I am similar to the many mothers around me, in that there isn't much hotter a topic than the vaccination debate. In fact, out of all the mothers around me, I probably know two children under two that are all caught up on their immunizations. There are several questions I had, so I went out to find arguments for and against. I wanted to look for factual, peer reviewed studies about the topic. My mom - a lifelong student - who at one time was working on her PhD., said that in research you can't prove a negative, like "Vaccines do not cause health problems." I thought this was interesting, and probably the reason there aren't any articles that say this!
First, I wondered, how prevalent is measles?
San Diego Measles Outbreak Growing, Five More Kids Diagnosed ...
CDC Warns About Measles Outbreaks, Agency Reports 64 Cases In Nine ...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-14-measles_N.htmMy mom actually had measles when she was a kid. And although measles is rarely fatal, she remembered my grandma closing all the blinds because she was afraid my mom could go blind. The greatest risk is if you are exposed to, or get the measles while pregnant. Measles and rubella (also called German Measles) cause a number of severe birth defects. My mom has seen these kids in her classes and schools. According to her, it's worse than Down's Syndrome.
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/short/316/7126/196
http://www.mamashealth.com/pregnancy/prenatal.asp
Then I went to the New England Journal of Medicine, a publication that follows these ethical guidelines: http://www.icmje.org/
You can sign up for a free 21 day trial that allows you to search and read all articles full-text.
From New England Journal of Medicine
"Implications of a 2005 Outbreak of Measles .. "
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/355/5/447
Vaccines and Autism Revisited - the Hannah Polling Case
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/20/2089
I think the part about the VCIP particularly interesting.
Vaccines and Vaccination - An Overview
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/345/14/1042#R13
Childhood Immunizations and Chronic Illness
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/350/14/1380
Maternal Antibodies, Childhood Infections, and Autoimmune Diseases
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/345/18/1331
The studies that the organization Autism Speaks is currently funding. I think it shows where the best leads are in discovering where Autism is coming from.
http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/research/initiatives/environmental_factors_grants.php#direct_toxicant
Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/357/13/1281
Even though thimerosal isn't used in vaccinations anymore, I thought this was interesting.
Overall, after reading all the articles and opinions, I have to say that it is impossible to ignore all the people that are afraid of immunizing their kids. Based on what I have read, I think there is a significant genetic role in autism and learning disabilities. However, I think that these issues can be amplified by any number of environmental factors. My overall opinion was based on the following question: If my children are playing with a lot of un-immunized kids, would I rather have my children exposed, or protected from these diseases? I have not seen any medical evidence that vaccinations hurt children or are the primary cause of learning disabilities, diseases or autism. We also love to travel, and if we go to foreign countries, the likelihood of them contracting something like measles is probably higher, as evidenced in an outbreak in Indiana.
That being said, I think it is a mother's instinct and basic desire to believe what is absolutely natural is best for their child. Unfortunately we live in an imperfect world; sometimes even all natural herbs are laced with heavy metals. I think the all-natural view in moderation is good, however, if this were always the case, you, nor I, would be here today. Because of modern medicine we have our children and our parents.
There is also something fun about thinking that one of the supposed "best" things in the world today could be a conspiracy. I just tried to look at everything factually and read researched articles.
In a very basic Gospel sense too, if Heavenly Father thinks I am supposed to have a learning disabled child, so be it. I can only do my best and everything in my power to learn from the people around me to make the best decisions for my children. I don't want to live my life in fear.
If this has rubbed you the wrong way, I'm sorry. I just really felt like I had to talk about it. Feel free to post any research you find, even if its findings are opposite mine! There were, however, two studies done that have been thoroughly de-bunked finding there was a link between autism and vaccinations. There are plenty of opinions out there, but not much research.
3 comments:
I'm not a regular contributor to the blog. I know this is something that Sarah has spent a lot of time worrying and wondering about. There are always several facets to controversial topics and the most we can do is make an informed decision. I think we are fortunate to live in a time were information can be so readily available. I also think because communication is so easy that misinformation gets passed around and perpetuated.
You might have noticed the link to snopes.com on the side of our blog. I enjoy opening the forwards I get and finding out that they are false using this website. So far I have only received one that was true. To me, it illustrates the need to filter the information we receive and to rely on the best resources available.
Those that know me know that I like a good debate. One thing I learned when I debated in school was that you can find information to support any argument. I also learned that information varies in quality.
As we go throughout our lives I hope each of us will take the time to adequate research and form our opinions based on what we find. Someday we'll know the absolute truth about things, but for now we can only rely on the best information available to us from the best resources. Nobody can argue with that.
I agree with your conclusions, Sarah. There is so much debate and half-truths about this, and vaccinations are no guarantee (remember Josh's case of the mumps?), but I'd rather have my kids vaccinated. Likely, there are a number of factors or combinations of factors that cause autism and science just isn't sophisticated enough to pinpoint it.
I'm glad you are resarching this, knowledge is power, as they say. I'm not sure if you found this resource so I wanted to post it in case you were interested. Autism and if there is a genetic link, has been hot topic in researcher's news. The link below has two really great publications. One is called Brain In The News and the other one is Brainworks. The first one has had lots of research studies regarding Autism. Both publications are at no cost to you, you just need to sign up for it. Here is the link
www.dana.org
Last year it did say that they thought they found a genetic link, but I think it was still speculation.
And here is another invaluable link to research things
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
I really don't have an opinion on this subject, we did skip one immunization because my children have seizures. However, i have another friend who chose not have immunizations for her children, they've never gotten anything.
I wish you luck in your search!
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