Interview 39

Brief Outline: For DTaP/IPV/Hib' Followed recommendations from health professionals. For MMR' Read the leaflet given to them by their general practice and searched the Internet for information. Considered information in the media to be sensationalised. Talking to friends who had children was helpful.

Background: At time of interview' married, one daughter, aged 19 months. Parent's occupation' Mother- Marketing Consultant, Father- Charity Manager. Ethnic background' White-British.

After learning more about MMR and the latest thoughts surrounding the vaccine, they felt able to...

I always thought that immunisation is quite a good idea, it makes a lot of, a lot of sense, but obviously there's been a lot of stuff in the press so I wanted to, to just what the latest thinking was on it. The early ones, I was actually more concerned about her having a needle put in her and I found that side of things quite upsetting because it just seems so small and fragile at that stage and they're not, they haven't had as much controversy as the MMR. So, that wasn't really a big decision for me. But when it came to the MMR we looked into it a lot more and talked to people and made our decision just based on weighing up the pros and cons really.

So, the information sought, you said you talked to people. Who did you talk to?

A lot of it was just friends because they'd all, because a lot of our friends had made it through having the baby, they've been going through the same sorts of decisions at the same time. So just finding out really what they had found out. Reading the leaflet that we got from the GP. Had a look on the Internet as well just to see, to see what the latest thoughts were. And I think really, for us, it was just a question that, it looked, it looked like the actual illnesses probably presented a greater risk than a risk associated with the jabs or seemed to be associated with the jabs.

And, particularly with the MMR there was a lot controversy around autism about'

Yeah.

How did you feel about that?

It, it was a concern and obviously if you focus on the autism side of things, you know, it's, it, it's not a nice thing to have by any means, and it is serious. But having said that it didn't look that the research that had been done was particularly conclusive and especially the timing with us, it was actually, the main bit of research was being discredited. So, you know, we just factored that in. And also we were quite worried because in the area that we live in quite a lot of people weren't having the MMR and it seemed that actually the risk of getting, you know, measles, mumps and rubella, was going to increase, so all the more need for the injection.

Where they lived a lot of parents didn't immunise, so they decided in favour of MMR because of...

It was a concern and obviously if you focus on the autism side of things, you know, it's not a nice thing to have by any means, and it is serious. But having said that it didn't look that the research that had been done was particularly conclusive and especially the timing with us, it was actually, the main bit of research was being discredited. So, you know, we just factored that in. And also we were quite worried because in the area that we live in quite a lot of people weren't having the MMR and it seemed that actually the risk of getting, you know, measles, mumps and rubella, was going to increase, so all the more need for the injection.

Did you ever consider single vaccines for the MMR?

Not really, only because I hadn't, you know, read or heard anything that, that made it sound like, you know, that was particularly beneficial thing to do. And it wasn't offered routinely. I mean, I suppose that I felt happy from what I'd heard and seen about the MMR that, you know, in the combined jab that, you know, that I was happy enough for my daughter to have it. So, I didn't really look into any alternatives.