Interview 08
Brief Outline: For DTaP/IPV/Hib' Followed recommendations of health professionals. For MMR' Read information recommended by relatives which was both pro and anti immunisation, read NHS information leaflets, talked to her GP and to friends.
Background: At time of interview' married, one son, aged 3 years. Parent's Occupation' Mother- Teacher, Father- Journalist. Ethnic background' White-British.
More about me...
Making the decision about her son's MMR has been the hardest decision she has had to make as a...
Making the decision about her son's MMR has been the hardest decision she has had to make as a...
And you have a baby and you haven't got a clue what you are doing. You know, no one can tell you how your life will change. I'm sure every, every new parent's life changes in different ways. And you're constantly having to make decisions about everything' about what time to, to feed; what time to change a nappy; what, should I put him down to sleep; or he is crying should I pick him up and; should I give him the vaccination and, and, I think the first couple of vaccinations were fine because, you know, that's what's done and you've got so many decisions to make. And, and now because he's slightly older and I'm slightly, I mean it's, it's still you know, it's still a minefield being a parent. You are constantly unsure whether you're doing the right thing or not but I'm slightly more sure of what I am doing now. So I can, I can make a decision about this and hopefully feel at the end my decision is, is the right one. I'm feeling more confident as a parent now but it, it is the hardest decision that I've ever had, had to make regarding my son.
A friend's decisions for her own children had an influence on her decision.
A friend's decisions for her own children had an influence on her decision.
Her concerns about what reaction her son might have from MMR was stopping her from taking him to...
Her concerns about what reaction her son might have from MMR was stopping her from taking him to...
Half, well not half of me, a little bit of me thinks, 'Well if he does get something mildly then that's, that's better than a vaccination.' I had mumps and measles when I was a kid. The MMR wasn't around, wasn't around when I was, when I was young. I don't really understand now why it seems to be more, more frightening, a frightening illness than it used to be. I don't know whether its more potent, whether there are stronger strains of measles coming in to the country from other countries. I'm not sure of the facts but it certainly seems when I was a child that everyone I know had measles and most of us were fine although my cousin went deaf in one ear as a result of his measles. But most of us were fine with it but because of the worries are being raised about it, you know you think well maybe my son will be the one child that gets measles and then ends up badly brain damaged and it's not a risk I'm going to take.
But I, he has a vitamin tablet and that's all. And I did read somewhere that vitamin A is meant to be quite a good way of fighting certain illnesses. I think in 'What Doctors Don't Tell You' they gave a list of alternative preventatives and one of that, one of those was a vitamin, a high vitamin A dose. He eats a healthy diet and he has a vitamin tablet every morning so that's all I do [laugh].
Her son had a febrile convulsion after his second set of immunisations.
Her son had a febrile convulsion after his second set of immunisations.
Every vaccination he's had so far he, he's been a little bit ill afterwards. And with, with one, the second lot of immunisations he had he was, he was really very ill and he had a, a febrile fit, which I think was linked to the vaccination. I'm not sure. It could have just been that he had quite a bad cold and a fever as well. And that was very frightening in the night he woke up, well we woke up, he woke us up and he was shivering and shaking and we picked him up and he, he wasn't crying. That was the weird thing and his lips were going a bit blue and he was shaking and so we rushed him to the hospital. Oh and he was vomiting everywhere and that was not very pleasant for him or us. We took him to the hospital and they explained that it was a fit induced by high fever. He has not had one since and it, from friends of mine whose children have had similar things it wasn't a particularly bad one but it was still quite scary.