KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi all dads & moms here,

Not sure if any of you have heard that MMR can possibly cause autism due to 3 live viruses being shot into a young baby. There's no scientific proof to this truth yet no one can say there's totally no relation. I do have friends whose kids are autistic and some of them feel that it's largely due to the MMR. They think the coincidence is too uncanny. Any of you have comments abt this? Due to the uncertainty, I'm delaying my son's MMR...Since my GP says he can take it at 2yrs old, doesn't matter so much...

Thanks.

There are really two camps of thought on this.

We delayed our son's MMR until 1 mth b4 his 2nd bday.

It was my husband's client, who strongly believes that her child became autistic after the MMR, who advised us not to rush into it.

In fact, we took our time for his 5 in 1 jab, when he was 6mths, raising a few eyebrows in the process. Our PD is v supportive, she also hinted indirectly (she never tells us directly) that we can delay the pneumococcal jab if DS is not in any CC or kindy yet. We have also not given him the Hep B jab, although that is my priority soon.

At the moment, really, I think its a personal decision. Most of the pple I know complete with the cocktail of jabs ASAP.

I thought all babies supposed to complete all the 'compulsory' jabs (incl MMR) way before 2?

As far as I could recall, my son completed all vaccinations around 18 month, according to the schedule listed on the health book. No private PD, just Polyclinic for the compulsory ones and Hep B and Pneumococcal at neighbourhood GP.

That's why none of them mentioned the side effect..... MMR is the only jab cause fever on my son, probably due to the strong foreign bodies entering his system.

Thanks Autumnbronze for your sharing,

We are almost similar in circumstances...my son just turned 22 mths and hence I'm wondering what to do for these 2 mths??

Yes, that's exactly what happened to my friend as well. They strongly believe their son's autism was due to MMR as he started to 'change' after the jabs. They hv good reason to associate the 'coincidence'.

You're very brave to go against the flow. I only did it because I wasn't aware of the 'side effects'. If I knew, I might have delayed too. However, my son did not have fever at any of his vacc so far.

Yes, I agree...to take the risk knowingly or just act blur as if I don't know and hope it doens't occur to us.

thebusybee, I'm not seeing any PD as well and we go to neighbourhood GP for all the vacc. Among all the vacc, the MMR is the strongest...Some people ard the world actually die or suffer from stroke because they are "allergic" to something in the vacc they r taking. I think they don't mention because it's not proven.

surfermom wrote:Hi all dads & moms here,

Not sure if any of you have heard that MMR can possibly cause autism due to 3 live viruses being shot into a young baby. There's no scientific proof to this truth yet no one can say there's totally no relation. I do have friends whose kids are autistic and some of them feel that it's largely due to the MMR. They think the coincidence is too uncanny. Any of you have comments abt this? Due to the uncertainty, I'm delaying my son's MMR...Since my GP says he can take it at 2yrs old, doesn't matter so much...

Thanks.

That was what we did with our elder boy... Basically we delayed most of his shots and didnt follow the Health Booklet schedule and as much as possible refrained from getting the bundled shots. Some shots were not available as single shots and came in 2-in-1 shots, so go for these rather than your 3-in-1 or 5-in-1 shots.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to 'stir anything up'. I am just sharing my own 'unconventional' personal experiences.

Hi surfermom,

Actually, I would have have gone ahead with the jabs ASAP too if it weren't for the prenatal sessions that I attended conducted by a Doula.

She was the one who suggested to us with what she terms as 'options', from during birth to after birth process.

For the aft birth process - she shared with us what she had gleaned from research as well as personal experiences. She never imposed upon us, rather she recommended that we do some research to find out more abt the 'options' and see if we were comfortable with them. She also recommended the PD, who is a non-invasive doctor. The PD speaks crytically most of the time and I have to really listen hard to 'listen between the lines' - she also has her moods ie she can be friendly with you one visit, she can be not so frdly the nxt visit. But on the whole, she has the sort of quiet confidence in her that makes her stand out and she is really good with my DS.

