Why did you choose to vaccinate your child?

[Beach Mama]

Like many things in parenting I weighed up all risks, and for me the risks of NOT vaccinating far outweighed risks for. Just wasn't worth it for me.

[Lenny]

Why not? Like others have said I never once considered not vaccinating. I was as a child. I know what i am doing, like many other families is the right thing.

Schmickers is trying to write an information piece for BB. He is asking for reasons why some of us chose to vaccinate.

[Lisa]

My mum almost died when she was 3 days old from whooping cough. My Nanna described it as one of the most heartbreaking things to see. This was the reason for my parents choosing to vaccinate me & my siblings and also a big reason for me choosing it for my own children. Having recently had whooping cough as an adult showed me just how terrible that one illness is, so I am glad I've chosen to imminise my children against it and many other nasty yet preventable illnesses.

[RhiChiChi]

Because it works. We have almost wiped out some pretty nasty stuff in Australia with the help of vaccines. Yes they might not be perfect, yes some children may have had adverse reactions, but when I weigh up the risk verse reward, vaccination wins out for me.


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My gram had a child that died of a disease we now vaccinate against and I hadn't even heard of. I decided that the benefits far outweigh any risks and that as her parent it is my job to make the hard choices for her.

I did research, I asked friends and family and I agonized over it every time she was due for her next dose. In the end though I would always think of how awful it would be if she got sick and I could have prevented it, or someone else's baby caught something off her.

For us it was never an option not too. They have been proven time and time again that they work and I wasnt prepared to risk my childs health over something preventable. Leaving it up to other people to vaccinate their children so that mine doesnt get sick because I chose not too? No thanks, thats too big a gamble for me!

Pretty much for all those reasons stated above

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I actually have a couple of reasons / points.

1. Education - outside of BB in the big wide open world i did not even know about delayed vax or non vaxing familes - i was vaccinated, we had needles through school, the Dr's mention vaccinations during pregnancy and there was never any information provided about the benefits or risks associated with vaccinating my children.
To me i just thought it's another part of parenting, you have a baby, you see the MCHN and you take your kids to get needles.

2. Emotional Points - my mum has a friend who has deformaties from polio when she was younger, she is an amazing lady and has lived a full life despite the issue she has but it pains me to watch her family suffer as those issue now impact on her as she gets older, as her poor body is so compact that things are no longer working as they should.
I made the decision out of an emotional view that i would neither want to watch my children suffer nor have them suffer through something that is and can be preventable.

3. Whooping Cough - not long after DD1 was born i get a letter from the hospital stating a staff member who ahd been working on the labor ward has tested positive to whooping cough, that we should keep a very close eye on our daughter and be wary of anything suspicious, i had watched my mum suffer through losing my brother to SIDS, there was no way i was loosing my daughter or possibly being the link to someone else loosing their child by not vaccinating my daughter.

I agree there are pro's & con's for both side of the debate, for me with DD2 i made an informed decision to continue to vaccinate her, even after reading through BB i made up my own mind that vaccinating worked for us, there was no history of reaction on either side of my family or DP's.
I wanted what was best for my girls and for me that was not to possibly have to suffer through a preventable disease OR be the person who passed on a preventable disease and possibly harming another.

I however would NEVER be upset if someone did not vaccinate their child and say whooping cough was passed on, it is THEIR decision and they would make it for reasons that suit them.

[volcomkitty]

For us it was never an option not too. They have been proven time and time again that they work and I wasnt prepared to risk my childs health over something preventable. Leaving it up to other people to vaccinate their children so that mine doesnt get sick because I chose not too? No thanks, thats too big a gamble for me!

Exactly what DH & I thought.

We were both fully vaccinated without any negative side effects, so we had no hesitations when it came time for DD to have hers.

[Arcadia]

For me it was the knowledge that whilst cases of serious communicable diseases are rare in Australia now, they are still prevalent in other countries. People travel more than they used to, therefore the chances of these diseases making a comeback if vaccination rates fall is real. Thousands of children still die from complications from things like measles in developing countries because they do not have access to the vaccines we take for granted here.

I spoke at length about risks versus benefits with my dad (a gp) and did lots of research into side effects, and I decided the benefits of vaccines for my child and the community outweigh the possible risks.

I do think adverse reactions need to be better documented though. I delayed the rotavirus vax because of a bad reaction with dd (and the fact different states have different standards and doses).

I think it's clear vaccines work for a large percentage of people. I also think more information needs to be spread about getting vaccines done ASAP, because the idea of delayed vaccination confuses me. Aren't we trying to protect young babies as well? (I am the hypocrite here because I didn't get ds vaccinated according to the schedule).

