Vaccinations are often about children, but anti-science beliefs are often not caused by having them, which reaffirms the contention that ant-vaccine sentiment falls along predictable cultural lines, and includes a raft of other positions, like denial of GMOs and sentiments against energy production.
Researchers at the North Carolina Children's Hospital surveyed 170 mothers and fathers in the postpartum ward who had given birth between February and April 2015. A significant majority (72 percent) reported starting to develop vaccine preferences for their newborn before conception. Perhaps not surprisingly, 77 percent of parents of previous children had already thought about vaccines for their new baby before pregnancy, said lead investigator James N. Yarnall, MPH, a fourth-year medical student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But even among first-time parents, 66 percent of respondents said they were already focused on vaccines before becoming pregnant.
Parents who had previously talked with their partner about vaccines for their child and parents who were more highly educated were more likely to begin deciding on vaccines before pregnancy. The most common influences for vaccine decision-making were the advice of family and friends, medical staff, and organizations such as the AAP and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Currently the vast majority of vaccine information and education is given after the birth of the child, usually during the clinic visits when the vaccination shots are given. However, we may be giving this information too late, long after most parents start thinking about vaccines for their child," Mr. Yarnall said.
Presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference&Exhibition in Washington, D.C.
