Among the questions I get asked the most by parents in my office, and while I am on the road, is what my thoughts are about vaccines and immunizations. I know this is a hot button topic, and there are a lot of passionate perspectives on any given side of it. So, I wanted to take a moment and talk to you about immunizations.

First, I know they can be are frightening. After all, I’m a mother of four and have been on both ends of the needles. I fully understand a parent’s apprehension.

Over the years, more vaccines have been developed and there are now so many immunizations that navigating them feels overwhelming.

During the first year of life, infants are required to get immunizations against polio, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), HIB, hepatitis B, chicken pox and the dreaded MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella).

The reasons parents most frequently cite for not wanting to immunize are: concern about autism, worry that the child’s immune system will be overwhelmed, seizures, paralysis, and even brain damage. Some parents don’t want to immunize because they’ve read that the MMR was made from aborted fetuses.

So let me clear a few things up. The…