is it safe to give MMR vaccine to my 18 months baby? i heard it can cause autism?

Question

i read several studies tgat say autism may be caused by MMR vaccine

Answer 1

Bottom line, no one knows what causes autism spectrum disorders , ( there are FIVE disorders that fall into the spectrum, autism being just one). Autism spectrum disorders occur in communities that do not vaccinate , including Amish communities and certain religious communities. Therefor, immunizations can not possibly be THE cause of autism. Though in certain susceptible people , it may be A cause. The most widely accepted research shows that ASDs are genetically linked, common in some families. Widely accepted in the medical community , is the theory that some people with a genetic predisposition , have difficulty eliminating toxins from their bodies . So immunizations COULD be a trigger in certain children, along with toxins from foods, cleaners, clothes, toys, and nearly anything else they come in contact with. Over recent years, the numbers of parents allowing their children to be vaccinated has declined, and yet, the number of children diagnosed with a spectrum disorder has dramatically increased. The risk of a child dieing from a preventable disease, seems to far outweigh the risk of vaccination. Ultimately, the choice to vaccinate or not, is yours alone. There are several websites with helpful information . One of the best is autismspeaks.org. The site also contains links to other helpful sites.

Answer 2

Current research is looking at prenatal causes. Current belief is that there may be an environmental cause and that some families are more prone than others.

Japan discontinued the MMR vaccine for 10 years with no change in the rate of autism diagnoses. They reintroduced the vaccine with no accompanying rise in cases. Furthermore, studies of family videos showed that children with autism showed clear traces of it in infancy as young as 1 month.

My cousin's ex-gf has 3 children with autism (all different fathers). Two didn't have any vaccinations until they were 4 years old, but were diagnosed with autism at 2.

Answer 3

Most of the information about autism being caused by vaccines is anecdotal. A lot of parents *think* their child's autism was caused by vaccines, but there is no clear, reputable research to prove it. The CDC did say recently that it was investigating the possible link, but that does not by any means indicate that there is a problem with vaccines.

The risk of your child contracting measles is much higher without the vaccine. The incidence of autism in the population is 1 in 166 children. Personally, I'd take my chances with autism rather than risk diseases that could kill my child. (I don't believe that vaccines cause autism, though.)

On a side note - my personal thoughts are that there is a genetic link to autism that we haven't found yet. Many families have more than one child with autism, which tends to make me think it may be (at least a little) genetic. It's all a debate of nature vs. nurture though, because you could also argue that something those parents did or didn't do caused the autism in their kids. Bottom line, we don't know what causes autism - and any doctor or specialist worth anything will tell you that!

Answer 4

There are a few studies which claim a link. There are lots which have found no link at all. The main problem is that the MMR vaccine is normally given at the same age that autism tends to become apparent, so it's incredibly hard to tell whether it's a coincidence or not.

In any case, the chance of autism is minute compared with the chance of serious long-term complications such as deafness or brain damage should your child catch measles - and measles outbreaks are becoming more and more common as fewer kids are vaccinated against it.

It's a hard decision. Personally I decided that the vaccines are much the lesser of two evils. I would talk to your doctor about it.

Answer 5

MMR does not cause Autism, my son was dx before he even had the vaccine. Thimerisol, a mercury based preservative that was suspected (and later disproven) to cause autism has been removed from all childhood vaccines since 2001. Read the real studies, not just the rumors.

Answer 6

I have also read studies about MMR causing autism. What I read was that only if the mother is given this injection when she is pregnant then it will automatically travel to the child through breast milk. If the child is given Rubella (The R in MMR) also then it might cause autism. I never got that shot so I was not at all worried about it while giving it to my son. He is perfectly normal.
Then again, these are just studies which are not proved yet.
Best of Luck.

Answer 7

I gave my kids the vaccine and don't regret it. The incidence of measles is growing and for kids who don't get vaccinated it may be very serious with a lot of complications. The increase in Measles is due to the fact that less children are being given the MMR vaccine.
I know others will disagree ..

Answer 8

There is a preservative used in the MMR vaccine (and others) called thimerosal. It contains mercury. There are vaccines available without this preservative, but to be sure you should specifically ask the doctor to use the vaccine without thimerosal.

Here's a link with info about it::

http://www.newstarget.com/011764.html

After researching and reading all the information about this, I will not be vaccinating my son any more (he's had his 2 month shots). The number of kids diagnosed with autism in 1991 was 1 in 2500... it's now 1 in 150 (1 in 94 boys will be diagnosed). This is NOT genetic. Something is causing it, and vaccinations are the most likely cause.

There's a lot of information out there about this; the difficulty is in deciding what information is credible.

Answer 9

I have a friend that has an 11 or 12 year old son who has been autistic since he was 4 or 5 my friend will swear to any one that this was caused due to the amount of mercury used in vaccines to give them a longer shelf life just a thought but even in knowing this my daughter had to receive all her vaccinations to start public school

Answer 10

my children are fine and there is risks to everything in life for example diet pop has spertame in it and aspertame causes cancer or a woman ate a big mac nce and nearly died because she was alergic to the sauce so you see almost everything has risks i will be getting my 3rds mmr soon and i know that the things it vaccines against can seriously harm your child thats why they do it so really its up to you as a mum you will make the right choice....good luck with that:O)