Vaccinators vs. Non-Vaccinators: Deciding When (and If) to Immunize Your Child

When Heather Sanders, a mother of three from Huntsville, Texas, brought her youngest child to the hospital to get treatment for reactive airway disease, she was in for more stress than just dealing with a sick child: Doctors tried to blame the disease on her. Why? Sanders had chosen to delay vaccinating her children.

She's not alone. A greater number of parents are choosing to either delay or opt out of vaccinating their children. Though the reasons vary from worries about autism to concerns about the ingredients in the vaccines, more and more parents are educating themselves and choosing when and if they will vaccinate.

Because she had investigated her options for her children so thoroughly, Sanders never thought that doctors would try to point the finger at her.

"I cannot tell you how much of a challenge it has been to deal with the doctors and nurses that treat me as if I'm the least-informed parent on the face of the Earth," the work-from-home mom says.

Thanks to expanding technology, parents are turning to a variety of sources including the Internet to learn about issues that concern their children. Parents on both sides of the vaccination debate are informing themselves and making decisions that are best for their families.

Every parent wants what is best for their child. But with all the information available, it is hard to decide what, exactly, is the best thing for kids. Here are the stories of four parents who have made very different decisions about vaccinating their children.