HPV immunisation

baldowrie · HPV immunisation

My daughter came home with a parental consent form for the HPV immunisation (cervical cancer) the other day. It's up to you if you want to consent or not, however just as a warning to parents in fine print at the bottom it stating that any

child over 12 can give their own consent even if the parents have specifically refused it.

So if you have feelings about it please discuss it with your daughter and ensure you are all signing from the same page as I can envisage 'pressure' being put on these by and large immature girls to consent against parents wishes....abuse in my book!

A mother I know of an elder girl was bombard and threatened for months by medical folk until she relented, her daughter is special needs so they COULD NOT take her consent. This did not stop them threatening legal action and informing her of her lack of parenting skills!

So be warned this is no innocent form, it comes with intimidation from some quaters.

Martin

plus ca change, plus la meme chose......
My parents went through hell in the 50's and 60's to prevent my being vaccinated for polio - teacher pressure, threats, intimidation from all quarters (including other parents). At the time, they were dishing out a very crude and dangerous vaccine, from which several of my peers contracted the disease - the lucky ones ended up crippled, some didn't make it....

lachlanandmarcus

The other side of the story - An old friend contracted plain old measles as a youngster (he wasnt immunised) and was crippled for life from the disease....its a tricky one, but I guess the issue is the degree of pressure when they are presenting it as a choice for parents when they dont really want it to be a choice.

Fia

As my youngest is 13 I encouraged her to read as much about it as possible, looking at the arguments as objectively and rationally as possible, and make up her own mind. It's her body, and I think she is mature enough to make her own informed decisions. And IMHO it's good to encourage responsibility and maturity in our offspring so they can make informed decisions for themselves.

baldowrie

well my daughter handed in her consent form and was asked if she consented...she said NO!

She was then told that nearly all the school have declined the vaccine!!!!!!!!!!

Whilst she is sensible she not mature enough to make big decision as yet. All children mature at different ages.

earthroots

I think even when young people are clearly mature enough to make important decisions for themselves they can still be easily intimidated by the authority of teachers, doctors etc - they may be given the freedom and respect at home needed to reach maturity but doesn't mean they will elsewhere - definitely something to be wary of- some adults have no scruples about playing with their 'authority' over young minds

baldowrie

Fia

Which is exactly why I encouraged her to research for herself, and not always assume what teachers, doctors etc say is truth.

Julie

Maybe I'm looking at this from an odd angle to everyone else, but surely it is better to educate your own daughters about the risks from unprotected sex and avoiding partners whom they know to have a promiscuous history already? The virus is an STD after all and can cause cervical cancer. Isn't a programme of vaccination just detrimental to any efforts at raising their awareness in the first place?
I'm not advocating religious style celebacy or naive ostrich tactics, young men and women (because that is what a teenager is) will do what they want to whether we parents sanction it or not. All we can do as parents is to raise their awareness and hope they make sensible choices.

baldowrie

which is precisely what I have been doing, age appropriate

MJ

no matter how well you educate your daughters you cannot guarantee their future life partners are so well educated.
I know of one person quite close to me who had an unfaithful husband. After 2 kids in a "committed" relationship you expect that you don't have to worry about STIs.
I'm not in favour of this HPV vaccine. But I will encourage my daughter to go for a better vaccine when the time comes.
Cervical cancer is a silent killer, screening for which is ineffective due to NHS worries about costs (also the reason for the inferior vaccine).
I will encourage my daughter to take up any way of protecting herself against any STI, just as when she reaches that time in her life to take yearly sexual health MOTs - privately of course as the NHS believes that reactive health care is more cost effective than proactive when it comes to sexual health.

Julie

They must be a promiscuous lot up there in Shetland if they need yearly sexual MOTs

All we get invited for is the smear test

MJ

no more than you'd expect in the rest of Europe.
reproductive health is a difficult one. It's no wonder we have such high fertility treatment rates in this country.
Or any wonder that so many women go through unnecessary treatment if they hadn't been denied their smear tests.