Vaccines--What Is the Risk of Autism for My Child?

M.,
Please try not to take this the wrong way.... but your child might be autistic now and you wouldn't even know it till later. It is hard to diagnose at that age in most cases. There's a huge range, from extremely mild that you hardly notice to very severe.

I'm just saying this because what if you get the shots and 4 years from now, he's diagnosed as autistic? Would you blame the shots? Would you blame yourself?

I have a son with Asperger's Autism. And I can tell you that I went through so many scenarios in my head, and at times I felt I must've done something wrong.... I'd ask myself "did I take an Advil before I knew I was pregnant?", "Did the c-section do something?", "Was it the shots?".

All these things I asked myself and beat myself up over and I came to a conclusion. No one knows what causes autism. Yet.

So in the meantime, you have to do what's best for your child with the information you have. They may find out a decade from now that because we had allergy shots before our babies were born it caused autism. Or maybe because we the anti-bacterial soap we all use triggers autism in some. Or maybe it's a genetic mutation that just reared it's ugly head now. NO ONE KNOWS!

This is the scariest thing about having children, that our decisions can make a huge difference in our babies lives and sometimes we feel guilty about those decisions. I always tell my husband that if teenagers could feel the guilt (and fear, anxiety, etc) that parents have over their newborns, then there would be NO teen pregnancies. Heck, I bet they'd stop having sex if they new the terror of a new mom realizing the whole world of another person was in her hands!

So the answer is, you have to do what you can live with. Personally, I do not think the shots cause autism. And there's a good chance your child could get measles, mumps or ruebella. And they're bad stuff.

However, wait to see what the other mom's say. There are some that feel very strong about the autism/vaccine issue. And there are suggestions out there about how to meet this issue half-way too. Hopefully, some of them will send you the sites.

You wouldn't be normal if you weren't worried about your baby. It just proves your a good mom.

Do your research & decide which side of the argument agrees with your gut. The MDs & establishment swear there is no link between silicone breast implants leaking in the 80's & the fibromyalgia so many implanted women suffer from either....I believe some children may be prone to autism & the vaccines can harm their systems enough allow the autism to then be expressed. Again, lots of anecdotal evidences & lots screaming on both sides of the arguement. Search for the past discussions on Mamasource to get input others may not want to retype.

You have to decide.

D.

There is no proven link between autism and vaccines. Like the other lady said it is genetic. The reason people have made the (wrong) assumption that the MMR shot is causing the supposed new symptoms their child is having is because 10 months - 18 months is the time frame when the most noticiable symptoms start to present differently than "normal development". Often the child showed many signs of sensory behavior prior to the 10 month mark but they were reasoned away.
There is no reason to add this to your many worries for your child. I'm sure he is a wonderful bundle of joy. Enjoy every precious minute.

I believe the risk is greater by not having the vaccine. Some of these diseases that we had eradicated in the US are slowly starting to make a comeback due to parents not vaccinating their children. I, too, have read that they are starting to believe that it is genetic. Have you ever thought it might not be the vaccine but the age the child is when they get the vaccine? It may be coincidence because that's when the first signs show. If the vaccine predisposed children to autism, I would think the autism rates would be much higher than they are. I am very pro-vaccinations.

No study has proven the link either way, but there is lots of research showing the need for vaccinations. How would you feel if your child contracted something that could have been vaccinated against? When my son was young, he was in the middle of his Hib shots. He had had the first round, but was not at the age for the next. He got what looked like pinkeye and a cold that wouldn't go away. When they cultured the infection, it turned out to be Hib! The doctor explained that he didn't have full immunity because he had only had his first round, but if he hadn't had that one shot, this illness he did get might have been fatal! The one vaccination he did have gave his tiny body the chance to begin fighting before we were able to get him proper antibiotics. Before this, I did get him his shots on time, but I admit I questioned it. I am now the BIGGEST believer in getting shots as per schedule.

The big thing that I would be concerned about with the vaccines are the additives/preservatives, which are often known neurotoxins, such as mercury and aluminum. They have supposedly removed the mercury (in the form of thimerosol) from childhood vaccinations. I always ask to read the detailed insert that comes with the vaccines, so I know exactly what they might be injecting in my child as we also have allergies such as egg and dairy and all the potential side effects are listed. They seem to now be using aluminum as a preservative and I did recently decline a shot for my son that was derived from bovine casein and had aluminum as a perservative. This is a very personal decision. There is certainly significant scientific research on both sides of this debate and there clearly is a genetic correlation, but there are many knowledgable people in the scientific/medical community that do believe that the vaccinations are a trigger for some kids. And, that is very likely due to their genetic inability to eliminate the toxins. It is also possible that those kids were born with a higher load of toxins than others, as toxins do get passed from the mother through the placenta to the fetus. It is a very difficult decision, and I hope that you are at peace with whatever decision you make, with the information at hand.