The Tewksbury Patch Moms Council is made of moms throughout the community from all different walks of life. Each week, the moms tackle a different question posed by readers of Tewksbury Patch on issues of life, family and motherhood. This week's topic is about deals with vaccinations. Do they do more harm than good? Are they worthwhile?

Dear Moms Council,

A columnist on Patch wrote on Sunday about a bad reaction her son had from a vaccination. Some people have said that vaccinations are connected to causing autism. But other people say vaccinations are really important for your children. What do you think?

Linda Rowe -- I chose to have both my children vaccinated...that was 20 years ago.  I would be very upset with myself if I didnt allow my children to get the necessary vaccinations and years later they were to get a communicable disease that could have been prevented.  As with any medication, there are risks.  At the pediatrician's office there is literature on each vaccination...read about it and make the decision that is best for your family.

Lisa Spinelli-White -- Vaccinations do not cause autism, IMO. A simple look into the stats show that boys are three to four times more likely than girls (according to NIH) to have autism, and this can not be accounted for if blaming vaccines and/or the preservatives in vaccines like squalene (which is sometimes blamed for a number of other adverse reactions).

I believe that
a) people are more aware about autism now and tests are done much more frequently than they were in the past so more children are found to have it
b) it could be that it is becoming over-diagnosed in some cases (though I do believe it does exist and early detection helps immensely when dealing with this condition).
c) People want to blame something other than genetics when it's their children's lives at stake (because many parents feel responsible if it is their genetic code that caused a condition like autism even though they shouldn't--much easier said than done). I believe it is at least partially genetic in most cases (I'm not a doctor so I'm sure there are some environmental reasons it's happened at least once or twice) and there is nothing to blame but mother nature.
d) New studies have shown that the timing of children (older mothers and having children less than 2 years apart) increases the risk of having a child with autism. With the families I know who have autistic children, about half of the autistic children were born less than 2 years apart from their older siblings. I have not seen the older-mother cause in the families I know, however.

These are simply my observations and what I know from studies published in the media, I am not a doctor. I hope I have not offended anyone, that is not my intention, and I wish to express my whole-hearted empathy for those dealing with this condition. As a mother I can only imagine what it would be like to deal with this and my love and support go out to all the families who are.

Maureen Castiglione -- In my opinion, the risks of non-vaccination far outweigh the risks of vaccination.  Period.   While the original study linking vaccinations to autism has been discredited, including by the original Medical Journal (The Lancet) that published it back in 1988, the damage has been done.  There are people who will never vaccinate their children because they are afraid, and that's too bad.  As the recent outbreak of measles in Boston, and other preventable diseases around the country in recent years have shown, the decision to vaccinate or not effects more than just one person or family.

Lisa Broderick -- I also am in the camp of feeling like it's worse to not vaccinate your child.  I did my research before I had my first child, and while I will admit the research out there did worry me about mercury in vaccines and the autism link at the time, but I also felt strongly pro-vaccine, as did my pediatrician.  So, I did have both my children vaccinated on schedule.  I do know, as other posters have mentioned, that the link of autism from vaccines has now been disputed, so again- yes, I am glad I vaccinated and honestly can't imagine the whole different type of fear (life threatening diseases) I would feel if I had not...

Kendra McCauley -- I believe the good outweighs the bad with vaccinations. Just look at what is going on now in the Boston area with the Measles outbreak. I have 4 sons and haven't had any complications with any shots given.

Sue Panilaitis -- Wow - you opened a can of worms here at home!  As a wife of an immunologist at Tufts, you set off a lively discussion at home.  As a result of a subject very close to home and one that riles the two of us up, I have not been able to keep to the 100 word max.  We need to educate people regarding the newest research out there rather than perpetuating misinformation. 

These are my thoughts:

Just recently, as the result of 18 studies examining the link between autism and vaccinations (in effort to refute the one “study” of eight cases that originated this argument), it was proven that there is no link between autism and vaccinations. 

The whole argument began in 1998 with one British doctor who wrote an article suggesting that the MMR vaccination caused autism.  Since then, Andrew Wakefield has had his medical license removed based on his dishonesty and irresponsibility when conducting his research.  Unfortunately, the damage of one misinformed person resulted in outbreaks of deadly, painful diseases that could have been prevented. 

Just in 2008, an unvaccinated child traveled overseas and contracted measles.  As a result, there was the largest outbreak of measles in over a decade in San Diego. Why?  Because people have opted out of vaccinating their children.

Fortunately in this day and age, it is more common for families to know of others that have suffered side effects while not knowing of a particular case that the vaccination is preventing in the first place.  Due to this bent, it is easier to try to avoid something that seems more likely than the original issue.  As a result of vaccinations, we do not have personal experiences of pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) associated with a measles infection.

I have 6 children.  We have dealt with side effects of vaccinations, some more serious than others, but would never consider not having our children vaccinated.  I would rather deal with the side effects – which can be traumatic – than have my child suffer greatly and perhaps die by a disease that could have been prevented. 

Remember, the more people who do not vaccinate, the more likely an outbreak.

If you want to read more about how there is no link between vaccinations and autism, information regarding this subject can be gleaned from websites such as AAP (American Pediatrics Association), CDC (Center for Disease Control), Autism Science Foundation, and Every Child By two.