Autism and Immunisations debate

UK Paediatrician Aston Robert, who is also a consultant in Public Health and Vaccinations, once said: “vaccinations have probably made a greater contribution than any other medical intervention towards the reduction in the human burden of suffering and premature death, especially among children. He stresses that the objective of immunisations/vaccinations is preventive. In other words, while they help to prevent certain diseases, they cannot prevent the consequences of disease.

And it’s the consequences of these common childhood illnesses that we want to avoid. For example, babies and young children who become infected with measles are left with a damaged immune system that takes a full two years to recover. This exposes them to other infections they may normally have recovered from quite easily e.g. a cold that becomes pneumonia. Paediatricians agree that with the recent rise in superbugs and their resistance to antibiotics, immunising has become top priority. 

Having worked for a short while at a home for mentally and physically disabled adults and children, I learned by reading their medical files, that many had become disabled as the result of severe meningitis or the complications of measles.

Those who argue against immunisations include writer Johan Jacobs (Joy magazine, January 2017) who questions the safety of vaccinations, claiming that the human race survived for thousands of years without them, and that by vaccinating their children, parents are not putting their trust in God.

Parents also worry about the link between the MMR vaccine and autism as a result of an inaccurate paper published by Andrew Wakefield, a former British gastroenterologist and medical researcher, in 1998. Since then, many parents worldwide have refused to have their children immunised, and this has resulted in some serious outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella.

Many neuroscientists studying autism today believe that this condition could be as a result of insufficient or abnormal ‘prenatal brain pruning’ that happens before birth. ‘Brain pruning’ is when unnecessary, and un-used brain cells are eliminated. This occurs three times before adulthood - before birth, in later childhood and early adolescence. This means that Autism is a condition that a baby is born with and is not something that parents or health-care professionals are responsible for.

In South Africa, it’s compulsory to have a completed vaccination certificate before children are allowed to start school. In a country where TB and infectious diseases are amongst the highest in the world, and where understaffed and underbudgeted health care services are overwhelmed by numbers, parents need to take advantage of every available opportunity to protect their children from infectious diseases that can rob them of their health and vitality.  

How does nature help to protect your baby against disease?

The good news is that Mother Nature has put some protective mechanisms against infections for the new born. Here’s how:

•  At about five months into the pregnancy, the baby inherits his/her mother’s antibodies. Called immunoglobulins, these offer some protection against infections like diphtheria, polio, tetanus, measles and mumps.

•  Natural birth exposes the baby to the mother’s good skin bacteria that, when colonised, become the building blocks of the baby’s immune system.

•  Breast-fed babies benefit from the extra protection of live antibodies, proteins and immune cells only found in MOM (Mothers Own Milk).

When making an informed choice about vaccinating your baby, the benefits must outweigh the risks. For example, where there are known family allergies and where there is the risk of anaphylactic shock (which is extremely rare) parents should be advised by their paediatrician whether or not to immunise, or to delay immunizations.

Keep a record of your baby’s immunisations and follow-up dates. Keep an eye on your baby’s reaction to immunisations. There is the possibility of symptoms such as mild fever, tenderness or redness at the injection site. All immunisations at government facilities in South Africa are free. There is a fee if these are done privately.

For more information about the side-effects of immunisations, go to ‘Adverse Effects Following Immunisation (AEFI)’.  

A mother’s treasures

When we were growing up, we children would have ‘spontaneous Mother’s Day’s’. Widowed when she was very young with four school-going children to bring up on her own, mom had to no choice but to work, every day from 8 – 5, including Saturday mornings.

During the school holidays when inspiration struck, we would put whatever money we had together and do something special for Mom. I remember we could afford a frozen chicken once, but it took so long to thaw that is was under-cooked when Mom, with great ceremony, began to carve it that evening. 

Another time we presented Mom with a great ‘feast’, but she came home from work really ill, and couldn’t face looking at food. She felt so bad. 

I made a chocolate cake once and, not having a cake-tin, hid it in the linen cupboard. The next day it was so full of ants, it looked like the cake had been decorated with moving chocolate sprinkles!

When my children were growing up, I remember ploughing my way through a HUGE bowl of all-bran flakes with far too much sugar and way too little milk with four sets of eager eyes watching me munch every mouthful. The children also liked to buy me strips of liquorice for Mother’s Day, but couldn’t resist taking a generous bite off each end first.

Going through my box of ‘treasures’ – cards, letters, apologies and thank you notes from my children, one that I treasure is with each verse written by one of the children, starting with the youngest scrawled with an immature hand to the eldest.

“I hope that soon

We’ll give to you

The strength you gave

Through which we grew.

I wish one day

We’ll learn to gain

From lessons learnt

And life’s little pains.

I pray that now

We’ve all become

The people you hoped for

From what you have done.

And from the gift of life you gave

May us kids give you happiness today!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!”

Call the Midwife

My interest in babies and birth began when I was about six years old. Back then, the pride of middle-class families was a piano and set of encyclopaedias. When the door-to-door salesman successfully sold a set of books to my parents, their ‘prize’ was The Red Book! It was all about pregnancy and babies and my mom kept it well hidden. At least she thought so! But I knew where she kept it, and I poured over the pictures and diagrams at every opportunity, longing to know what they meant but never daring to ask. 

After more than 30 years in the field of midwifery, I am still learning and marvelling birth and babies. If only we appreciated the miracle of conception, the precision of pregnancy, the dance of birth and the amazing spontaneous development of children in their first few formative years, ‘child-abuse’ wouldn’t exist, and the world would make sure that no child ever went cold or hungry.

‘Call the Midwife’ a TV series based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, has, in some way, revived respect for the midwife. True midwives monitor women throughout her pregnancy, deliver their babies at home, visit the new mother for the first 10 days, and monitor the health and development of her baby over the next few years at well baby clinics.

But a lot has changed in the last 30 years. Women are having babies when they’re much older, putting them and their babies at risk for complications. This means that the work of the midwife must be handed over to obstetricians and gynaecologists who are trained to deal with problems. But that doesn’t mean that midwives can’t prepare couples for the birth and what to expect afterwards. Midwives appreciate the value of skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately after birth, even after a C-section. They are there to help new mothers bond with their babies through breastfeeding and can teach mothers how to avoid breastfeeding problems. 

As a community-midwife, I enjoy the ongoing friendship with many families in my home-town. They keep me updated about their children’s development and their chosen careers. I feel special every time I go shopping and I know that I made the right career choice when I chose to wear green bars on my epaulettes and called myself a midwife.