It was only aft gathering the info, and preparing some quests, that we went down to see the PD and discussed them with her. Because she is non-invasive, she was more than happy to accomodate our requests/suggestions, but of course, never saying so directly lah. In fact, we delayed the BCG jab. He had it 3 days aft he was born in the hospital. I was in the hospital for that no of days. It was in my birthplan and we also discussed with my OB as well. But that didn't stop the nurses from coming in and asking repeatedly abt it

Anyway, if my memory serves me right, one of the rationales for these unconventional decisons was to allow baby come into the world and not be prodded and pricked with needles if one can help it and later for the child to build up self-immunity. For me personally, I don't know whether I am right, but I feel that because the jabs were delayed, hence DS never had any reactions ie fever etc from any of his jabs.

Once again, I reiterate that it is/was a purely personal decision.

Anecdotes do not evidence make. The autism - MMR link has been comprehensively disproved, many times over.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy

If you understand the origins of this particular urban legend, you will clearly see what a dubious base it stands on. It is tragic that it leads to people deferring or even refusing MMR for their children, and creating the guilt complex in parents who do have autistic children.

Vaccinations do have certain impact on children due to the ingredients used.

Before I gave my boy any vaccinations, I researched extensively about it. Even the same vaccine produced by different companies have different ingredients.

After doing all that research, my stand was that I will only give what's necessary at the appropriate times. How do I determine necessary & appropriate time?

Medical journals did state quite clearly when a child should be given the vaccination. I vaguely recall one of the criteria is the probability or the number of cases in percentage in the country (quite low in SG compared to other countries). Another is whether the child has high chances of being exposed or not (goes to infant care, crowded places, etc). They also suggested that breastfed children do not need the vaccinations urgently.

In the end, my boy took 5-in-1 at polyclinics, but at a delayed schedule. He did not take any other optional vaccinations as I still hv doubt abt some of the ingredients in them & their exhorbitant prices. My friends used to say that I'm risking my boy's life by being stingy but I don't care. They don't know the facts in a vaccination.

& have you wondered why is it that the older the child, the lesser dosage they need? It's because their body system already learnt how to build up a defence quickly. It'll be better to give them the vaccinations slightly later if they are not the 'high-risk' group

In our case, DS took the MMR jab when he was almost 2.5 years old. The delay was deliberate and there were repeated reminders from MOH. Anyway, the ex-PD for my older DD disputed against all the concerns about the link between MMR and autism, and said that it was just something circulating on the internet for a long time and every now and then, parents think it is a new discovery. Pretty much the same way he doesn't believe in the benefits of breastfeeding...

This debate has been going on for some time. There have been studies to show both scenarios, to prove or to disprove. So which should we believe?

DD's jabs were all on schedule. DS was delayed, not a conscious decision on my part but cos he was down with asthma every other mth. So he had a 6-in-1 when he was 18 mths. Followed by pneumococcal at 2yrs old.

I did ask my PD about this MMR and autism link. She said that there has not been any concrete prove to date though there have been studies that suggests such links. But she also said, there is always a risk in any form of vaccination. So the practical thing to do is to weigh the risks vs the benefits. And in the medical world, they cannot look at individuals but they have to consider the collective risks and benefits. So far, whatever studies have shown that even if it is true that MMR may cause autism, it is like 1 in tens of thousands, pretty rare. But MMR could save millions of lives, especially in non developed countries. However that said, to her clients, it involves their kids, if they have concerns and doubts, and especially in Singapore, no harm delaying the shots.

I am not sure if this is available in Singapore. But a fren of mine mentioned that it is possible to get the vaccines separately. Just that it costs more.

At the end of the day, it is parents' decision. To jab or not to jab, both have their benefits and risks. Our MOH have weighed the risks and benefits and so has WHO. And their decision is benefits outweigh risk. Now it is up to individuals.