‘That’s just what’s expected of you … so you do it’: Mothers discussions around choice and the MMR vaccination

Abstract

One of the major shifts in the form and experience of contemporary family life has been the increasing insertion of the 'expert' voice into the relationship between parents and children. This paper focuses on an exploration of mothers' engagement with advice around the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Much of the previous literature utilises a 'decision-making' framework, based on 'risk assessment' whereby mothers' decisions are conceptualised as rooted in complex belief systems, and supposes that that by gaining an understanding of these systems, beliefs and behaviour can be modified and uptake improved. However, less attention has been paid to the ways in which mothers negotiate such advice or the ways in which advice is mediated by positionings, practices and relationships.Analysis of data from a focus group with five mothers identified three themes: 1) Sourcing advice and information, 2) Constructing 'Mother knows best' and 3) Negotiating agency.Despite the trustworthiness of advice and information being questioned, an awareness of concerns about the MMR, and health professionals being constructed as remote, ultimate conformity to, and compliance with, the 'system' and 'society' were described as determining MMR 'decisions'.

Resurgence of Measles in Europe: A Systematic Review on Parental Attitudes and Beliefs of Measles Vaccine

“…The most common reason for hesitancy or refusal was concern about adverse effects, revealed in 13 of 20 studies. This was mentioned by participants in relation to fear of autism in 10 studies [22][23][24][25][26][29][30][31][32][33] across three countries (UK, Italy, and Sweden). Rejectors and vaccine-hesitant parents were more likely to perceive adverse effects as highly probable and severe [29,34].…”

“…Participants were mainly mothers [22][23][24][25][26], and also included parents with anthroposophical world views [27,28]; some studies included Gypsies, Roma, and Traveler (GRT) parents [22,24], with a history of nomadism and temporary residency, and longterm resident Somali mothers living in Europe [25]. Most studies used a retrospective design in which attitudes and predictors were assessed after they had made their vaccination decision using subjective self-reported behavior.…”

“…One Italian study showed vaccine-hesitant parents and rejectors were more likely to believe that healthcare professionals only gave information about the benefits of vaccination and neglected explaining the risks [29]. A British study showed mistrust in experts was blamed on inconsistent advice within the scientific community, with reference to research discrepancies such as Wakefield's study [26].…”

“…The decision to vaccinate is a complex, time-consuming, and weighted decision, causing some to delay [28,38]. Acceptors acknowledged altruistically complying with official vaccination recommendations as social responsibility to protect the community [26,28]. Some mothers in a British study believed that complying with immunization recommendations should be a responsibility that comes with having children [26].…”

Cochlear Implantation, Enhancements, Transhumanism and Posthumanism: Some Human Questions

“…Mothers (mostly) are expected to seek expert advice and 'choices' concerning their child's health. The mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and controversy about the combined MMR vaccine's association with health problems, principally autism (Johnson and Capdevila 2014). The original paper claiming a link was later retracted by the journal (The Editors of The Lancet 2010).…”