Should I stop my daughter having HPV vaccination?
Dear Coleen
My daughter came home from school with a letter about vaccination against the sexually transmitted Human Papillomavirus (HPV). She has been taught about it and wants to have it, but I don’t think she needs it.
Religion is very important to our family, so my daughter will not be at risk of getting HPV. Am I doing what’s best for her?
Coleen says
My daughter Ciara has had the vaccination for HPV. I want her to be protected – not just now, but in the years to come.
By agreeing to the vaccination, you’re not saying it’s a license to have sex – it only protects against that virus.
But it’s very effective at preventing changes to cells in the cervix and preventing cancers associated with HPV. It’s actually a very common infection most people will have at some point, so the vaccine is beneficial, even if a woman isn’t sexually active from a young age or won’t go on to have many partners. It’s also most effective in girls who haven’t been exposed to HPV, which is why it’s offered at what seems a young age to be thinking about sex.
As a mum of a teenage girl, I know it can be tough to acknowledge she’s growing into a young woman, but try to leave the emotion out of it if you can, and think practically.
She will be interested in relationships at some point and if she has the vaccine, she’ll be protected. Read more about it on the Irish Cancer Society website (www.cancer.ie), and talk to your daughter about it, too.
If you don’t make the issues around sex taboo, your daughter will always feel comfortable coming to you for advice.