[glenny_c]

For me I think it came down to most of the reasons stated above. I felt that the pros far outweighed the cons for our child. I too have seen too much. My best friends mum had rubella while pregnant with her sister and her sister at 28 still has the mental capacity of a three year old. One of the babies in our mothers group passed away this year from pneumococcal meningitis (one of the strains covered in the new "catch up" vaccine.- he hadn't had it yet) Also, my cousin's 4 week old baby died last year from chicken pox contracted from an unvaccinated child.

I couldn't live with myself if my parenting decision (to not vaccinate) caused someone else to lose their child. I feel it's part of our responsibility to the others in our community to vaccinate. Both DH and I are fully vaccinated as are the members of our family and social circle. I have not seen any serious adverse reactions to vaccines yet I have seen three instances of tragedy due to non-vaccination.

[Novella]

I am a nurse and have looked after children who were critically I'll with illness that can be prevented through vaccination. The stark reality of watching a 6 week old baby struggle to breathe when I'll with pertussis was terrible

For me the risk of vaccination reactions is something we considered acceptable against the risk of the illness itself. I also believe vaccinating is part of being a responsible member of the community, a certain percent of people need to be vaccinated to offer community wide protection to all including those unvaccinated such as newborns. It helps reduce the incidence of epidemics/ pandemics

In saying that we do not get the newborn hepatitis b vaccination as for us the risks if vaccination side effects are greater than the very minimal risk of our baby coming in contact with Hep b

I feel very strongly about people making an informed decision about vaccinating and actively considering their views, I have difficulty understanding why some people do not vaccinate their children out of ignorance/ laziness. Vaccinating for us is the right thing but I do understand that for some families after considering a lot of information it may not be the right choice for them.

[Beach Mama]

Lenny I think it is a valid reason for some? Why not? Or why wouldn't I? Is a reason they many mums I know would give when asked, they didn't read or research but basically took the stance of "medicine knows best so I will go with that". Sorry to derail but I know this is a reason many people I know have given to me when we have discussed the issue.

[Aussiegirl777]

We were always going to vaccinate. For us the benefits outweighed the risk. At 5 weeks old my DS contracted WC, he was 3 days away from getting his first vaccination. After his illness that just reinforced to us that vaccination was necessary in our society. There are diseases that we can continue to prevent with vaccination. There are diseases that we have stopped in Australia that without continued vaccination have a definate possibility of returning to this country again.

[Ginger]

like others have said, i think the benefit outweighs the risk. i would not want my children to get a preventable disease.

[*LittleMissSummer*]

Schmickers is trying to write an information piece for BB. He is asking for reasons why some of us chose to vaccinate.

And i gave my answer...?

I chose to vaccinate as i see no reason why i wouldn't. I was as a child and i know its the right thing to do for my children.

[Rouge]

LMS I think the "Why not" came across as a little defensive, as has your now reply Unintentionally I'm sure... but this happens sometimes with the typed word

It's all good! Thanks for your answer

[RockingBaker]

I feel the benefits far outways the risk. I couldn't live with the guilt that I chose not to vax my kids and they got sick.

[Schmickers]

Yeah, LMS, I think Lenny missed the rhetorical "Why not" at the start of tour thread and thought you were questioning the content of the thread. Don't worry, I appreciate your input. No harm done.

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[misty]

I believe in herd immunisation. Whilst I support everyones right to make an informed choice, and to be allowed to say 'no' to immunisations, I think that everyone SHOULD immunise, unless they have truely informed and reasoned and valid concerns as to why they (as an individual) would not immunise their child(ren).

ETA - I say this as a parent with a child who actually has had an allergic reaction to particular immunisations.

[onthefly]

I have mostly vaccinated my children. And myself I do believe that, on the whole, most of these vaccines are effective and thus do more good than harm. I also believe that broad vaccination programs do extend protection across the population - so there's a social/community good angle for me too.
At an individual level, however, I also believe there are some very valid reasons not to vaccinate.
I have considered the risk/benefit of each and made decisions accordingly. In some instances I have gotten vaccinations that I'm not entirely happy with simply because they are bundled together with others that I do want. We have no family history of negative reactions to vaccinations or any other contraindications (that I'm aware of), but with some illnesses - like varicella for instance - I'm not sure the risk of the vaccination is really worth the possible benefit.

- Just because some of the comments here got my thinking....
The reason I vaccinate is not because I'd never forgive myself if my child was seriously ill or died from something preventable. Potentially, practically anything is preventable... if only we'd stayed home that day... if only I'd been watching more closely... if only.... I don't like it but I can't control everything. And vaccines are not 100% effective - in some cases not even close. It's about risk mitigation, certainly, but I have to balance the risk of inaction against the risk of action and it's not as clear cut as - this will stop my child getting whooping cough (or whatever). Just a thought