't. Learn everything you can before making your decisions.
Um, please do some real research...I'm glad that celebrities are drawing attention to the issue, but I wouldn't advising googling "Amanda Peet Vaccines" to do your research.
Herd Immunity...thanks Darcy...I knew what I was trying to get at, but you actually knew how to get there!
I'm a firm believer in the loaded gun theory-genetics loads the gun, the environment pulls the trigger. Right now, no one knows what that environmental component is/components are, so like many others have said, do your research.
If you plan to follow/already follow an alternative schedule, could you please share it? This is something DH and I are interested in doing but aren't really sure where to start.
I am a few months away from my bachelors in Education, w/ emphasis in Special Education...so I have been studying this for 4 yrs.
My opinion is that the benefits outweight the negatives when it comes to vaccines. There is not one single report that can say autism is caused by vaccines, however there are numerous reports that show diseases/illnesses by not getting them.
It's also a proven fact that boys are more prone to autism than girls...bottome line is they do not know what causes it, however many children (vaccinated and not) have it.
Do you research.
We will give all the shots, on an alternative schedule (DH had a bad auto-immune flare up last year out of nowhere)
I want my kid protected, and want them to go to public school, hell and college.
When I applied to the state university, they wanted my proof of vaccinations!
I don't believe there is a link to autism. Signs of autism show up WELL before the MMR vaccine is given - some signs show up in infancy.
I do delay though. I just think 4 vaccines is a bit much to stuff into a tiny body. I'm using the same schedule for all of them. They're caught up with the infant shots by 10mo and caught up with the rest by 2yrs.
My oldest will have her 2nd Hep A tomorrow and then her MMR at her 2yr visit and be caught up until 4yrs old. My little one is due for her final Rotateq tomorrow and she'll be caught up until a year when she'll get the 1st Hep A and start the delayed schedule my older one is on and be caught up by 2yrs.
I just don't see the benefit in giving them all in one visit - other than convenience for the doctor, which really isn't my biggest concern.
I have done a ton of research on this matter, and have found a pediatrician who supports my decision whole heartedly to follow an alternative vaccination schedule. I do not do this simply because of the possible correlation between the MMR vaccines and Autism (which by the way after my research I truly believe that for a child that is genetically predisposed to autism, this vaccine can be a major trigger).
I also follow an alternative vaccine schedule so that if my son has a bad reaction to a vaccine I can easily determine exactly which vaccine it is, and because I feel that when we give our children multiple vaccines at a time it is just too much for their bodies to process all at once.
There are several books on the topic, that can be found. the Dr. Sear's vaccine book is highly recommended. My son is completely up to date now at 15 months. He will not however get the MMR vaccine until he is 3, and it is required for preschool. He has had single shots. I bring him in for a shot in between many of the standard vaccines for additional ones, averaging one shot a month. I did also waive a few vaccines ie no flu shots, no rotovirus.
This is something that I truly believe it is a major responsibility of a parent to research. You cannot simply take the pediatrician's word for it and not learn anything about it on your own. You should develop an informed opinion before your child is born so that you can find a pediatrician that fits your needs.