disneymom225 said:
But I do wonder- what was the cause of autism in the world before vaccines? Autism and Aspergers' Syndrome have been around A LOT longer than vaccines. So what caused it then? I know people have claimed it being on the rise but could it be that we are more aware of it today? I just have serious doubts about it being solely attributed to vaccines.
By no means do I feel fully qualified to really get into this debate and I really shouldn't be stirring the pot, but I did do some research on this subject this summer (so it's been I few months...I may be a little fuzzy with the details).
I don't think that documented cases of Autism/Aspergers have been around "a lot longer than vaccines." Autism was first documented in the 1940's around the same time that vaccines were gaining in popularity with the upper and upper-middle classes. I also think that the increase in autism in the last 15-20 years is pretty suspicious when you consider the increase in required vaccines during the same time frame. I'm certainly not going to say that vaccines cause autism, but I also don't feel comfortable saying that vaccines are not what is causing the increase in autism and other auto-immune diseases.
All that said, my DD is mostly vaccinated and has had all of her well baby checkups. I agree that from a public health perspective that vaccines are a great thing, but I feel that it is my responsibility as my DD's mother to do my homework and respectively question her doctor. I am my DD's advocate. I looked into this subject for two reasons...DD had a bad reaction to her Prevnar vaccine and a bad reaction through breastmilk after I had a flu shot due to a severe egg allergy. Because of her egg allergy, we have delayed her MMR and she was not able to get a flu shot this year.
With future children, I will do things differently, but will likely have them get most vaccines. In particular, I will have our ped. only administer one vaccine per visit. This way, if my child has a bad reaction, we would know for sure which vaccine caused the problem and you aren't overloading the child's system as much, all at once, with the additives mentioned previously. I think that it is ironic that the same people (at least some people that I know) will get titers checked on their dog, yet they'll let their 2 month old child receive four vaccines at one office visit without doing any research.
If anyone is interested, a couple of books that I found helpful were "The Vaccine Guide" by Randall Neustaedter (more anti-vaccine) and "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave (more pro delayed vaccine).
Sorry if I opened a can of worms. I know that I am just asking for flames after this post!