Mother’s Subsequent to that, as the lactose-intolerant problem continued and I guess my thirst for information continued I did more research. And we had concerns about our son’s gut, particularly from the damage that we believe was done initially when he was still having lactose before we realised he was lactose-intolerant. And that’s really where I came across the links with the bowel problems and certainly the triple jab. And I had done hours and hours of research. I think initially, the first time I found those websites and started reading, I think I was up until two in the morning, just reading and reading and reading. And suddenly a lot of things started to fall into place that.

But [my husband] was quite rightly a bit sceptical at that point, and so we basically then went further and thought, ‘Well, were not going to just take one data point on this, we need to find out more information ourselves. So we went through, well, I certainly spent a lot of time researching the actual vaccinations themselves, the diseases they’re meant to protect, the comparison between the triple jab or having singles, and the benefits and otherwise of that. And obviously we were looking at it specifically from our child’s medical point of view. So that was where we started really. It took a long time, I spent a lot of time researching it to make sure that I felt I was informed, and that’s my whole point.

And was this largely on the Internet?

It was all on the Internet, yes.

And you said you felt sceptical at the beginning, at that stage, what were you feeling sceptical about?

Father’s Partly it was because the source of information was the Internet and theres no interlocks onto what information is put on the Internet. It could be any group or cult or anybody can put anything up there. So it was really double-checking the information that’s on there and going to various sources. And also going to known good sources, essentially, independent scientific assessments, and just double-checking what they say and based on the information they’ve got.

Mother’s I think it was, the more I read the more I was able to differentiate between scaremongering and sensible editorials if you like. And ultimately it just came down to the volume of research we did, from all around the world not just the UK. We went to, you know, the beauty of the Internet is obviously you can look at other countries. And obviously this wasn’t just a vaccination, pure vaccination issue. At the same time we were looking in to bowel issues and digestive problems. So we had data points from a lot of different sources, not just the vaccination. And I think that helped us, because understanding some of the biomedical issues I think helped us make that decision and feel when we had accurate information or not. Ultimately I think there is still a lot of scepticism out there about the whole bowel issue. But we have a son with bowel problems. It’s not caused by MMR but I think is a contraindication to him having it. And that was how we came to that conclusion.

Mother’Well it was quite difficult because if you’re not careful you end up with reams and reams of paper and it just becomes too much to try and trawl your way through it which we did at one time. But we did actually put in a search code of immunisation and then reduce it down to things like MMR and got some useful papers. But I think more useful to us was talking to other parents who hadn’t had their children immunised and the reasons being. Talking to medical advisors and just really reading books was certainly more useful than the Internet. But I think the Internet if you’re more at ease with it can still be a useful tool, but if you’re not careful you’ll just end up being completely overcome with information.

Father’A lot of the information’s from America isn’t it?

Mother’Yeah, theres a lot of information from America and theres also several books that have been written in America because they actually have more injections in America then we do in this country and so theres certainly the pros and cons as to whether to have your children immunised, theres lots of literature from America. But I think in the end it, if you’re not careful you’ll never make a decision because theres so much information and you have to sort of decide what you think is best and that’s what parents have to do regarding everything really. And you have to weigh up the risk factor.

But NHS Direct, okay, I’m on the phone to a government body and I’m asking them and I’m getting the same response. I’m asking, ‘Well, who else can, where can I go to find alternatives?’ ‘Well, like I say, for the MMR you can…. I’m like, ‘You’re not even answering my question. That was incredibly irritating. You hang up the phone and you’re back to square one. And all I can say is you’re resorted back to finding your own information on the Internet.

Which also, to the point which is making doctors and anything the government can supply you with, if you want something different, is redundant. And then it’s a guess as to, ‘Okay, well, which one am I going to take her to?’ I don’t know whether one is better than another, if one is just some kind of room in a basement of somewhere or whether it’s actually a professional doctor’s clinic. You don’t go on any websites that, I did come across one site I think from memory, but I had to pay ’80 to actually get information off it. And I was thinking like, ‘Fair enough, fine. And then the closing tag, just to make the parents feel guilty, ‘Yes, we understand, you have to pay for this, but you can’t put a price on your child’s health. And I’m thinking, ‘Well, thanks for that. That’s really helpful.

So I just kept on going to find information. And I eventually found places that could do, it but again it’s finding information about those people and if they’re, what the service is like. Hence why I saw Harley Street, thinking, ‘Well, okay, you can have really shoddy doctors on Harley Street but, hey, on the whole they’re going to be okay. As opposed to someone suggesting, another website suggesting East Finchley, thinking, ‘Well, Harley Street is a street of doctors. I think I’d better go there. So it is difficult.

Immunisations are a great thing and were lucky in this country to have them offered to our children. So I strongly believe that we should get it done. The autism link is the only link that I’ve really heard about. I’ve not, to be honest I’ve not researched it or, maybe as much as I should. I just think sometimes you can read too much on things and get yourself all worked up and then it doesn’t necessarily lead you to the right place anyway.

I’ve spoke to my parents about it, I’ve spoke to friends, and were all of the same, like that the government wouldn’t let you be doing this to your little child that’s only one if there was something seriously going to happen to him in later life. And you have to go with that, just have faith that it’ll work. And I’ve trusted the professionals this far. They delivered my son for me, they’ve looked after us at the beginning, so I don’t see why I should turn against their great advice now when it’s got us this far and everything went fine so far.

Father’s But also it’s to be aware that information that comes from the government as well is also trying to achieve a purpose, and to actually try and read between the lines. Because you’re not trying to fulfil some government quota or doctor’s quota, what you’re trying to do is to protect your child. So you need to determine what’s the best way to protect your child.

So what do you think about the government’s approach to it all?

Father’s I think in terms of taking the country as a whole and trying to keep our country safe and trying to protect the children it’s the way that you would do it. You know, you would actually en masse trying to…

Mother’s So I guess we understand their position.

Father’s Yes.

Mother’s But

Father’s And were also aware that, you know, any sign of, ‘Theres a problem with this vaccine just completely interferes with it and causes so much chaos that you don’t actually achieve the objective. So you’ve got to keep the message very simple and say, ‘This is completely safe. Please do it. Everyone will be safe. But the story’s never that simple.

Mother’s No. They’re not acknowledging that there are the subset of children who potentially react to vaccinations. And as I say I believe that it’s a trigger and it’s part of a jigsaw, it’s not the whole story, there are other underlying problems that, or maybe predispose these children to reacting to these things. I have no doubt in my mind that it may be twenty years down the line but that will be acknowledged. But the government it almost seems a heavy hand in this. I understand why they take the approach they do but it frustrates me that they refuse to acknowledge that this subset exist. You know, a lot of them will say, ‘There are no side effects. Well, there are side effects, those are actually noted by the pharmaceutical companies who manufacture these vaccines. So you can’t say the vaccines have no side effects. There are risks with everything and you have to weigh up, ‘Are you happy that the risk of that vaccination and the possible side effects were better for your child than the risk of maybe not having the vaccination and catching that disease naturally. And that’s ultimately what you have to weigh up and I don’t think the government really give that view. I think they’ve just been very black and white about it.