The way I went about thinking about immunisation was, the thing is I work in the Child Health department, putting in information on children anyway. So I’ve got that background anyway. And I’ve got some leaflets from the health visitors and GPs about all the immunisations and the causes of not having it. So I made that decisions that I would want my daughter to have the immunisations for, to protect her from any illnesses.

I think it’s really important to have all the immunisations because it’s protecting your child from other illnesses. Because I mean I couldn’t forgive myself if anything was to happen, and as a parent I would want to protect my baby as well as I can. And so there, there are vaccinations available, so that’s why I took the opportunity to, for my child to be immunised.

And did you discuss it with anybody? Apart from the leaflets that you got from your GP and here?

Well, there was a lot of people saying about the MMR, like friends and family saying that autism and, but, and then you get leaflets as well and it says it’s not really linked to it. But it’s just, you just have to make that decision as a parent. Because at the end of the day what happens is, what’s going to happen is, is going to happen. You can’t really stop anything. But if I can, you know, help my baby to be more protected, then I’ll do my best. So I’ll know I tried.

And after the MMR, did your daughter have any reactions after that?

No, she didn’t. She was fine. Her usual self, you know, she was playing. You know, babies, it’s just, you know, sometimes there might be side effects. But it’s one thing that you have to take your chances I think in protecting your baby. But I didn’t have any side effects, my daughter didn’t have any side effects with any immunisations.

But actually pressurising parents, I don’t think that’s right, pressurising parents to have the immunisations. I think it’s important to realise that parents do have that choice. If they don’t want their baby to be immunised, you know, they have that choice. But you, as a health professional you should try your best to give them the information, and, and they know the consequences of not having that immunisation. I think that’s really important. As I said before some health profess-, I mean professionals, they might not, they just give you the leaflet and not talk about it. But it’s important for professionals to actually talk to the parents and tell them, you know, why it’s important as well, and the consequences of not having these immunisations as well. I think it’s really important, not just to think about all the what’s it called the high level, getting the immunisations up, levels up. Because I mean you have to think of it as, you know, they’re parents, you know, they’re going to make their own decisions. You can’t really make any decision for them or you can’t really force them into something, which they’re not happy about.

I know that they can be life-threatening. So that’s why I think, you know, it is important for me as a mother to protect my baby if I can, as much as I can. Because I know some mothers, I’ve heard from my friend and family that they do complain that the babies cry, you know, they’ve got probably a rash or something, I don’t know. But you just have to weigh the situation as I said. It’s what’s more important.

Because I don’t really think, me personally, I don’t really think a vaccination is linked to autism really. Because it’s usually, you really notice it after a year. So I think parents get a bit confused that they think, because MMR is given at that same age as well, so they just link it with that vaccination. But, because with my friend, she had a brother that had autism. And he was born premature and hes got autism. But it’s not because of the MMR, it’s just something that you’re born with. But you don’t actually, I mean you don’t really notice the autism until they’re 1 years old, because that’s when they walk and they talk, isn’t it? They, that’s when you actually notice all these things. So I think, I wouldn’t really link MMR with autism because I don’t, and theres no, really any studies to say that it is linked to that or the side-effects to that. I don’t think it is.