Vaccinations are a hot button topic. There's the perpetuated myth that some may cause autism and the controversy of immunizing school-age girls for the HPV virus that causes cervical cancer – and that's just for starters.

For new parents, this is just one more issue that must be decided on – or do they have a say in the matter? Here's some guidance for new parents trying to make sense of this issue.

"If a child has had a serious reaction or allergic reaction to a previous dose of the vaccine, or has a history of serious allergy to a component of the vaccine," parents can refuse immunizations, says Dr. Loraine M. Stern, head partner of one of the leading pediatric centers in Los Angeles, who has also led vaccine studies. "[If] children [have] congenital or acquired impaired immunity – chemotherapy for cancer, or HIV, for example, or if there is someone in the immediate household who has suppressed immunity, then live virus vaccines may have to be withheld."

Generally, states allow religious grounds and sometimes are more liberal in granting parental refusal to required childhood vaccines, says Dr. Barry Hainer, who deals with this issue in his practice as part of the family medicine department at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Do non-vaccinated children face problems when they start school? Dr. Stern says this depends on the state of residency. "Some [states] will not accept non-immunized children into the public school system unless there is a medical reason," she says. "Others have a more lenient policy."

Sabrina Propper of Santa Clarita, Calif., was hesitant to give her son the chicken pox vaccine. At the time, this vaccine was new to the marketplace, and as new parents, Propper and her husband were extremely cautious of anything they introduced to their son. Ryan, who was 4, had a severe case of asthma, which made Propper more wary.

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