Motherhood brings the greatest of joys, as well as a compelling need to protect your child from injury. It’s critical that parents also guard against deadly diseases. The best way to do this is to make sure your children receive regular immunizations from birth to adulthood.

Every year, tens of thousands of Americans get sick from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines. With so much misinformation on the topic, it can be confusing and difficult for mothers to decide what is best for their child. While most parents believe vaccination is a good defense against deadly diseases, they may not fully understand the benefits.

The fact is that immunizations keep children safe from potentially fatal illness caused by pathogens. Many of those pathogens have been eradicated from the United States by vaccines.

Rarely has this generation of parents seen a case of a vaccine-preventable disease. This may lead them to wonder if vaccines are still necessary. Feeling uncertainty, they may decide not to immunize their child, a decision that puts the child at risk for disease.

This could be compared to deciding whether or not to wear a seatbelt. You don’t wear a seatbelt because you expect to be in a serious accident; you wear it because you want to be protected in the event a crash occurs. If you’re never in an accident, the benefit of wearing a seatbelt is not realized. However, if you are in an accident, the consequences of not wearing the seatbelt could be deadly.

The same risk applies to refusing to immunize your child, except the number of diseases posing a threat to our society are far greater than the threat of an auto accident. No parent wants their child to lack protection when they need it.

Vaccines reduce the risk of infection by working with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease. Immunization is the key to both preventing and limiting the spread of 14 specific diseases impacting both today’s population and future generations.

As with any medication, vaccines can cause mild side effects, but there is little need to worry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States’ long-standing vaccine safety system ensures that vaccines are as safe as possible. In fact, the United States currently has the safest vaccine supply in its history.

Even with all the research supporting the safety of vaccines, parents choosing not to vaccinate has resulted in a resurgence of diseases in Arkansas and nationwide. At this time, the Arkansas Department of Health is investigating an outbreak of mumps, with almost 3,000 cases in the state. This is a disease that can be prevented with proper immunization.

It is our job as parents to be informed and guard our children against dangers to their health and safety. This includes understanding the urgency to have children immunized, as well as the importance of consistency in keeping them protected to adulthood.

As always, your pediatrician can answer any questions or discuss concerns at your child’s next checkup.