A Shot in the Dark?

Reexamining Immunizations

By Teri Brown

Most people have at least one memory of getting immunized as a child. Mine were done in school. Scores of children lined up, little pieces of paper in their hand that were soon exchanged for a small white strip of gauze held over a newly pierced arm. It was somehow a right of passage; you may not have understood everything, but you understood that it was "for your own good."

Nowadays, most immunizations are given in the doctor's office and it's the parent who has to keep track of all the shots a child has or hasn't had and when, which can be incredibly confusing. To complicate it further, rumors about a connection between immunizations and autism persist, making parents more than a bit nervous.

Kelly Pollard from Livermore, Calif., is one of those parents. "It was one of the first major decisions I had to make as a mom," says Pollard. "I read tons of parenting magazines and books when I was pregnant. Occasionally, I'd come across immunization articles citing pros or cons, sometimes only cons. What scared me most of all was the big A word: autism."

Pollard did more research and decided to go ahead and have her child immunized. "After really considering it, I realized that for me, the benefits outweighed the possible risks," says Pollard. "I figured my son had more of a chance of coming down with a nasty virus/disease from crowds than the very slim possibility that he may or may not have a nasty side effect from the shots."

The general consensus of experts, in spite of the ongoing controversy, is that immunizations are not only safe, but one of the single most important things we can do for our children and for society.

Dr. Jennifer Shu, director of Normal Newborn Nursery at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and co-author of the book Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality

Want to see more?

• The Pros and Cons of Infant Vaccines: What's Best for Your Baby?
• Immunizations on the Record: Preventative Measures to Keep Your Children Healthy
• Talk about it!