To vaccinate or not to vaccinate- an informed choice.

So my newborn baby is due her first vaccinations.
My partner (her dad) is leaning against vaccination due to in depth reading on the topic, looking into manufactures and ingredients lists, seeking advice from our GP and other parents first hand views and experiences on this topic.
Our GP was fully accepting of this and did not try to influence this decision in anyway. He took everything on board and passed no comment that 'we should vaccinate'.

Our elder child is fully vaccinated for her age and developed serious skin issues, requiring steroids , antibiotic and trial (and usual reaction) to numerous strong medicated creams as well as milder emollients straight after the first injections at 8weeks old, any improvements were wiped out after the next round of vaccinations and only got worse. This continued after numerous visits to GP's, A&E, paediatrician and dermatologist including a private specialist.

In our culture it's taboo to not vaccinate your children, we are pressured almost into this. Constant reminder letters and bombardment within the media and visits form Health Visitors.

I work within the healthcare sector and we are taught health promotion. Part of this is advocating vaccinations- for yourself and your children to protect yourselves and the more vulnerable members of society through herd immunity, for those who cannot for whatever reason cannot receive vaccinations themselves. We vaccinate against almost everything we can, but does this mean we should??

For years childhood illnesses of measles, mumps and chickenpox were standard, a right of passage of you will - many countries vaccinate against chickenpox but the UK doesn't. Now we vaccinate in the hope our children don't get these illnesses and obviously nobody wishes illness upon their child but is receiving a chemically compounded and artificially sustained inactive version of the disease better than a natural virus??

Nothing can give 100% protection against these diseases so there's always the chance they may get them anyway if vaccinated. Different strains of viruses continuously develop and evolve and vaccinations are changed by government based upon number of illnesses per population.

But what if we make the wrong choice??

It's a terrifying thought, either way it's a tough decision to make. I believe it should be a decision that every parent should discuss and think about not blindly follow the advice of anyone regardless of status or social norm. Ultimately we want to do the best for our child . We just hope that we are.