Laura_Evans's Blog

There is a great debate over what is causing 1 in 150 children (1 in 70 boys) in this country to develop autism.   No matter how you slice it, it's scary.. those numbers are enough to make any parent worry. 

Critics cite this statistic:   children in the US currently get 36 shots before the age of 2.  Compare that to the 11 shots children faced in 1980 .... when only 1 in 10,0000 kids were diagnosed with autism or on the spectrum.   Critics say  we are over vaccinating our babies. ... young developing children can’t always take the trauma to their immune system, especially if they have allergies or a genetic predisposition.

My youngest daughter (now 11 months) is 3 weeks away from getting her MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine.   Some parent believe the MMR vaccine is what caused their child's autism.   My pediatrician assures me that's ridiculous and say the preservative for that vaccine -- thimerisol  (MERCURY) has been removed.  But according to the critics,  that's not true.   They say a trace of thimerisol remains.  And it's not just in the MMR... it's also in all 3 Hepatitis B shots and flu shots as well.  According to the critics, even a trace is too much.  

For my daughter, I have decided to have the MMR vaccine "unbundled"... meaning I'm ordering the three vaccines separately and will have them given individually at different times... with weeks in between each one.  I know my pediatrician thinks I'm crazy... but I'd rather be crazy than have to live with the possibility, no matter how remote it is, of exposing my daughter to a condition that will change all of our lives forever.