In recent years the high spike in Autism has caught the attention of many parents and doctors. As parents become desperate for answers, many begin to believe there could be a link between MMR and autism. Across the country parents are crying out when their once healthy and happy child begins to regress in their development. Children that were playful weeks before suddenly become introverted and appear unhappy.
Unfortunately, that is not the answer. Although there is a definite increase in the number of autistic children, a multitude of scientific studies have proven that there is no relationship between MMR and Autism. Many parents are mislead in this connection due to the fact that signs of autism begin to appear around the same time children receive the MMR vaccine. Vaccination experts from both the “Center of Disease and Control Prevention” and the “American Academy of Pediatrics” agree that MMR vaccine is not responsible for the recent increase in autism. In 2004 the Institute of Medicine came out with an official documentation that concluded that there is no link between autism and MMR vaccine.
While some parents decide not to vaccinate their children due to religious or other personal reasons, it is very unsafe to not vaccinate your child. The risks of your child getting MMR are a proven fact, and therefore a much greater risk. MMR is a disease that is spread from person to person through the air, and one of the only ways to protect yourself and your child is to get vaccinated. Otherwise, you risk running the following risks, including death.
Measles
•Measles virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye
irritation, and fever.
•It can lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures
(jerking and staring), brain damage, and death.
Mumps
•Mumps virus causes fever, headache, and swollen
glands.
•It can lead to deafness, meningitis (infection of the
brain and spinal cord covering), painful swelling of
the testicles or ovaries, and, rarely, death.
Rubella (German Measles)
•Rubella virus causes rash, mild fever, and arthritis
(mostly in women).
•If a woman gets rubella while she is pregnant, she
could have a miscarriage or her baby could be born
with serious birth defects.
To find more on MMR and Autism read more from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
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