Former anti-vax mum opens up about why she changed her mind

Most people take a pretty strong stance when it comes to the vaccination debate.

But one mum who previously stood among the ‘anti-vaxxers’ has now opened up about changing her mind on the matter, and the factors that convinced her to start getting her kids vaccinated.

In an ‘Ask me anything’ forum on Reddit, the mum was questioned about why she became an anti-vaxer, and why she later turned her back on them.

“I really did want the best for my kids and with all of the hype, I fell victim to the herd mentality. Anti-vaxers are a LOUD minority,” she started her reply.

“Eventually, I started doing my research (on both sides) and found that anti-vax ‘research’ was mainly anecdotal, while real science was behind vaccination. My kids were about 5 years behind their shots, but they’re updated now!” she added.

When asked what convinced her to be anti-vax to begin with, the mum admitted she, “was a little bit of a crunchy person” who would subscribe to various hippie blogs that often come with “a lot of anti-vax sentiment.”

“I just fell prey to the horror stories and didn’t want that for my kids,” she added, explaining the stories about children developing autism particularly scared her.

“I was afraid of autism. My oldest was born with Down syndrome and the thought of ‘giving’ her another disability weighed heavy on me.”

She then revealed that her main motivation to do further research was so that she could prove her husband wrong after he was against the idea of not vaccinating their kids.

“After finding nothing scientific to back my claim… That’s when it hit me that I was being an idiot.”

However in terms of how she now views the ‘anti-vax herd,’ the mum admits, “I still sympathize a bit.”

“Having healthy kids is still the driving force behind the movement (however ill-informed it is) and I know that the parents are just scared,” she added.

“Good for you mom,” one person commented before asking the questions we were all wondering next: “Have you been dropped like a hot potato by your anti-vaccine friends?” and “Have you persuaded anyone else?”

In terms of friends, the mum replied, “I didn’t have a lot of anti-vax friends and I was one of the first in my circle to have kids, so there was no feedback for me at the time.”

However, she does regret previously getting “all high and mighty about it… As if I was special because I knew ‘the truth'”.

Now she says she is ‘a lot more humble’ about it all and claims this is why she is yet to persuade someone to join her on the ‘science side’ of the argument.

Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com
Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.